Fortitude

A couple weeks ago I found this link over at Esther's place, A Catholic Mom in Hawaii. The girls and I are studying Courage in The Book of Virtues right now and this is an excellent example of a gift, similar to courage, but better, I think. It's a special kind of fortitude.

I like this explanation of fortitude from Catholic Definitions:

The gift of fortitude brings to those who have it a dauntless spirit of resolution, firmness of mind, and indomitable will to persevere with a quiet faith in God’s providence that overcomes all obstacles. It also brings courage to persist in the practice of virtue despite trials, illness, persecution or external failure. A Catholic who becomes fervent in God’s service will soon be condemned by the world, but the gift of fortitude will sustain him as he walks toward the Cross.

In the case of this elderly woman thwarting a burglar, quiet faith and kind but true words won the day. What an inspiring example. I like to imagine I might try to do the same thing in the same kind of situation. Would I, though? I don't know. I have a hard enough time when I'm faced with beliefs that are an assault to my own in the comparatively gentle forum of the blogosphere.

How hard it is to walk the Catholic walk in this world, and not duck my head and change direction when a touchy subject comes up! It's so hard just living day to day in this world, keeping body, mind and spirit above water. Do I want to add the burden of debates to my low-riding dingy? Do I have that kind of fortitude?

Do I need that kind of fortitude? How does it apply in my daily life as wife, mother ~ and blogger?

My friend, Laura, asked the question the other day, too: WWJD? What Would Jesus Do ~ in any of the circumstances that touch my life? It's a good question. It's THE question. But, it's occured to me, that, in my circumstance, it may be more appropriate sometimes to ask WWMD?

Jesus preached, taught, debated ~ and led a life of perfect example. He came into the world to do this, along with a couple of other very important tasks He took on for us. It was the most important mission of all, His duty of love, and His calling.

But, What Would Mary Do?

Our Lord's example was perfect. But, seriously, I'm not called to be a preacher, a debator, a world leader of any kind. I'm a mother.

What Would Mary Do?

She speaks little in the Bible, the Mother of God, only four times, and when she does, it is in humble acceptance (to the Angel Gabriel and to St. Elizabeth, in the Magnificat )or in motherly concern (when finding the Child Jesus in the temple, and at the wedding at Cana). She is never recorded as having taken part in debate.

In her apparitions over the centuries, she warns of dangers, exhorts to prayer, recommends sacrifice. She is gentle, yet firm, practical and loving. Her earthly role of support and motherly encouragement of the early Church has infinitely expanded to include her role as Mediatrix of All Graces and Queen of the Universe. But the Blessed Mother's humility and servitude under God is the same. Her chief tool, her chief weapon, is prayer. She crushes the head of the serpent with it.

I strongly believe many capable women are called to enter the debate forum, and are amazing in their intelligence, their zeal, and their fortitude in tackling the hard questions.

I think my particular challenge in fortitude, however, consists in taking up my daily yoke and trying to live as faithfully as I can. I have some work to do to "perservere with a quiet faith in God's providence." But, I do have the Blessed Mother's tool to use.

I can pray. And I can ask her to pray with me and for me.

I pray that if the situation arises where I'm called to speak up, or act in defense of my faith, that I'm able to speak with the gifts of the Holy Ghost on the tip of my tongue.

But I just gotta tell ya, I hope that never includes having to talk someone out of trying to rob me.

Teaparty Break

The girls take a break from packing to host a teaparty for our neighbor friend. (What are they going to do without their best playmate right next door??) See what great tables and chairs boxes make?

L-R: Anna, Theresa, our friend, Lindsey, Cathy and Michelle

This Would Have Worked For Me If I'd Had Sense To Do It A Long Time Ago...

OK, just had to pass this one along!

We're in the midst of packing up a four bedroom home, which shelters between 8 and 12 people and all their junk at any given time. While we've been unloading drawers and closets, we've run into a very disconcerting and annoying problem: hundreds of anonymous cords, adaptors and remotes.

Between my husband and me and our four teenage boys and all our electronic equipment, laptops, stereos, and cell phones, we must have collected 100 different kinds of wire-type thingamabobs and remote controls. And I haven't a clue which ones work and can be used, and which ones are broken or obsolete. Aghgh! So, I'm dumping them all in one box and hoping my sons can make sense of it all when we see them next week.

