Gloria in Excelsis Deo: Self-Isolation Day #28

Good Friday, Self-Isolation Day #28

Please continue to pray for my husband's mother D. on a ventilator in ICU with confirmed COVID-19. We very much appreciate it, even though we are choosing not to give detailed, blow-by-blow health updates in this public forum.

Holy Week traditionally includes family housecleaning to prepare for Easter and I find it works well to do it on the morning of Good Friday itself. It's certainly penitential--particularly for some children, if not others of our gaggle!

Trying to be festive, I drew up chore lists on springy pastel papers. Everyone is getting some candy at Easter, but the more chores a kid does on Good Friday, the more candy he gets on Easter Sunday! And Mama is keeping track! It was really amazing how much cleaning we got done in only the two hours we had allotted for the work. The home looks lovely.

Our extra penance for Good Friday was POISON IVY RASH. Poor Joseph broke out in it all over his face, creeping next to one eye, on his neck, his chest, and his back. I'm feeling weird tingles all over my arms and the doctor says Margaret and I still might break out in it. We had a virtual doctor visit and got Joseph all loaded up with prescription and OTC medications. Now I begin laundering everything I can from the last 48 hours with special Poison Ivy soap. And it still awaits us to eradicate the rest of the poison ivy that I did not tear out with my bare hands! I've ordered special poison from Amazon and we will wear gloves this time.

After lunch, we went to a social distancing outdoors Stations of the Cross. The littlest tots fell asleep in the van, so I sat in the van with them and prayed my stations simultaneously with the rest of the family walking station to station.

A treat almost too special for this somber day was that Thomas (4) finally received a letter of his own! His siblings have been writing letters madly back and forth with their pals, even sending each other stickers, drawings, and crafts, and Thomas always wonders, "Where is a letter for me?!" Today his bestest little pal J. wrote him a letter--with big brother's help, of course!