We have been settling into our Lenten, almost Spring activities for the past couple of weeks. It seems weird to say Spring activities when just a little over a week ago we had around a foot of snow. But time waits for no one, even the weather.
With the Lenten Season beginning, we have been busy cleaning out our spaces. This applies to both the Physical and Spiritual. I have been trying to keep up with the Lenten Deep Clean program where a person takes a small section of the house and works on it for the day. This could mean a closet or breaking a room up for a few days with one day to linens, one to walls and baseboards, etc. One area I feel most accomplished about is the master closet. Karl and I have a HUGE 8 foot by 8 foot closet that was just in shambles. It was neat enough for finding things, but was also filled with other odds and ends not in a real home. Now, all the shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, and uniforms are lined up in showroom style. The shoes are all neat, but Karl thinks we should get one of those wooden shoe caddies. Right now I am trying to not spend any money, so it will have to wait. The other part of the Lenten Clean in the interior. Anton has been attending Altar Server classes at the church which has afforded Isabella and I some much needed quiet time at the church. We are lucky that our church has a small Adoration Chapel for those seeking a quiet place to reflect and search out Christ. We have also been attending our Church's Soup and Stations Community get togethers every Friday. This consists of several crock pots of non-meat soups (you even have to use vegetable stock), bread, and maybe some other non-meat dishes. After an hour of eating and talking, we go up to the church for Station of the Cross and Latin Benediction. I remember my parents taking us to Stations and Benediction when we were younger but instead of soup it was a fish fry. I think the soup is a little healthier than all that fried food, but the meaning behind it, community getting together to support the abstaining from meat and the dedication to Christ's suffering is still the same. There is something so purely beautiful to hear the innocent voices of the young ones reciting the prayers and songs even if they have no idea what those Latin words mean.
After the snow melted, we were busy preparing for the next season. Spring Soccer has gotten underway and this year I am juggling two. Isabella has decided to have her turn at kicking the ball around. Her age group is much more relaxed. They have no goalie and do not keep score. Their coach has a very fun way to teach skills of blocking, stealing, and control. They played "Freeze Tag" with the soccer balls. If the either of the two "it" players got your ball away from you and kicked it out, you had to hold your ball over your head with your legs spread so another player could kick their ball through your legs to unfreeze you. They had to do this while trying to keep from loosing their ball. They had fun and did not realize they were learning some skills also. Anton, on the other hand, has the same former Marine coach who has the boys give him push-ups when they misbehave. When that does not get them to focus, it is laps. Of course, you can see the frustration on his face at their improper form which leads him to do the push-ups with them. This season, Anton's coach is trying to break him out of his comfort zone. Anton loves to play defender, but Anton needs to learn to play forward also. Anton has practice on Mondays and Wednesdays and Isabella on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The other activity we have picked up is Shubert Singers. Isabella had auditions last week for a local choral group and was accepted into the group. She will be one of the youngest in the group which I am concerned with on the maturity side, but it will be great for her technique. The group is headed by a locally known music director, (the other being our own church's director who teaches our kids piano), and a former Italian Opera Singer. The group has a curriculum, meets once a week, and has performances across the county.
Outside we took advantage of an unusually warm day to plant. The children and I tilled up some spaces and planted the remaining garlic, onions, and potatoes we had not been able to get into the ground in the fall. It was a very long day, but well worth the effort as the following day started another bout of roller coaster weather. It seems every other day was sunny with 70 degrees and the interim was rainy or cloudy with highs in the 40s or low 50s. Very odd! And both kiddos have needed to bump up their allergy meds for this sometimes Spring sometimes Winter weather.
But a great thing has occurred over the weekend. Karl has finally returned home from his schooling for the Navy. Isabella who had begun to drag and have headaches was miraculously better when her Daddy came home. It is great to have him home, but I need to re-acclimate to those 4:45 wake ups, something that does not come easy to me. At least I do have coffee!
