Fall prayer planning...tips for success (hopefully! ;-)!

 

Hello all, and I hope you're having a beautiful morning on this lovely fall day! It's been a busy week at my house, between back-to-school routines for the kids, and lesson planning at work for a return to in-person teaching. I've also been preparing for an in-person dance show at my studio this weekend, and I'm very excited for that! 

I was thinking today that I've felt a re-awakening in my prayer life of late, and I think it's because of Shauna'h's online prayer course for Catholic women, Everyday Holiness, which starts up on Sunday. 😎 I'm so looking forward to having some motivation to stay on track with prayer via a little structure and community! I've always been very motivated by setting goals, with a timeline, and having others along with me on the journey. If you sign up for Shauna'h's email list, you will get a link to a free printable calendar for the month with prayer goals and novena reminders!

The other thing I was thinking about lately in this regard is building up small micro habits in terms of prayer. I wrote about this recently over on Catholic Mom. You work towards larger goals by setting very small habits for yourself that you build on over time. Maybe you start with a single decade of the rosary when you get into your car in the morning. Or wing up a Morning Offering as you set your feet on the floor upon rising from bed for the day. Once that habit is more firmly established in your routine, you can add on a set of 3 Hail Marys for an intention of the day as you brush your teeth, or add a second decade of the rosary while you're making dinner in the evening. I really love this idea, and I tell all about how I learned about this in my Catholic Mom post, linked above! The book I reference in that post is BJ Fogg's Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything.

Do you have any tips for igniting habits in your prayer life? I would love to hear about it in the comments!

Uplifting fall vibes...

St. Jerome rosary, photo credit Rosaries by Allison

Happy Friday, friends, and although the weekend is here, my stress level continues to be high. :-0 There's been a lot going on for my family and I these past 6 weeks or so, and I'm just trying to manage it as best I can.

I've been trying to focus a lot on how much I love this time of year, when the air gets cooler and the leaves turn. I live in a beautiful part of the country to be able to enjoy it all. Often, as has been the case the past 3 years, work is busy and stressful for me right at this exact time (September through October) which has had the effect of me not taking advantage of the gorgeous fall weather and the fun activities that it can entail. This year, I endeavored to enjoy fall despite the stress, and I do think it's, for the most part, working. Even with the dance competition recently, some crazy teaching weeks, and increased concern about both kids at their adjustment to new school life, I've taken some moments to enjoy the beautiful fall we're having here in WNY. The skies are gray a lot, but for me, the fact that the air is crisp, the leaves are beginning to show color, and harvest/Halloween decor is out in abundance makes up for it completely.

It's definitely the little things, and the lack of uncomfortable heat and humidity, is a small, but important, joy for me. I've also been trying to really drink in the time that I get to spend on my hobbies: escaping to Hogwarts with Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, immersing myself in the combinations we're learning in my dance classes, the new flow segment in my lunchtime Piyo class on Mondays. I've never been good at doing this in the past, but something has changed. Does age really bring wisdom? ;-) I'm able to do it more so now, because I know how important it is to be able to recharge before tackling the stressful things again.

As you can see from the photo in this post, I commissioned my dear friend Allison to create a fall themed St. Jerome rosary for me, and I heart it so much I can hardly stand it. 😍 I have it tucked into the pocket on the driver's side door of my little Honda Fit, and I reach for it often to just hold, or pray a single decade. I may not get a whole rosary in, but I don't think that's anything to fret over. It comforts me to see the fall colors, and feel the smooth beads. St. Jerome is the patron saint of librarians, and so he's my buddy when I go off to teach a stressful 5 hour stretch of back-to-back classes. It's definitely the small things.

What are the small things you're grateful for this weekend? *heart* I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

Making our way through the autumn...

Morning all! It's nice to be back to my regular routine. I'm having a quiet moment on the reference desk after just dealing with a highly annoying patron (in a very polite fashion I might add, *angelic librarian beam*), so I figured I deserved the blogging respite. :) I was listening to "The Catholics Next Door" podcast on my way into work this morning, and contemplating what to write about today. As I did so, I drove by the sugar maple that you see pictured here at left and stopped just to take a picture of it. It's just down the street from Henry's school, within minutes of our house, and I think it's the prettiest tree I've seen so far this autumn.

Thus, it seemed to me that a quick reflective post on the progress of the autumn was timely, and that's what I decided to do. So, what's happening?

This fall semester has progressed very rapidly. Due to Mike's intense teaching schedule, plus my trip this past weekend, we haven't gotten to all of the family autumn-related activities that we wanted to. We still have some time, so we're hopeful we can squeeze at least one more outing in, but we'll see. The fall is clearly winding down here in Western New York to that gray November place, you know? It gets dark early, clouds and wind seem omnipresent, the foliage is falling rapidly. I don't mind that time of year; it's cozy, plus it means that the holidays are coming, but it does signal the beginning of the end of the gorgeous, colorful autumn.

