Mother Daughter Retreat: Year 6

This last week Gracie and I honored our tradition of the Mother-Daughter Retreat at Eco-Justice Center in Racine, WI that began when she was 6 years old! This was our 6th Year! (You can see the chronicle of our other years here.)

This year was by far our best yet.

As we drove out on Sunday night, I was feeling unsettled. I should be working. Gracie should be in school. It cost so much to care for our animals while we are away.

I didn't voice any of this to Gracie, but she was feeling it too. I miss home. I hope Izzy is ok in the kennel. Mom, I almost asked to go home, I feel like we need to be home.

We fell asleep Sunday night offering prayers for a peaceful retreat and care over our house and animals while we were away.

We woke up Monday morning feeling refreshed. Quickly, I realized something really important. Gracie rarely gets all of me. This was 36 hours we set aside to give to one another. I had no other distractions. It was just Gracie and I, a pile of art supplies, and a load of trails to be explored.

There are loved ones in our lives that deserve us, all of us. It is the gift of self. I have to be really, really intentional to do this....

*****

reunited with the swing!

These Guinea Hens followed us every where, I think they wanted to play soccer

At the start of the trail

We have our adventurin' boots on

we 💗💗💗 rocks

watercolor painting

there is nothing like conquering the tree stump

our watercolor creations

there was a fair amount of crocheting, ukulele playing, and singing

Because baptism...

"Mom, if you could go back and choose to live in any time in history, what time would you choose?"

Me: Hmmm... I don't know, I have never thought about it

I would go back to Jesus' time.

This was another car conversation. It was brief. This is an observation of Gracie's desire to grow in understanding. 

***

Last week marked two of my most favorite feast days. I am a person of superlatives, so that means, there are many feast days that are of great import to me. October 28, was our family's celebration of the 11 year anniversary of Gracie's adoption into the Body of Christ through Baptism. We typically mark this celebration by attending a one of the many beautiful historic churches in our Chicagoland area. 

The last few years Gracie has been very adamant that to mark this special day we go to Old St. Pat's downtown Chicago. It was a full weekend! She was away at camp for dance. Thank goodness Old St Pat's has an 8pm Sunday evening mass! 

***

November 1: Feast of All Saints

Beloved:See what love the Father has bestowed on usthat we may be called the children of God.

1 John 3: 1

***

At Mass for the Feast of All Saints, I was completely overcome. 

Gratitude

All of our Holy ancestors that have gone before us, laying the foundation, a road of holiness...

They answered their baptismal call to holiness, living a life set apart for Jesus.

*** 

It is easy to be overwhelmed by the lives of the Saints.  They are such extraordinary humans! Their holiness is unattainable!

In reality, a life of holiness is a response. We respond daily. Many times not even intentionally. The response to this love freely given to us - that we may be called Children of God - is one of acceptance and action. I accept that Jesus loves me beyond my wildest dreams. I act out of that love. 

***

 Gracie's Baptism Day

October 28, 2007

Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame, Indiana

 Fr. Pat Gaffney and a naked baby... She was so mad!

She finally calmed down when given the Light of Christ

Gracie had quite a welcoming committee into the Body of Christ

Mother-Daughter Retreat: Year 4

This very well may have been the busiest end of summer/early fall to date. But somehow I managed to squeeze in our annual Mother-Daughter Retreat. Maybe it was due to Gracie's subtle remarks, "Mom, you are grouchy all the time." "Mom you are expecting too much out of me, I am only 9."

She has always had a way of making me stand up and pay attention. She was right. I was grouchy. She was right. While I was trying to sort out the demands of my work as a director of faith formation, directing Nativity House, moving our belongings and life to the basement, the death of Dear Fr. Mark- I was demanding a lot of independence from her. 

I heard her. So I scheduled it. Gracie and I took off work and school because it was clear that this was a dire need.

***

During our time together, there was a moment when Gracie's and my stubbornness met (as it often does.) I can't even recall what the struggle was over. That just proves how ridiculous it was. We both just dug our heals in and refused to give in to the other. Finally, in a moment of desperation, I crumbled. It was as if I could see clearly all future struggles with her - struggles of will between mother and daughter. 

I called her to come over and sit with me. I said, "Gracie, we need help. We get stuck in these silly arguments all the time and neither of us is willing to give in. We have to figure this out. What are we gonna do? Do  you have any ideas?"

Silence.

I kept going. "I think that we need to pray. Mama Mary has never let us down. I think we need to ask her for help."

Gracie agreed.

"Mama Mary, help us to be a better mom and a better daughter. Hail Mary, Full of Grace..."

Since that Thursday, October 13, we have had to stop and pray at least 2-3 times. And I am sure that we will have to again. Thanks Mama Mary for being the one we can come to. 

*** 

We're here!

On the trails

This swing is pretty much the greatest thing EVAR!

Creek Walking

Our dear goat friends

tissue paper painting

Back to the Swing!

Fresh Apple Cider!

