Everyday Ordinary – Page 97

Mamma duck and her ducklings

Published on May 28, 2015May 28, 2015 by KateLeave a comment

When we walk through parking lots, we tend to get a couple stares from passersby. Typically, I am holding the baby in one arm and holding the hand of one child with the other. This leaves one free toddler, so we all link up. Usually I hold Rosie’s hand and she holds John’s. It’s a rather comical train, trying to find the right pace for everyone’s different size legs. Then John will try to run and poor Rosie will be stretched between. Or Rosie will run and John will get swung out on the end. It’s a sight, I’m sure.

At some point, I started telling the kids that I was the Mamma duck and they were the ducklings. The ducklings all have to follow their Mamma duck just like they do in a pond near our house. They love it. Rosie enjoys rattling off “You are the Mamma duck, I am the girl duck, John is the boy duck, Daddy is the Daddy duck and Clare is the baby duck!”

We had a new iteration of Mamma duck and her ducklings the other day. I mentioned in another post that I am not a super disciplined person. Working out/exercise has never been high on my priority list and the few occasions it has risen the ranks, I haven’t been disciplined enough to actually stick with it.

My husband recently found a new exercise app. He is starting to train for a 100 mile bike ride in the fall and I think was looking for a new way to structure and regiment his work outs. He was saying this app was good because you told it your goals (weight loss, general fitness, build muscle, etc.) and it tailored work outs to that goal. Every day you say how you are feeling (sore, fine, great) and it will increase or decrease the difficulty level. I had to admit, it sounded good.

So, I downloaded it too. I don’t know why, I get so embarrassed, anxious, and silly about exercising. The first day, it’s funny to say now that I waited until he went to work to even open the app. The app had me do some stretching and then it wanted me to walk for 15 minutes. Well, I knew if I took all the kids for a 15 minute walk we would barely make it around the block, probably not the heart rate target the app had in mind. I decided to just walk around the house. I could keep up a decent pace and even had the added “bonus” of carrying Clare for 10 of the 15 minutes (someone should really create a work out plan/app for moms with children under 18 months to do at home, but take into account the fact that they will be carrying said child. It would be awesome, someone please do it. I might even try it out. But I;m starting to digress).

There I was, attempting to walk at a decent pace through my house and both John and Rosie start to follow me. Mamma duck was back with her ducklings trotting (swimming?) along behind her.

These kids want so much to be like me and my husband. It’s what kids do, it’s how they learn – imitation. They observe my reaction to a situation and try to emulate it in their own lives, for better or worse. Even if you don’t have any children, people are watching you, observing your behavior, wondering about your thoughts and reasons for acting as you do. I don’t mean that people are judging you, but we are naturally a curious species. We are inquisitive, we wonder, we ask questions, we try to understand. We all have people we look up to, those we wish to be more like. God made us this way and it is a beautiful thing because it allows us to learn from each other.

This all gets me thinking about who my role models are. Who has been a role model and ceases to be – why? Who are my present role models – why? Who else could be a role model – why?

I’ll share a couple with you:

I am inspired fashion-wise by Joanna Gaines from DIY Network’s Fixer Upper show. I like her simple style of dressing, nothing flashy, simple color palette and strategic use of jewelry.

I am inspired as a parent by a good friend who always to remain rational with her children, even when they are acting and talking in highly irrational ways. She usually maintains a calm, steady voice, and tries to see things from their perspective. She is respectful of their irrationality until they are able to calm themselves to a more rational state of being.

I am inspired as a mother by Chiara Lubich, the founder of a movement in the Catholic Church called the Focolare. Chiara writes about a universal motherhood, based on imitating Mary, the mother of Jesus. Chiara challenges: “In practice we have to …behave toward every neighbor I meet, or for whom I shall be working, as if I were their mother…A mother is always welcoming, always helpful, always hopeful, and covers up everything. She forgives everything in her children.”

I am inspired as a wife by a woman in a small group I am in. She and her husband retired to our area after 30 years in the Air Force. Military life for them involved deployments and separations as you might guess. I have always thought about how wonderful life after the Air Force will be some day, to be able to leave all the separations behind. For this couple, life and job had other plans. Presently, her husband is working 7 hours away from her and a job he loves and they both agree is the best situation for him. They see each other on the weekends. They will continue like this for at least another year. Her poise, confidence, loyalty and faith are contagious.

Who inspires you most today? Who do you hope is inspired by you?

Kinetic Sand and Future Plans

Published on May 17, 2015May 17, 2015 by KateLeave a comment

John received a box of kinetic sand last year from his generous godfather who neglects to read the age-appropriate labels on toys (we love you godfather! we just wait to play with your presents) =) Anyway, we waited to bring out this exciting gift until recently. The kids can play with it in a fairly appropriate manner without sand getting all over my house. If you aren’t familiar with kinetic sand, it is actually a pretty cool toy. Basically, it is fancy sand that sticks to itself like wet sand without all the negative qualities of wet sand. It is not actually wet and it doesn’t stick to anything except itself. It is perfect for molding, sculpting and squeezing. Excellent for inquisitive hands and growing minds and apparently moms who need a minute…or 15.