Henry's year in school so far (4th grade this year), while good, has been a lot more work for both him and us. :0 This is a year in which his school administers state testing, and the workload has been much increased from last year. He's persevering, but our evenings certainly include a lot more homework than they used to.

Anne is growing in leaps and bounds, and is becoming quite the nurturing little lady. :) She talks a mile a minute and carries around a purse with all of her "necessities" so that she can be like the big girls. Necessities in Anne's world being things like rocks, plastic Easter eggs, and random small stuffed creatures. She's looking taller every day, taking after her brother. Mike and I seem to produce these very tall children. :)

Speaking of Mike, he has the worst fall cold EVER, poor thing. And in the midst of all of this teaching too, wherein he really needs his voice and the ability to speak without coughing every few moments. Mike has this gorgeous deep voice *happy lift of eyebrows* and I hate to see him struggling to get through a day of teaching. His cough has been so bad at night that he's been sleeping downstairs to spare me the poor night of sleep that he is certain to have, and the miserable look on his face as he gathers his pillow to go down there just breaks your heart. We rarely sleep apart, and I miss him so much when he's not there. I do, however, plead guilty though to reveling in the quiet interior of our bedroom sans coughing, and immediately pouncing on our small television, flipping to The Hallmark Channel, and setting the sleep timer to 2 full hours of "The Golden Girls" soothing goodness.

ahhhhhhhhhh..... :)

I slept well. :0

He seemed a bit better this morning, and said that once he did manage to fall asleep, he stayed asleep until about 6 am, which is a very good sign. Hopefully, he's on the mend.

As for me, I'm progressing happily through my 54 day rosary novena. I've missed a few days of getting through a complete rosary, but if I've learned anything in the spiritual life it's to keep going, even when I screw up. Which I do. Frequently. :0 So, I persevere, and it's going well. I've been busy at work, October is always like that. I have a few classes to teach on Friday, and I'm catching up a bit still from my trip, but it's going fine. Things should slow down in a few weeks. I've also been knitting and crocheting like a mad woman, working on gifts and other fall-themed items. I will post pictures in this week's 7 Quick Takes, where much fun will await you. ;-)

And how is YOUR fall going, dear reader? Leave me a comment. :)

My first sweater...

As promised, here is my New England Knits sweater, the Middlefield Pullover, still on the needles. I need to finish the waist, which won't be long, then do the hem. After that comes the cowl neckline, and of course, sleeves. But considering that this is the very first sweater I've ever attempted to knit, I'm pretty pleased with it. The yarn is Debbie Stoller Bamboo Ewe in Mermaid. Very pretty. The patterns in this book are great. All knit in the round, so no seams. And so far, there has not been a single instance of me tossing the item into my knitting bag angrily and swearing at it. Which happens, you know, regularly. This reminds me, I need to get to Confession... Anyway, so far, this sweater has been a real peach.

And, happily, the weather is perfect for sweater knittin'. Nice and cool, crisp breeze in the air, which some leaves starting to make their departure from the trees. I've busted out my crock pot, always a turning point every September, and I made chili in there on Friday. Tomorrow, it's chicken with wild rice. I love this time of year. *bliss*

Male bonding

Ahhh, autumn is in the air. The campus is suddenly coming alive with students and faculty, and that palpable feeling of excitement permeates my office. And the weather! Oh sweet weather. I love where I live. The instant mid-August hits, the weather undergoes a subtle shift. Suddenly, a breeze is perpetually in the air, and the evenings cool down. Love, love, love.

This summer at my house has meant lots of father/son bonding time, as once Mike's summer classes wrapped up, he was home with Henry 3 days per week. So, when I arrive home from work each day, I'm finding lots of "daddy and me" bonding exercises ongoing. Drinking of Slurpees, walks down by the water to see the ducks, Tinker Toy assembling. And yesterday, a gigantic black spider stuck to my kitchen ceiling.

*father and son both staring straight up*

"This thing is TOTALLY AWESOME."

Apparently, the plastic spider prize Hank received at Vacation Bible School had sticking and suckage properties that were previously undiscovered. They were thrilled.

This all has had the effect of a change in Hank's "allegiance," if you will, with regard to comfort and play time. Daddy is now clearly the "fun guy," the one Hank turns to when he wants to play or cuddle. The other night, Mike had an outing with a friend planned, and Hank wandered in from watching his car back out of the driveway. Eyes were liquid, lip was quivering.

"I...I...I WANT DADDY!"

I froze. I mean, all these years, of course Hank has loved Mike, but *I* was always the go-to gal. MOMMY. I did all the nursing, nurturing, soothing (AND night waking, just for the record) for all these *4 long years.* As my mother would say, what am I, chopped liver?

