Gratitude and Gifts

Today, Sheila Walsh blogged about journaling our gratitude. I saw Sheila Walsh this summer at the Women of Faith conference, and of all the women there, she's the one I most identified with. She really touched me. Now, reading her little entry on starting a gratitude journal kind of struck me. I mean, the reason I started blogging again was because I wanted to shine light on the good things in my life. I feel like I've been really bogged down, lately, by little things (and a few big ones, I suppose) mostly, and I haven't taken the time to express how truly blessed I am. I know I'm blessed, and I thank God in prayer from time to time. But I don't ever express it to anyone else. I wonder if, perhaps, another way to glorify God would be to verbalize (or write for others to see) my appreciation for all the wonderful gifts I'm blessed with, rather than to complain so loudly about my problems?

I've got a friend (she's my age, we hung out during college) who is going through treatments for breast cancer. I happen to know that she is still single, she has no children (other than the one she gave up for adoption when she was, oh, about 19), she lost her mother when she was very young, and her father's health is not so great. I also happen to know that her cancer treatments have taken her hair as well as most of her strength--they've been very painful for her. And yet, this woman is posting on Facebook, on an almost daily basis, things she is grateful for. I, for one, am grateful for her positive attitude, her humility, and her Faith in God (which is what sparked our friendship in the first place).

I mentioned gifts in the title of today's entry. I was very impressed with the homily at this past Sunday's Mass. The priest spoke about a man (St. Jerome?) who had devoted his life to translating Biblical documents into Latin so the majority of the world could read them. (This was, obviously, many, many, many years ago.) The man finished his translation very close to or on Christmas Eve. He heard Jesus asking what he would give Jesus for His birthday--the man, pleased with himself, offered his translation of The Word. Jesus told him that's not what He wanted. After listing a bunch of other sacrifices the man was willing to make, Jesus kept saying, "No, that is not what I want for my birthday." The man finally said, "Well, what DO you want? Whatever it is, I'll gladly give it!" Jesus said, "Give me your sins." It makes sense, doesn't it? I mean, if Jesus gave His life for all of us, for all of our sins, then of course we should offer them up to Him, right? I took that to mean (and the priest elaborated on this a bit, as well) that we should not only Confess our sins and ask for forgiveness, not only should we promise to try not to repeat those sins, but we should also LET GO of those sins. The priest said we, as humans, have a hard time letting go of our sins. I think he meant that we still have lingering guilt over them, even after Absolution; but we also, in the deepest, darkest part of ourselves, know that we will likely go back and commit those same sins again.

I'm taking Lindsay to Confession tonight (I meant to go alone, but she asked if she could join me--why would I turn that down?), and I hope we can both not only make good, true Confessions, but that we can also completely let go of our sins.

Happy Birthday, Jesus! I love you!!!

Finished with Fall Semester '10

Last Saturday, Dec. 11, I was supposed to go to Omaha for my final session of my YA (Young Adult) Lit. class--a class I have LOVED all semester long. However, it was blizzard-y all day here in Lincoln, and when Jim and I woke up around 7:30 and turned on the TV, we saw it was already worse in Omaha. I waited and watched the weather and tuned in to UNO's website, but there were no cancellations of class. Finally, it was time for me to head out. I left our street, went down the next street a ways, and turned around and came home. I had 1/2 a block of visibility, and it was slick. Something I need to point out: after an incident* a few years ago, I HATE driving to and from Omaha. I don't mind (so much) if I have to get on the Interstate to drive to, say, Kearney. But there's something about the drive to and from Omaha that makes me a white-knuckled driver, even in the best conditions. I've gotten a little better since I started taking classes last spring, but it's still not great. Seeing the conditions I'd have to deal with on Saturday, I walked back into the house and burst into tears. Jim told me my degree would be of no use to me if I was dead--I agreed with him, but I still hated the idea of missing my final class.

