Can a working mom be saved?

Sometimes I feel damned, doomed, whatever, just by the century we live in.........I read about saintly people and find it hard to relate. There's a standard answer, but perhaps more meaningful are some of the people I've run across lately who lived in this same crazy world. For me, they give hope, and I really love how they demolish some popular judgments and stereotypes, too.

Blessed Chiara Luce Badano - http://www.chiaraluce.org/ - was born in 1971 and died at age 18. As a teenager (besides being holy) she went to school, socialized with friends at a coffee shop, played tennis, and wore makeup.........among many other things. Saint Gianna Beretta Molla - http://www.saintgianna.org/ - I've known about for a while, but it was wonderful to see a photo of her dressed in pants! And she was a working mom, too, who enjoyed dancing and date nights with her husband.

Someone less well-known is Servant of God Charles Untz - http://catholicism.org/another-patron-for-boy-scouts.html - who died in 2000 at age 18. He was homeschooled with Seton (and lots of us can relate to that!) and was an Eagle Scout who was involved with the parish youth group and had a part-time job.

Obviously, all the things I'm pointing out aren't what make them great, but they do make a point about what's essential and what's not. Since my pants, job, and makeup don't disqualify me, it's time to start trying to be like them in what does matter.

(See Chiara Luce A life lived to the full, by Michele Zanzucchi)
(See Saint Gianna Molla, by Pietro Molla and Elio Guerriero)

The Surprise

Saturday was a long day. In the evening Tom fell asleep on the couch watching a movie, and that always means he stays there.............I learned about a decade ago that it's not really possible to wake him up without WWIII. :)

Sometime Sunday morning, I half woke up when he came in the room and thought, "Oh good, he got up and can go to bed for a few hours before Mass." I fell back asleep hearing - as I thought - Tom finding his PJ's and getting ready for bed. But when I kept hearing him, I started to wonder........so I cracked open my eyes and he was in his dress clothes.........the alarm hadn't even gone off yet.

"Watcha doin'?" "It's a secret. I'm going to Mass now because I'm doing something special for you." ?????????????????????
I had no idea what was going on, but he took Tommy and headed to the 8:30 Mass.

Still wondering, I got home later after 10:30 Mass and CCD, walked into the dining room and.............the room was cleaned up, the table looked nicer than it has in years - good table cloth and dishes, bouquet of roses. AND the dishes were done and he had bacon, scrambled eggs with veggies and bacon, pancakes with lots of toppings, donuts, and mimosas all ready to be served! (This from a man who loathes cooking BTW.) Of course it was wonderful to come home to delicious food, and it also brought back good memories since Tom and I used to make a huge brunch (including cocktails) on Sundays when we were engaged!

It was not hard to find something to be positive about this Sunday - thank you, Sweetie, you're the best!

Girls' Night Earrings

My sister-in-law Jeanne is more a friend than an "in-law"! A few years ago, she invited another sister-in-law and I on a late night outing with some of her friends from Northern VA. Now, to voluntarily invite your older-than-you, married sister-in-laws is a real act of friendship, but when she said that she was "bringing some friends along", not "can my sister-in-laws come?" our hearts were really touched!

Now that Jeanne is married and a mom, too, we have even more in common, and I'm so glad that she introduced me to earring-making this past year. A fast learner I definitely am not, but Jeanne has always been able to keep her tact and a straight face!  Her seed-bead earrings are, in my opinion, the highlights of our joint collection, and I'm excited to learn how to work with them. I invariably drop or lose a bead when we get together, so I've been hesitant to try these tiny beads!

For someone like me who doesn't draw, knit, sew, etc., making earrings is a rewarding way to be creative - not to mention a good excuse to get out of the house for a relaxing girls night! We also love that fact that we end up keeping and wearing our favorite pairs, and displaying the earrings at festivals has been fun, too. I've been a person with no hobby for years - thank you, Jeanne, for changing that!