I immediately summoned Hank over to my arms where he promptly burst into tears, asking when Daddy would be home. This did nothing to soothe my Mommy Anxiety. I cuddled him lots, read him a book and administered lots of kisses, and he settled down. We had a nice night together, albeit mixed in with several other inquiries as to Daddy's return home. I told myself that this was all very age and gender-appropriate, and made total sense given how much time they'd spent together this summer. But I couldn't help it; I was crushed. Did he still want Mommy?

When Mike got back, after Hank went to bed, I pounced. Perversely, his response that Hank did in fact get teary sometimes when I left the house (to go to dance class, for instance) made me feel better. My precious little guy! They're always changing, and we need to change with them. But it's never easy, not ever, in parenting.

Fall is in the air...

I'm making Chicken Pot Pie tonight, I'm contemplating the sweaters I will knit, and Garlands of Grace just announced its fall collection. Fall is, happily, in the air.

Speaking of headcoverings, I haven't written about them in awhile, but I'm still very much wearing them, and enjoying them. I'm feeling the urge to order a few more, but I tell you, I really should restrain myself, because I totally have enough. I have headbands in gray and black/white, convertible coverings (can be either headband or short kerchief) in black/white, brown lace, khaki with white lace trim, and sheer spring pinks/greens, and a longer veil in autumn brown/pink. I have to say, my 2 favorites are the brown lace and the sheer pink convertible. I wear them even around the house, I love them so much. But sigh... the autumn chiffon? *wants* *resists* For now, anyway :)

Now that I've been wearing headcoverings to Mass for about 6 months, I have to say that I never even consider entering church without one. I'm just so used to it, my head feels "naked" if I don't. I really like it. It's a reminder to me to focus on why I'm really there, and not let my mind wander.

Lots of other things going on this fall. I need to start preparing for the October fall hafla for belly dance. I'm deciding now if I'll create a new solo number, or if I'll use the one I created this summer for a second time. We're ordering our new costumes this week. *beams* We chose green as the color (my favorite!) but could choose any style each of us wished. I'm getting a traditional bra and skirt set. I'll take a picture of it when it comes in. It's super pretty, and I'm certain that I'll love it, which is good since I won't be able to afford another costume for several years after this :)

As well, Hank will be starting kindergarten in about 4 weeks, sigh. My precious baby. It'll be a big adjustment for all of us. Lots of other stuff going on, too. Stay tuned...

:)

Fall is in the air...

This morning, I got out of my car and started the walk into the library and I noticed something wonderful - the air was chilly. As you may know, I'm a total freak of human nature and I don't like hot weather. I appreciate hot weather to the extent that I enjoy living in a climate that has 4 true seasons, and after summer I revel in the cooler weather all the more. I just don't like being...hot. I also don't like being sticky, sweaty, sandy, or otherwise have my person affected in a heat induced manner. You should see me at the beach, a location the Catholic Librarian rarely frequents. I find the sunscreen that will leave the least amount of stick, I brush every speck of sand off that dares come in contact with my body, and if there is any possible shade I'm THERE. Bottle of water tightly by my side, sunglasses perched firmly on my face, gigantic towel shielding a city block worth of sand, and a book clutched in my hand. I may even have a hat on. God forbid I should come in contact with salt water. That makes the sticky/sweaty/sandy situation all that more complex and I will physically hurt anyone that tries to get ahead of me in the shower afterwards.

I'm a true northeastern gal, no doubt about it. Give me plummeting temperatures or give me death. Thus, I shivered my way into the building this morning, and each step along the way I was aglow with happiness. I'm envisoning hot tea, soft blankets, roaring fires... Not at work, granted. Well, except for the hot tea, which I inhale multiple times per day at work and have (naturally) spilled and unwittingly created several biohazards with. I once had to take a quarter sick day to go home, change my pants, and apply salve to my legs. I also had to call the library information technology folks to bring me a new keyboard. Sugar is not your keyboard's friend.

I'm even cold in my office, and I'm shamelessly eyeing the fleece hoodie that is hanging on the peg near my door. I'm also already thinking about the leaves starting to change color. My husband is as nerdy as me, and checks in daily on a web site that documents leaf activity by region. Before that, I had never heard the phrase "leaf drop" before, nor "leaf spotter," which Mike has applied to act as. Adorable, isn't it? There are two sugar maples near our house that I go on walks specifically to walk past in late September and October. They are *spectacular*.

So, I'm looking forward to the official first day of September. That's when it *really* feels like fall to me. Of course, there are students everywhere on campus, carrying bulky pieces of Target furniture up ramps into the dorms, which is another sign that fall is coming; classes start Monday. I don't think I'm ready. In fact, I know I'm not.

But alas, soon we'll have a cord of wood in our log rack and be roasting hot dogs and melting s'mores on the weekends. Sweet, sweet bliss...