So what's the tip? Here it is: Somehow mark every adaptor and other cord that comes into your house with the name of the equipment to which it belongs! I'm taking a strip of electrical tape and marking with a sharpie all the ones I know for the time being. There is likely a more graceful way to do it, and I welcome ideas!!

Run over to Rocks In My Dryer for lots of great tips!

Moving...

OK, so now we're really going... We're packing this week, and I'll be scarce on the computer because of that, um, "distraction." And then, a week from Monday we're loading the trucks and heading east, over the Rocky Mountains, back to the farm on the high prairie.

=sigh=

I've been saying goodbye to my beautiful valley for about two months now. We had the option of moving in September, but my husband, because he's a kind and thoughtful man and he knows his wife's heart, postponed the move for me to see the fall color in my valley.

Isn't he wonderful?

And we did get to see the aspen change in the mountains and hills that surround us here. We got to go through the corn maze up on the mesa behind us, and taste the fruit of the orchards around our town. We've had the pleasure of watching the yearly procession of deer that meander down from the hills in herds to fatten on the leavings of the farmers' fields before the winter cold draws them back in to the high country. They come early every morning and at dusk to check for fruit under our fruit trees, and follow the river south to the harvested fields of hay and alfalfa just beyond the town. Though we see them often, the deer are never commonplace to us.

While on a rosary drive last week, just as we rounded a slow corner up top of the mesa behind our house, a grand, three-point buck stepped out of some trees, walked majestically into the road right in front of us and stopped. He looked at us, as we slowed almost to a stop. Then, out of the woods, leapt one beautiful doe. She cantered across the road and into the field opposite, and was followed by her "husband," her crossing guard. We were awestruck. My goodness, God has made a beautiful world, and filled it with such wonder and grace!

(Not the actual deer, though a reasonable facsimile...)

Though we'll be glad to be closer to our family and old friends, we're sad to have to leave this place. After two and a half years, we're only just now getting familiar with all the geographical placenames: Grand Mesa, Garnet Mesa, Sunset Mesa, Peagreen Corner, Shavano Valley, Tabeguache Trail, Log Hill... And we've only just begun to explore the vast forested wilderness of the Uncompahgre Plateau.

We're absolute suckers for a beautiful view, and there are plenty here, in every direction

But it's not just the natural beauty, we've fallen in love with. It's also the slower, country pace. Though it's growing to be rather a big town, with a population of over 16,000, Montrose still has a small town heart. One day I watched rush hour traffic come to a dead stop on the main road through town, the highway that connects the rest of the world with Telluride, in fact. A little old man had inadvertently stranded himself on the center median, as he was very slowly crossing from the grocery store. He was not even at an intersection, but traffic stopped for him. Not a horn was honked. In fact, many people smiled and waved at him as they proceeded past him after he'd crossed.

You understand, I grew up in the suburbs of large cities where this would never have happened. It brought tears to my eyes. I half expected Norman Rockwell to appear with his pipe on the steps of the courthouse across the way.

Everything here in this tucked away little corner of the Rocky Mountains feels like a shadow of another time rests upon it. It's a modern town in many ways, with a super Walmart and even a good handful of popular restaurants, but more than half the local businesses are closed on Sunday. The only two drive-in theaters in Colorado survive here in this one valley. And cars full of little kids in pajamas fill them up on warm summer evenings. The carefully preserved Egyptian Theater in the next town over still employs ushers who walk the aisles during movies with little flashlights, and fuss at you if you have your feet on the seats or are talking too loudly.

Strangers ask you how you are and are interested inyour answer. And they don't stay strangers long. Friends congregate in the aisles in the grocery stores coffeeklatsching and the check-out clerks make a point to know you. It's unusual for the driver of a car passing on the side roads not to wave at you as they pass. Neighbors look out for all the neighborhood children and expect you to look out for theirs. Life revolves around the football games at the local high schools. And everyone, Catholic and nonCatholic, knows and loves the sisters that teach in our little Catholic school.

Our teaching sisters. We'll miss them so much! And our sweet little chapel with the cherubs all over the altar. And the school children at weekday Mass in their neat blue-plaid uniforms and navy blue berets. And the friends we've made here.

So I'm saying goodbye to my valley. Goodbye, at least for now. I've taken its chin in my hands and looked it in the eyes with you, somewhat sentimentally here. I hope you understand that love has smoothed over the faults and is fondly forgetful of any troubles we may have had. And it's not like there aren't many beautiful places in the world, and many we've been to and enjoyed thoroughly. But this is a place that's touched my heart; I'll always think of it as "my valley."

