Body, Mind, and Spirit

I'm trying to think of how I can write about health and happiness and how it's all wrapped up in our relationship with God ~ and not make it sound trite. You see, I need to write it more for myself than for anyone else, actually. So, how do I tell myself, in words that I will understand and take to heart, that

• the packet of hot chocolate mix ~ with marshmallows ~
  that I stirred into my coffee this morning,

  the 10 or 12 jelly fruit thingies I snitched when
  the kids weren't looking,

  the extra two breadsticks ~ with butter ~
  that I had with dinner,

  the scanty five minutes I spent reading a book
  with my toddlers today,

  the uncorrected math papers lying on the school
  cabinet,

  the walk that I didn't take this morning
  even though I promised myself I would

  
  

coincide exactly with the fact that

I've spent more time on the computer today than I have reading from the stack of spiritual books on my bedside table.

I've been reciting the rosary of late. Reciting it. Not praying it with focus and attention.

The last really good talk I had with my Maker was .... Um, I can't remember when it was.

Anyway, you get the drift...

I find myself periodically falling off the wagon for many different reasons. Which wagon? Pick your wagon: the always popular diet and exercise wagon, the organized homeschooler wagon, the attentive wife and mother wagon, the dutiful homemaker wagon, the child-of-God wagon...

And I've had good reasons to fall off these wagons.

Too much stress

too much on my mind

The children keep me so busy...

I'm too tired

There aren't enough hours in the day

If my health were better...

If I had enough money...

If I had a little help around here...

My early life didn't prepare me for "it"*

My nerves can't take "it"

I'm not cut out for "it;" I 'm not that kind of person

"It's" not that big a deal; who's going to care anyway?

I know "it's" important, but I just can't tackle "it" now...

I just don't have any willpower

My whine du jour: I'm getting too old for this...
* you name "it."

And sometimes these were valid excuses. Four babies in five and a half years gave me every reason to have a messy house in the first years of my marriage. Months of bedrest for pre-eclampsia twice in less than three years excused many bare bones months of homeschooling. I could even use a diseased knee as an excuse not to exercise for several years. Things happen. In order to handle one stressful part of our life, we often have to compensate by dropping the non-essentials. This is OK.

• A perfectly clean house is not essential ~ it's nice, but not essential.
• Meticulously organized plans and records, extracurriculars, and "brag points" are good things in homeschooling and in conventional schooling, but not essential
• Loving your husband and children and fulfilling your duty toward them pleasantly is necessary, but being a modern hybrid of June Cleaver and Gina Lollabrigida is not necessary.
• Being healthy and in control of your habits (like eating) is necessary, but being Denise Austin is not necessary.

Though we tend to expect it of ourselves sometimes, we're not super human. There are some handles we do have to let go of. Wives and mothers tend to have a heckuva long train of wagons trailing behind them.

That's the thing, isn't it?

All those wagons we talk about falling off? We're not riding in them; we're pulling them! And when we lose our focus, or just give up on something, it's not that we're falling off wagons; it's that we've stopped pulling them. Sometimes we're just being lazy, and we usually know it. Sometimes we really do need to stop or slow down. And sometimes we're perfectly justified in saying, "Hey, wait a minute! Why am I pulling this one?"

All except that last wagon I mentioned. You already jumped ahead of me to that, didn't you?

We all know it. That child of God wagon. Dang, we want to be pulled in that wagon. I know I do. But there's no room for us to ride. By our prayers, our corporal and spiritual works, our practice of the virtues we can and do pull it. And darned if it's easy. But, God willing, there's no room in there for us to ride. That's where He piles the good stuff: our crosses and the graces that go with them, merit earned by prayers we've said, those gifts earned from the Sacraments and from our good works, the gifts and fruits of the Holy Ghost...

This is the wagon that holds the strength we need to pull all those other wagons. I only hurt myself by making excuses not to heave-to on my spiritual life. Everything else is so much more bearable when I know He's walking beside me.

That's the whole point.

When I'm pulling that child-of-God wagon, I'm keeping Him company. Christ walks beside me, regardless, but if we're keeping each other company, the journey is a whole different experience because I know He's there with me.

Me and my wagons.
Him and His cross.

The Blahs

Every year it's the same thing, but I'm a little slow, you know. I've only just figured out the pattern.

I'm talking about the February/March Blah Syndrome, my annual body/mind/spirit stroll through the dumps...

