Home from the final dress rehearsal of "The Taming of the Shrew" and watching the premiere of a movie written, directed, and acted by our homeschooled teenagers and very short on time . . .
I'd like to draw attention to two wonderful blog posts I read today.
"Helping Children Enter Into the Traditional Mass Part 1" by Peter Kwasniewski
Just the other day, I heard of someone asking, "But how do your children behave during the Latin Mass?" The implication was that children wouldn't be able to behave well or sit through Mass if it weren't designed for entertaining them (think Life Teen). Our experience is quite the opposite: our children seem to sense the reverence and calm of the traditional Mass and exhibit better behavior there than at the Novus Ordo Mass (even a very reverent one).
The above article seems well-written and voices what we've seen to be true of our family experience.
"5 Reasons I'm Ditching the Me-Time Mentality" by Bethany Baird
Nearly nine years into marriage and nearly eight years into mothering, can I just get an 'amen' after reading that article?
Note that she's not saying women (mothers, wives) should never get any respite or any time away. It's the mentality that is the problem. The mentality that "me time" is my Real Life to which I'm always trying to get back, and that service and charity to my closest neighbors (my family) are Interruptions: that mentality will make a marriage and life feel miserable.
I believe it is accurate theologically when Miss Baird writes: "Whether it’s finishing school, serving your family, watching kids or cooking meals, you can find complete satisfaction and joy in the job that God has given you."
Meh. "Whether it’s finishing school, serving your family, watching kids or cooking meals, you can find complete satisfaction and joy in the job that God has given you." Disagree. Some will just be in a "Dark Night of the Soul" in our stations in life, and proceed on, regardless. Sometimes surviving is all we can do, and can be a huge accomplishment in itself. That we persevere and remain faithful in spite of not being in our ideal station is in itself a huge act of sacrifice to God.
ReplyDeleteElaine: Well, I definitely caution that it is much easier for this unmarried, childless author to make such a bold claim than us embittered mothers in the trenches. And, if I'd had more time, I'd have voiced that I am no expert, I haven't at all achieved this satisfaction and joy while accepting my vocation. But I think and I think and I maintain that I suspect the author is theologically accurate. If one truly embraces God's will and providence in whatever He sends us, we can find joy. Otherwise, how do we explain away the martyred saints?
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