Christmas 2021

 Joy to the World the Lord is Come!

Advent's season of preparation, was a solid reminder of getting our lives and souls in shape for Jesus's coming. Father Bill's weekly homilies restated his call for more personal prayer during Advent. By the lighting of the third week's candle I took it seriously. I deleted my Twitter account, which as of the past few months, I had been regularly sucked into for news updates and wasted hours on stress increasing posts, and I downloaded the Hallow App and scheduled some prayer reminders. 

With a more peaceful mindset, we got to the physical preparation for Christmas. We picked out a tree and got it decorated. Again this year Emma and Rachael's ornaments didn't go on and it felt a little empty. Rachael was able to come over and join us for a big cookie baking session. We made dozens and dozens of cookies, we listened to music, and chatted, and had a wonderful time. It looked and smelled like Christmas. We wrapped presents to send to Colorado and put them in the mail. Happily it didn't take long at the post office but boy had shipping prices gone up. Jim and I took an evening and did some shopping together. It was nice to have him around in the evening and weekends to do all of the holiday activities. Johanna got to be a reader at her 3rd grade Advent prayer service. We were doing all of these Christmas activities with our masks on and a rising worry about the pandemic.

Maryland's Department of Health was hacked and the COVID tracking info was off line from Dec 4 until Dec 20 when limited data became available. I felt like we were flying blind. The hospitalization numbers were still being updated daily and they were creeping up a little every day. A new variant, Omicron, was in the news and looming. Great Aunt Liz reached out about our Christmas Eve party the first week of December, asking if we could take extra steps to keep it safe. Aunt Liz has breast cancer and a heart condition and I was happy to do what I could to reduce risks. I reached out to my siblings, suggested getting Rapid at-home tests to take before coming over, and getting boosters or vaccines. I was really disappointed when I got push back from some of them. By the week of Christmas, the rapid tests were hard to find. By the 23rd hospitalizations were going up sharply. Aunt Liz, Theo, Kelly, Alfredo, and Lucia all decided not to come over. Then Henry canceled because he wasn't feeling well.

We got ready to host the smaller but still large crowd. Christmas Eve we woke up and took our rapid covid tests, we were all negative.

Families began to arrive. Joe wasn't feeling well so he didn't come over, but Aunt Magaly and their 6 kids came over to drop off gifts and to do the cousin family picture. We decided since the weather was mild that we would do the picture outside. We sent Los Jauquets home with food for the family after the picture. We had the house windows open, 2 air purifiers running, and we set up the front porch with plastic sheeting, a heater, and Christmas lights and blankets, so that everyone could spread out as we ate and visited.

The younger cousins did their gift exchange, the smaller numbers made everything go much faster. The older cousins did their exchange downstairs in the basement as was the tradition. And the adults had our white elephant exchange in the living room. My dad stole a giant tin sign of Wisconsin that Jim had added to the mix. We were glad to be together, but trying to be careful and many of us wore our masks when not eating. We were happy to trade some comfort for the gift of being together.

We did a quick clean up and then went to Mass at OLV. We were in the gym where Johanna was singing in the children's choir. They did a beautiful medley of "What Child is this?" with the Junior choir. Afterward we came home and then the girls headed off to feed their cats at their apartments. Emma drove the whole crew first to her apartment to feed Bean and then to Rachael's townhouse to feed Leia. Jim and I got some wrapping done while they were gone. We ate and then opened the gifts from Colorado before a reasonable bedtime. It was so nice to have them all under the same roof for Christmas. 

Christmas morning I was the first one up, and got the lights on and the coffee started before Johanna began her painstaking process of waking up each of her sisters. I got back to bed in time to wake Jim well before the girls came into our room. Each year we do the Christmas alphabet game, and before we started Rachael requested we speed run the game, saying we had prepared our whole lives for this. We all laughed, agreed and got to it. We all sang O Little Town of Bethlehem and then headed into the living room for gifts. We shared gifts and then shared breakfast. News of Covid began to trickle in. First it was Ed's dad, testing positive in the ER after the 10PM Christmas Eve Mass. The Kurek's would now be skipping Christmas Dinner at my Dad's.

We had a great easy day of family games and a video call with Jim's Mom, Dad, and brother. Then we headed over to my Dad's for dinner where it would just be us and Becky and Erik's family. As we enjoyed dinner and the cousins played a card game of spoons, we found out Lilian was positive from her test on the 23rd. Emma and Rachael went back to their own places that night and we went to bed with Covid creeping in.