Part of the problem there was that I was slated to be one of the last folks in class to do a book talk. Over the past few years, the middle schools have started making their students do book talks (where they stand up and present the basic idea, main characters, etc) of their book along with some visual aid, rather than always making them write out the same tired book reports we had to do when I was in school. (By the way, I LOVED doing book reports!) The class I was taking was geared towards middle school instructors, which is why we had to do book talks--I guess, so that was could understand what the assignment felt like. Anyway, if I didn't make it to class, not only would I miss points for attendance and participation (HUGE thing, especially in graduate level classes), but I'd also lose points for not doing the book talk. And the kicker: I was READY to give the book talk! I'd practiced all week!

I called and left a message for my instructor, then went ahead to Lindsay and Josie's hip-hop dance recital, which I was supposed to have missed. (Glad I didn't have to miss that after all--they were awesome!) My instructor called while I was waiting for the recital to start and told me not to worry about the attendance & participation (she didn't want anyone to risk their safety over weather, which made me feel so much better)--she said I'd done an excellent job in class all semester, and I'd more than made up for missing that day. She also said we'd talk during the week about the book talk. Of course, I cried while she was telling me this. (I'd been crying off and on for the past hour!) She felt really bad and told me not to be upset. Eventually, I came around. I was also able to go to Lindsay's "Sing & Swing Choir" concert in the mall, which I was supposed to miss as well. So it ended up being a (COLD) lucky day for me. I was so glad I'd stayed home, too, 'cuz it was treacherous out!

On Monday, my instructor e-mailed and said I could send a video of me doing the book talk. That's what I'd hoped she'd say. She said if I wanted to opt out, I could, and I'd end up with an A- in the class, and she wouldn't think any less of me for that. I did consider it. But what if there's some time down the road when my GPA needs a few extra points to boost it a bit higher? I recorded my book talk, got it to a DVD and mailed it off. (No easy feat: I did it all by myself, and it took me all day Monday and a good part of Tuesday--guess I'm not as tech-savvy as I thought I was!)

Today, the instructor e-mails and says I'd forgotten to mention the author (I know--I saw that and noticed, but after all the work I went through, didn't want to redo it) and I went over on time (it was supposed to be 3-5 minutes long and mine was over 9 minutes long--YIKES!), but I still ended up with 28 out of 30 points, bringing my overall grade up to an A. Yay!!! I'm so pumped! I totally ACED my other class this semester (Leadership & Management), so I'm really excited with my grades so far. This is going great! Hope I continue doing so well!!!


*The incident I mentioned: one year, when we had gone to California to see Jim's brother and his family, we flew out and then flew back. Trust me, I hate the mountains so much, flying is the best way to go, for me. Well, we got back late at night, and although it was summer, the weather was crappy. It was raining hard and terribly windy. There was construction on the Interstate between Omaha and Lincoln. (Not as much as there is now--it's horrible now--but enough to make it challenging in parts.) Jim was driving, thank God, because his reflexes were fantastic. The wind blew this road sign (one of those diamond-shaped caution signs) right across the road at us! We swerved out of the way, and the wind blew it back our way! We swerved again, and at this point, it blew right into us! It hit the passenger side of the car, where I was sitting. It took the mirror clean off the car, but that was about the only damage we had. There may have been some minor scrapes along the side but it wasn't bad. However, I was completely freaked out. We joked, later, that it was like we were dancing with the road sign. Before that, I never minded the drive too much. Now, though, after that incident, especially because about 2/3 to 3/4 of the drive to and from Omaha is ongoing construction, I HATE that drive!

Christmas is a week and a half away...

...and I think I'm nearly ready. I should really get something for the girls' piano teacher, and I haven't even STARTED wrapping presents yet... but I think we're close to being ready. The biggest dilemma, to my mind, has been what to do with the presents. Typically, I'll wrap a few at a time and place them under the tree immediately. Of course, Santa leaves his presents--unwrapped--under the tree while we sleep on Christmas Eve. The thing that makes this year different is the fact that we have Bubba, our new Bichon Frise puppy. He's definitely a well-behaved puppy, and compared to our old dog (Phoebe), he's not as destructive even when he does get into stuff. But still, I hate wrapping presents twice. I enjoy it the first time around, but the second time I have to wrap a present, there's quite a bit of grumbling. (Good natured, I'm sure, ha! ha!) Jim and Lindsay think Bubba will behave and leave the presents alone. I guess the best way to find out is to just put a few out at a time and see what happens. Wish me luck!