We'll be back, if nothing else, just to vacation and see our friends. We hope to retire here someday, if God wills it. But right now, He's got His hand on our backs and is moving us back over the mountains to the farm. There must be something important there that He wants us to do, or that He wants to do for us. You just never know.

And if He wants it, it's good. That's the only thing we can rely on in this life.

So, we'll be up to our elbows in packing boxes this week and physically moving next week, then settling in the week after that.

Ugh.

I may be scarce here on the blog for a while. But, I'll take pictures and pop in when I can. I'll have to see what everybody else is up to, if nothing else!

Blessings to All!

And, please, pray it doesn't snow next week!

Greetings from the farm!

Yikes, this is a challenge! I am perched, rather uncomfortably, on the edge of an air mattress trying to type this out on my wh's laptop on top of an upturned storage bin. And this laptop's keyboard is really squished close together, and I'm having a dickens of a time hitting the right keys. AGH! But, I wanted to check in and make sure everyone knows we haven't dropped off the face of the earth.

We made it out to the Pumpkin Fest, and it really was a blast! I'll post pictures as soon as I get a chance.

Since we were down in the Denver area, we camped out at the old farm, where we'll be relocating during Thanksgiving week. While we were camping out, it occured to us that it'd be a really smart idea to do any painting we wanted to do before all the furniture is here... And, then, while we were painting, it occured to us that we should really take out that wall we wanted removed before we paint that room, and before the furniture is all in... And if we're going to take out that wall, we should really check into replacing the old furnace that's right there...

Are you getting a picture of well-intentioned chaos?

We may not end up getting to anything other than the painting, but, boy is it easy to spend time and money you don't have!

So, anyway, instead of getting home to the Western Slope (and my comfy bed and familiar keyboard, and camera downloading stuff...) early in the week... Well, there's just no telling when we'll get there. This series of projects may take us a while. At least until I run out of either paint or patience!

But we're really going to be glad we did it. Really, we are.

In the meantime, it's rather like a campout. Almost no furniture. Only a couple pots and pans and basic groceries. Very few toys. Just the old forty acres and all the old haunts. The derelict treehouse and playhouse, the barn and outbuildings. Weeds up to your armpits. Giant grasshoppers.

The kids are having a grand time!

Mommy's just trying to grin and bear it. Maybe work off some purgatory time...
**Anyone have any tips on painting trim? Are there any faster ways than bluetaping everything and then still having to touch it all up when you're done???

Saying Goodbye...

...to all the little corners of our little world and our special house here in this beautiful valley.

It's looking like a move back to our old stomping grounds on the eastern prairies is iminent. I'm not sure at this point if it will be in the next two weeks, or not until Thanksgiving (when wh has a week off and the boys will all be home from school), but we're starting the packing tomorrow.

For those who don't know, our family has been separated for some time now. We're just scattered to the four winds! Not only are our four oldest boys in different cities, but my husband has had to work 5 1/2 hours away from where we live. For the last two years, he's been working in the city four to five days of the week and driving home for a couple of days on the weekends. It hasn't been fun. We've tried desperately these two years to find him a job here in this western slope valley, near the church and school we love, but it just doesn't seem to be God's Will. I'm sad about it.

But there is good news: My wh recently landed his dream job...

Unfortunately, though, it's back there, over the mountains, 5 1/2 hours from here. Dang. That's not what we'd planned, but what are ya gonna to do? God's Will will have its way.

So. Though we don't regret for a moment the two years, two months, and twelve days we got to spend here, and believe strongly that it was God's Will that we were here, we also know that it's time to go. We need to be near Daddy. We need to revive the evening ritual of his homecoming every day. I need to have the daily comfort of my husband's presence. We need someone living on-premises who doesn't mind killing spiders and who knows how to light the furnace...

And, though we know we are going forward to many good things (and, strangely, backward, as well, since we're returning to the farm we left behind two years ago), there is so much we'll miss here.

I can't locate any pictures right at the moment of the church and school or the sisters, or they'd be at the top of the list. But here are a few pictures of some of the more material things I know I'll miss:


The comfy reading nooks and the general warm, cozy feel of this house.









I loved the sunny little alcove by the master bathroom where I could keep all my makeup and jewelry and a few collectibles.