On the day after Christmas, Erik tested positive and Ed was ill. Gradually over the next few days seven family members tested positive and a bunch more had symptoms and were told to presume they were positive too. Jim had cold symptoms and did most of his work over the phone. I had a raging headache and Emma felt yucky. Emma and I went to a testing center on the 27th and our PCR tests came back negative. But maybe... Rapid tests are not available for purchase anywhere and PCR tests have really long wait lines. The state has opened a number of mass testing centers again. We are all hoping that the Omicron variant will be less dangerous but it is spreading like wildfire and Delta is still around. the saddest part is that hospitalizations are overstressing our health care system.

The Christmas season continues and sadly so does this pandemic.

Bridget turns 15

 What a wonderful world! It is a better place to be when Bridget is there to share it.

I am so blessed to be Bridget's mother and we were eager to celebrate Bridget's birthday. I let her lead and it turned into a beautiful celebration. Bridget's birthday was on a Wednesday and she had the week off of school so we knew her Mt de Sales classmates were off but that her public school friends still had school. We were a little leery of rising Covid cases but decided with masks and vaccines we could still move ahead. the plan was for Bridget to go thrifting on Wednesday with friends. I would drive them to the big thrift store and drop them off to thrift for a few hours. A few girls backed out that morning because of ice, but there was a good group. They had so much fun, shopping, laughing, trying things on, and each finding some items that they liked. Bridget found a good sweater, pewter pitcher and heeled black boots. After I picked them up they walked to Cafe d' Roma for lunch. Bridget was all smiles as she retired to her room with her haul.

That evening Jim went and picked up Olive Garden for dinner at Bridget's request, and we plated the meal and had a great family dinner. Emma and Rachael both joined us for the festivities. Bridget opened her gifts of clothes and bedding, and then we headed off to Baskin Robbins for birthday ice cream.

When we got back we decided to watch a movie and Bridget chose Parent Trap. It was a fun family night and it was a delight to reveal in the gift that Bridget is to our lives.

The day after her birthday I dropped her off to hang out with 2 of her public school friends. Again she came home happy and smiling. It was so reassuring to see her enjoy her life. She has had a hard year and her stress levels have increased a lot with the school year. She is not enjoying Mt de Sales and we are talking about whether or not it is a good fit for her. We aren't sure what direction this next year will go but we know that God has plans for her good, and I am covering her in prayer.

 Jeremiah 29:11 "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope"  NRSV

Bridget has always brought light to my heart and my world and there is light in her future.

Happy 15th Birthday Bridget!

Thanksgiving 2021

 Thanksgiving was a boost of normality. Covid-19 cases numbers had been dropping most of the summer with only minor rises. Vaccination rates continued to rise and booster shots became available. My Dad sought out and received his shot the first day it was available. We are all hoping to put this pandemic behind us. There is a Delta variant that is causing problems and spreading, but is mostly impacting areas with higher populations of unvaccinated people. We are hoping it stays at bay.

  Will and Heather were a little uncertain about hosting because of Will's Wells Fargo trial and Covid, but decided in the end to host. None of the extended family would be coming or Heather's family, but my Dad and siblings would all be coming. All of us shared what dishes we would be bringing, we went with our traditional tried and true favorites. Will made the birds and the stuffing.

Luckily the weather wasn't terribly cold, so many people were able to hang out outside by the firepit. Getting together was familiar and lovely, and cherished.

Our Thanksgiving meal started with my Dad offering grace and an invitation to share what we are thankful for. then we went in to find a seat at the tables.

We were able to do one large seating with 3 long tables cobbled together with folding tables. Heather pulled out 3 sets of china, one Aunt Mickey's, one Uncle William and Aunt Agnes', and one will and heather's. It was beautiful and I made a point to make sure the younger generation heard their names and bits of their stories.

Thanksgiving was beautiful and we are so thankful to be together again.

Johanna turns 9

 Nov 02, 2021

Johanna, my Cute Face, is in a good grove and is turning 9 with all of the energy she has been exuding since her birth. Johanna loves books, devours them and goes to find another one. Johanna and I are currently finishing the 3rd Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" together. She could read it on her own but reading together is a wonderful activity that we can share. When she reads on her own she tends toward funny lighter books. She loves the Dragon Masters Series and many of the children's mystery series.