It is also, surprisingly, an effective, addictive and unintentional meditative tool. The box of sand is currently sitting on my kitchen counter and nearly every time I walk past it, I can’t help but reach out and run my fingers through it. The sand is soft and squishy, light and airy. It initially feels like wet sand but then floats off my fingers like I would imagine a cloud would feel. This sand is irresistible, I can’t help myself.

The other day I was in the kitchen and was running my hands through the sand. My mind was wandering, thinking about how cool this toy was and how much potential it has for creativity and expression. It was a very zen-like experience.

I was holding Clare at the time and starting thinking about how shapeless she is right now, like the sand. She has the potential to become anyone and do anything. All of my kids really are still in this fairly shapeless, formless state. They don’t have life-determining habits and are slowly figuring out their personalities and character traits. They can mold themselves into any number of persons. Or, more along the path I was thinking about, they are able to allow themselves to be molded into the person God designed them to be.

Interpretation of the formless void We all start like this, clay in the hands of the potter, kinetic sand in the hands of the child. The world started like this – a formless void that was without order until God spoke. God’s creative word brought form to the formless and order to the chaos. He will do the same to the lives of my children if they let Him. It is my job as their parent to help them realize God’s presence in their lives and to recognize the gifts He has given them.

One of the most special things I get to do as a mother is pray for my children. Something that has hugely influenced my parental prayer is the example of my own parents and how they prayed for me. I always had a nurturing spirit and my mom had a feeling God’s will was for me to become a wife and mother. So she started praying for my future spouse. How incredible is that?!? She was praying for Ben before she knew him. She didn’t know where he lived, who he was, what kind of child he was or what kind of man he would become. She prayed for him for years – she has been praying for him longer than she has actually known him. I can’t think of a more precious gift to give one’s son or daughter-in-law.

I don’t know what God’s plans are for my children. Perhaps they will be called to marriage. Perhaps John will be called to be a priest or brother. Maybe Rosie or Clare will have a religious vocation or be called to live a single life. Whatever God’s call, I want to be able to give them the gift of my prayers to help support and sustain them in their vocation in life.

To summarize this little post – kinetic sand is awesome. If you feel like you can’t get yourself into a zone to do some serious thinking, you should probably get some. If you need to find a way to turn off your brain for a few minutes, you should probably get some. I’m not saying that kinetic sand is going to solve the world’s problems, but I’m definitely keeping it on the counter, just in case.

Faith in the Shadow of a Mountain

Published on May 4, 2015May 4, 2015 by KateLeave a comment

Faith can be super easy, especially when things are bright and cheery. It is easy to see how God is working in your life when everything is going well – you managed to clean your house, your kids are getting along for more than 3 minutes at a time and actually remembered to say “please” and “excuse me.” You or your spouse just got a raise at work and you are planning a weekend away to celebrate. You just paid off a car. Your son just got accepted to the college of his choice plus got the scholarship necessary to get him there. Your daughter just scored the winning goal in her soccer tournament, boosting her confidence in her athletic ability. You can really feel something when you go to church and father’s homily this week was as if it was designed for you. Yes, life is good.

But sometimes life isn’t so good. Sometimes, it might feel like there is a mountain in your way, blocking out all the light so all you can see are shadows shifting in the dimly lit valley. You forgot to pay the credit card this month. Your kids are fighting constantly and one is starting to talk back with harsh, hurtful words. You or your spouse just lost a job or there is a real threat that it could happen. You did not get accepted into the position you were hoping for. The baby refuses to sleep for more than 2 hours at a time during the night and you couldn’t figure out what was wrong. You go to church but don’t feel any connection. You do the motions but your soul isn’t on fire, your heart is apathetic, your mind is elsewhere. So many things can happen that are outside of your control and you feel as if everything is spiraling down into a meaningless, disorganized, futile mess.

There is a constant hidden within both of these rather polar images. Underneath the perfection and the destruction is God. Under the organization and the chaotic whirlwind is Christ. Under the model behavior and blatant disrespect is the Holy Spirit. Whether you feel it or not, each time you receive the Eucharist you are consuming the King of the Universe, becoming intimately united with the Savior of the world and of your life.

The God who loves you, made you, and has a specific purpose for you remains with you through it all, even when it seems as if all hope is lost. When the mountain appears too hard to climb, God is there, reminding you that if you have the faith of but a mustard seed, mountains can and will crumble.

***I am dedicating this post to a dear friend of mine who in the very near future will be standing at the bottom of one of her highest mountains. Her husband is deploying for a year while she remains at home with two small children, one just barely 5 months old. This is a mountain that all too many before her have faced and more will face it yet, but this knowledge does not make it any easier to climb. If you have a moment as you read this post, please lift up my friend and her family, for the safety of her husband, and for all of our military brothers and sisters who so honorably and selflessly answer the call of our nation.