This kitty walked with us everywhere we went. Kitty was on retreat too

We always have read aloud time. It has become a tradition. But this time we forgot a book! We found these in the tree house. Animal Poetry. Lovely.

***

Last Year's Retreat

The Good Guys Always Win

Gracie was 4. We snuggled in to watch Little Mermaid. I used to babysit for cousins who at the same age loved this movie, no doubt so will my daughter. It didn't take long for Ursula the Sea Witch to make an appearance. Gracie was terrified. She didn't like it and begged me to turn it off.  So I did.

This was the beginning of my movie watching mantra. Through our watching of the Marvel Universe movies, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings - Gracie would get anxious and scared but not want to turn it off. My mantra, "Don't worry, the good guys always win." Sure enough, to her relief, they always did. Phew!

I was talking about this with another parent a few years back. We were talking about movies our children find scary and I explained my mantra. This parent challenged me, "you probably shouldn't tell her 'the Good guys always win' because it is not true of real life."

I was perplexed. "But they do!" I retorted. And then as a knee-jerk reaction, I blurted out, "They get to go to heaven."

***

This summer has just been one horrible story of bombing, shooting, hate speech after another. Our world is crying out in gut-wrenching pain and people are cowering in front of their screens.

The day after the Philando Castile's shooting and the Dallas police shooting I was grocery shopping. I was watching everyone going about their business; I was searching their faces for a trace of mourning. How could we all be going about our days so normally without bitter anguish on our faces?

In these days I have found myself repeating my mantra over and over again, "Don't worry, Venus. The good guys always win." When I catch myself in the mantra, I scold me, "Do not let this make you passive to the violence and brokenness."

***

I hear the voice of Pope Francis, crying out in our twenty-first century wilderness, "Mercy!"

I struggle with this. What does this mean for me? for black communities? for muslim communities? for cities? for countries? for victims? for suspects? Mercy. 

The good guys always win. 

Jesus accomplished so much in his short life. We need to take comfort in this, more now than ever. It is because of him that the good guys always win. He left us with a distinct commissioning, "Take this and eat it. This is my body." Because when we eat it, he is in us, alive! We are given the heart of Christ. We must start to use the heart of Christ that has been given to us - The Heart of Mercy. 

This is our prayer - that the transformative power of the Eucharist awaken in us the Heart of Jesus - the Heart of Mercy. It is then that we will be able to navigate this hurting and broken world with the touch of grace. Therein lies hope.

Advent: Week 2 - It's Simple

Mary said, "yes."

And then, she pondered the mystery of God's work in her life. She was in a constant state of wonder and awe, no doubt, at the instrument that she became for the Lord. How could she not marvel at the power of the Holy Spirit working through her. She is proof that when we say yes to God's plan - Amazing things happen!

It's that simple.

When we say, "yes" to God's plan for our life, there is no doubt that amazing things will happen. Catherine of Siena said that we would set the world on fire. 

It's that simple

* * *

Tonight on the drive home I asked Gracie, "without the birth of Jesus do you think we would still have Christmas?"

"Yes."

"hmmm, really? What do you think it would be called?"

"It would be called like, give all you have to the poor. Because if Jesus was never born, there would be a lot more poor in the world, more wars, more hate, more mean people. So giving all we have to the poor would be even more important."

* * *

It's that simple. Jesus set the world on fire. He said, "yes," to God's plan for his life and in so doing released amazing amounts of love into the universe. 

So in this second week of Advent - let's ponder the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  Have we said yes to God's plan for our lives? What would the Holy Spirit setting the world on fire, working through us look like? 

Jeremiah 1:2

Mother-Daughter Retreat: Year 3

We were getting our bags out of the car, walking up the wooded path to the hermitage to the soundtrack of happy 8 year old squeals: "I can't believe we are here! I am so happy we are here! What a wonderful place! EEEH!

That was the start of our third annual Mother-Daughter Retreat at Eco-Justice Center. This has become a 24 hour get away where we pay attention to each other, rest, create art, pray, and relish in God's glorious creation. This year more than other years I was particularly in tune with observing Gracie's awe and wonder at all that was around her.

My favorite quote from the weekend was, "Mom! The woods! They are just so amazing." Honestly there was nothing particularly spectacular about the woods we were tromping through - it could have been the woods in our backyard or the local forest preserve. What was different was us. We were poised to let the love of God be revealed to us through nature. And it did.

Our first project was making felt beads. 

Gracie works at completing her first scarf.

We spent much of our time with some of the happiest goats I have ever met. In every picture I have of them they are wearing big grins. They loved it when we picked grass and fed it to them.

One of the silliest chickens ever!

Back inside we went for more felting.

And the scarf is finished!

Zentangle art has become a tradition.

The template for our nature art project. Let the collecting begin!

Reunited! The tree house swing is pretty much the coolest thing EVER!

Dream: Some day Nativity House will have one of these!

More collecting and very calculated placement of highly sought after nature artifacts.

It is complete.

It was only 24 hours. It was full of giggles, silence, joy, creating, awe and wonder. 

Looking back

Retreat Year 1

Retreat Year 2