Johanna has a habit of asking if she can ask a question or saying she wants to say something before saying something. She does this no matter if she has your active attention or you've been talking with her for 10 minutes already. It is one of those habits that just kind of snuck in and it seems to have stuck.

She is gradually gaining independence and is growing up. As a big kid she is bathing and dressing with less help. She is capable of doing most of the steps but needs prodding to stay on task most days. We discovered that fewer clothing options and a few regular known clothing pieces make the chore more manageable. We are transitioning out of the summer clothes to winter and that takes a little more effort as we establish the new acceptable clothing items. Having a school uniform is a blessing, especially since she likes the socks.

I am so pleased with how well her school year is going. Johanna is making friends and doing well in class. Sr. Teresa appreciates her strengths and personality and that is invaluable. Johanna has to work at spelling and longer writing assignments but the rest of the subjects come pretty easily. She comes home with good stories and not just complaints. 

Johanna likes to play cards and is pretty successful at getting Bridge, Meg, Jim or I to join her in a game of Cameo, or Kings on the Corner. We just got her a game called Tacocat that has become a new favorite.

Johanna is on a soccer team with her schoolmates and it has been wonderful to hear girls call out her name in greeting and hear her call out in return. Recently they had Johanna play goalie and it has been fun to see her hustle and smother those shots. Jo has a good defensive sense and when not in goal she plays her position well. They haven't won a game all season but it is still fun to cheer them on.

Johanna loves Legos and building things. She likes to know how things work. She and my Dad have started a fun trading of riddles and jokes, when he comes for Thursday dinner. He gets his from the newspaper and we got her a joke book so she has lots of material to share.

For her birthday this year, school was having a rescheduled Halloween Party, so that was a special day. Then for dinner Rachael and Emma came over to join us as we went out to dinner together, to Sakura the Japanese hibachi restaurant. Johanna has memories of doing this on the cruise ship when she was 3, and we picked this restaurant 2 years ago for our joint birthday. We had a great time celebrating her and watching her excitement at the heat and flame. We came home for gifts and tucking this sweet girl into bed.

I love her so much.

Halloween 2021

2021 brought a bunch of almost normal events, Halloween included.

Most of our girls are leaving or have left the Trick or Treat stage but Johanna is prime candy gathering age.  Because of the split we were a little unsure how we were going to approach the holiday. We knew we wanted to have our friends over: The Brinks, Arciagas, Shumakers and Arnolds. These families have become intertwined in our lives and I am so grateful. And at the same time Halloween really is focused around our kids and they were heading in multiple directions. Bridget wanted to hang out with friends from middle school, Megan had a few parties to attend, and Johanna didn't quite have a direction but wanted to be social. She's the youngest child out of all of our friends kids, so there isn't a built in playmate when we get together. In the end it all worked out.

We carved pumpkins on Saturday and I got the seeds roasted. Megan had a Halloween/birthday party that night so she did a quick change into Megara from the Hercules movie, as we finished out carving.

Halloween Day, Johanna had a soccer game right after church and she was put into goal, where she did a great job. I was glad Jim and the sister were able to see the end of the game and cheer her on. 

Bridget began sewing a gown weeks earlier, inspired by the Barbie Princess and the Pauper movie, and then decided to sew one for Sarah as well so they could go together. Becky purchased hoop skirts and they were all set.  Bridget decided to invite a few people over to our house where they met before going trick or treating, then hung out in our basement.  

Johanna was dressing up as a Hogwarts student this year.  Megan volunteered to take Johanna around trick or treating and Jo was thrilled. Megan grabbed one of the robes and joined her in costume. Megan asked to have a few people in the backyard for a fire pit after taking Johanna around. The adults would be in the driveway for a firepit and handing out candy. The weather was great, a little chilly but not bad. Johanna finished up trick or treating sooner than we expected but was happy with her haul and had enjoyed herself. She would hang out a little with each group and watched a movie before heading to bed. Johanna also participated in the Trunk or Treat at St. Mark's the weekend before and got to see school friends there. We were stocked with candy. 

Each year as they grow up holidays shift a little bit more to something new. Each year I savor the traditions but enjoy the new moments that our current situation provide.  