There's such an obvious setup for depression here, I don't know why it didn't become clear to me for so long. First of all, we've got Lent falling somewhere through these two months. The weather, at least where we live, is the PITS through most of February and then is only nice enough in March to tease us. Schooling has lost its freshness and become just something we have to get through 'til summer vacation. I'm usually depressed because I've gained weight through Christmas and lost none during Lent. (I'm sure that's part of God's imposed penance on me, but it's still downheartening!) Then, of course, it's tax season ~ not something that fills my heart with rejoicing. I know that spring and Easter are coming, but this durned waiting is killing me.

Has anyone else noticed a seasonal bad mood? There is reason to have heart. Spring really is coming. And, while we're waiting for it, there are some things we can do to lift our moods. I've been thinking of some things that cheer me up. Here's the start of my list. Can you help me add to it?

1. Do something fun!

• start a tickle war with your children, the younger the giggleboxes, the better. (There's nothing like baby giggles to cheer you up!)




• Start plotting some April Fools Pranks


• Plan a trip! Even just a daytrip will break the monotony.

2. Lighten and Freshen up your space!

• Change the winter decor in your house, to spring colors.


• Don't wait for your seeds or bulbs to come up; go buy some full-bloomed flowers and put them somewhere right in your face!


• Wash your windows to let in the light; open those windows every chance you get!
  

3. Pamper yourself!

• Have your hair cut or colored, or buy some new barettes.


• Get some Jergens Natural Glow and get a head start on a tan.
  
• Then go buy some sandals for your tanned toes.
  

8. Surprise someone you love:

• put a love note on your husband's rearview mirror,


• make orange blossom muffins for your children for breakfast,


• send your Mom , sis, or best friend a snail mail "Thinking of you" card,


• bring flowers to put on the altar at church...

(Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in New Orleans )

Stuff I Found Surfing Around

Trying to Fight off the Winter Doldrums?

Me, too! So, since my husband and oldest daughter are across the state at the old house fixing broken pipes so we can finally sell the silly thing (Say a prayer, please!), I'm here alone. Well, I'm never actually alone. But the Littles are all in bed. I've pulled up one of my son's music mixes on the computer (and you would not believe the crazy combination of stuff this kid has on here!), and am having a ball hunting down fun things to keep us active and awake during the long, cold, muddy days ahead.

Here's some of what I found:

For the whole family
As far as I can tell, pert near every state has a website that details all the fun and interesting things you can do there for free, or for very little charge. Here's the one for Colorado. You can search by category, by month, or by region. Great way to make a to-do list of field trips! I'm working on a list right now.

For a fun afternoon's diversion, look up the meanings of your first names at Behind the Name. Look here to find the origin of your family name.

Now, take your names and enter them into this anagram cipherer. You'll be amazed at how many combinations it'll come up with. Some of them are hysterical. (Simcha, over at I Have to Sit Down was having fun with this the other day.)

For the kids

The Catholic Kids website has tons of fun stuff for the children to do when they say they're bored and it's too cold to play outside and they're tired of reading and if they have to watch Blues Clues again they're going to throw a blue-faced fit... My Friend Fun and Games is chock full, too. This internet word game is also tons of funs for kids and Mom, alike.

There's an Amusement Park of Math Games to check out here. I found a Following Directions internet game here . (Am I the only Mom whose kids need practice with this?)

For some fun creating music, click here. If anyone out there is studying composers, run over to Beethoven's Baseball for a fun way to learn.

And for links to TONS of educational games of all kinds, check out the Internet Classroom. You don't need to tell the kids that this stuff is good for them.

Fun For Everyone:

Amazing Art
Have you seen these? They're a unique form of mural, each panel an individual little masterpiece. By clicking on the homepage, you can access the ability to get a close up of each "tile" or panel. It's just staggering to me how they put all of the little paintings together to make the one artistic whole!

You can order the limited edition prints, or order books from this site, as well. (I'm not being paid or in any other way coerced to plug these, btw, I just think they're really neat!)

And here's an absolute must-see: If you have never seen the beautiful, beautiful sketches by Jean Keaton of Our Lord laughing and playing with children, you have just got to run over and take a look. You'll want to order at least one, I guarantee!

Are you familiar with Julian Beever? Go check him out! The kids'll love his sidewalk art! His work is amazing!

Optical Illusions of all kinds make for a very interesting study subject, but are just very cool to enjoy for their very fact! Look here and here to see some more.

Isn't this cool? Looks like it's straight out of one of our all time favorite movies, Nemo, doesn't it? You'd think Bruce was getting ready to come visit you at the side of the pool, but he's made entirely out of mosaics! Look here to see some more.

For All Americans:

To know how to show your appreciation

to our troops, check out

The Gratitude Campaign.

You'll be glad you did!