Bridget's Confirmation

 Bridget received the Sacrament of Confirmation on October 8, 2021

After the pandemic derailed the normal Confirmation programs in parishes and the Religious ed programs in whole there was a bit of confusion over where Bridget would prepare for her Confirmation. Bridget had decided to finish her Religious Education through 8th grade at St. Mark's since this had been the program she had attended all the way through elementary school, but the pandemic ended that prematurely.  When OLV, our parish, opened registration for Confirmation, we signed Bridget up. Sarah was also in the program and that made it even more enjoyable for Bridget. The Confirmandi were able to meet and do service on site, and the small group of high schoolers shared their faith and instruction.

Bridget asked Aunt Heather, her Godmother, to be her sponsor. They didn't have a lot of sponsor activities but they were able to have a retreat downtown with their sponsors and opportunities for prayer and reflection. Bridget chose St. Kateria as her Confirmation name, in honor of the first Native America Saint. 

Bridget then needed an outfit and we were so surprised to find clothing that matched exactly what she was thinking on our first outing. In fact the dress we bought was the first she tried on. It was a blessing to get to go out with her to shop. 

On Confirmation Day we were a little freaked out when Bridget was not feeling well, but after a visit to the pediatrician an hour before needing to leave for church we were feeling like it was only a cold. She took a covid test too, which came back negative a few days later. 

Bridget and her Godparents, Uncle Erik and Aunt Heather

Bishop Madden would be celebrating the Confirmation and we found out that it was his last scheduled Confirmation. He officially retired back in 2015 but had continued as urban vicar for the Archdiocese. He had confirmed Emma, Rachael, and Megan as well and he has a joyous personable approach that makes for a personal Sacramental experience. He delivered his familiar formatted Confirmation homily and he read a portion of Bridget's letter in which she explained her service projects and the meaning of being a Catholic being tied to loving one another.

I love that it was a small group. It made the laying on of hands and anointing very personal, and as a participant in the celebration it was easier to stay prayerful and connected. The music also helped set the reverent atmosphere

After Mass was over we gathered for pictures. Bishop Madden is always great about being available for pictures but somehow my Dad disappeared and had taken off his alb before we could get him in his vestments.

Afterward there was a nice reception in the hall. By then I was struggling with talking and smiling, because I had gum surgery a few days earlier but I was happy to celebrate with the family. I pray that the Holy Spirit pours abundantly out upon Bridget and Sarah and that they respond generously.

Emma at 23

My firstborn has been out of the house for years now and still I feel her presence. The sight of a cup of milk causes her little voice to echo in my ears saying "my milk cup".  Items in a row bring me back to her duplo blocks lined up on the toy box asking Jim to make a train noise. The turquoise blanket throws me into her middle school years, and jeans in the hand me down bin hurl me into her high school years. I love the unprompted moments to experience her, despite not being in her regular presence. They are all good memories, even the memories of hard moments, because they are memories with her in them and thinking of Emma brings me joy. I am so glad we are still making memories together.

Emma is now 23. She lives in Baltimore City with two roommates and is working in the Maryland State Parks as a Ranger. It is fun to see her grow in her job and see her pride as she adds skills like tree felling, arc welding, and bobcat driving. In the fall she got to use her art education to run a series of hike and paint programs. This was a a program I really wanted to attend. She didn't want me to join the first one but I did attend one a few weeks in.

Painting En Plein Air was so fun and sparked some dormant art muscles that I hadn't stretched in a long time. I do artistic things regularly but it had been years since I had painted a real picture. It was a thrill to see how much my kids have helped me develop and become who I am. In each phase of being a mother, my girls have prompted me to expand and grow and enjoy and thrive. Giving and loving makes us become more fully who God designed. It is a treat to see how my daughters cooperate with this divine plan for me personally and an even bigger delight to see them step toward God's beautiful design.

I love to see and talk to Emma when we get the chance but I do wish it were more. I also wish she used the names of the people in her life when she tells stories. She shares things but always with a generic "co-worker" or "roommate" or "friend". It makes it hard to feel engaged in her life.  But I also see and hear Emma reflect fondly on her childhood and our relationship. She said that the song "The Best Day" by Taylor Swift always makes her cry and there is something in that reality that I hold onto. We are moving forward together and it is different but each day with you is still the best.

I had the best day with you today.