How Much Does a Stamp Cost, Anyway?

We good Catholic homeskillets here like to write letters. I mean actual, physical pen-and-stationery letters. Facebook updates? Nice to keep tabs on friends over the summer. E-mail? Eh, it's okay, but it's still only words on a screen. You can't touch them. Phone calls? It's great to hear somebody's voice, but once the phone call ends, that's it -- there's no lasting record, nothing to hang on to and remember the call by.

And there are letters. Something that you can hold in your hand. Letters not only express the writer's unique personality and traits, laid out on the paper for you to see and hold on to, they represent valuable time taken from the writer's hectic life and spent on you, the recipient. The writer chose the paper, filled it with their soul, and gave it to you. How cosmic is that? And, if you're anything like the ladies of this blog, the margins are crammed with doodles, coffee stains, and random outbursts of life. At no extra charge.

I have a thing for blank paper of any kind. I've been known to spend hours in the stationery aisle, selecting the perfect ream of paper, elegant or whimsical; some stationery I even pick out with a specific friend in mind, one who would get a particular inside joke, or get a kick out of a cheesy pattern. But blank paper isn't enough -- you have to fill the blank pages with thoughts, jokes, anecdotes, and memories.

I've always adored the thought of letters, permanent keepsakes and milestones of a relationship, collected and tied with ribbon to be enjoyed years later. You can't do that with texts and e-mails. They just don't carry the same level of meaning. There's something so very impersonal about them. Don't get me wrong. I use and enjoy the convenience of e-mail and Facebook just as much as other people. But there's always a zing of excitement and adventure when ripping open an envelope that has traveled half-way across the continent to reach you. What tales will those ink-covered pages unfold?

Hat tip to Karen Edmisten for inspiring this post.

Picnic Poetry

Penned by the Good Catholic Homeskillets (alias: GCH)

There's something to be said

for sunsets in the park

for pumpkin streusal muffins

for dancing hand-in-hand

for paroxysms of cute

for whipped cream and Oreos

for mocking the avant-garde

for picnicking in the park

for watching pigeons fly

for laughing with best friends

for people-watching in random places

for wearing pretty skirts

for nuns who wear pink habits! (Holler. Love them.)

for the Basilica on the horizon

for skirts on a sunny day

for talking random nothingness

for ripples

for Italian soda

for people who sing/talk to themselves

for ducks on the water

for plump squirrels

for babies with big hair

....feeling the breeze on your legs.

There's something to be said

for duck diapers

for the limitless sky

for cat-tails

for being a woman

...and for peanut butter

for living life

for calling people/anmials/inanimate objects: "sweetie"

for wee voices

for long hair blowing in the breeze

for knowing how to count

for bronze that looks like wood

for little brothers

for kung-fu fighting

for secrets, mysteries, and illuminating the truth

for cottonwoods rusling the in the wind

for dreaming

for learning from mistakes.

There's something to be said

for trees over londs*

for sculptures which you are not allowed to climb on (but you do anyway *mischievous smirk*)

for coaxing wild animals

for summer adventures with dangerous women.

Happiness is in the small things- in living life moment-by-moment, and by finding delight in each little blessing that comes your way. Because those small things are really big things. Each moment, we're given a choice; a very simple choice: to choose God or to choose ourself. But that's a huge choice. That's the original choice that our first parents were given. And they botched it.

The more we choose God- the more we hand ourselves over to Him- we grow ever closer to being the person He intended us to be. But the oftener we choose ourselves, the smaller our spirits will shrink. The questions of a small spirit are: "What's in it for me?" & "What can I get out of it?" Those questions cut us off from all the joy God has to offer us. Because if you approach a sunset with the question: "What's in this sunset for me?" you'll miss the whole point of that sunset. You don't get anything from a waterfall, sunlight piercing through the clouds, listening to birdsong, or climbing trees-you climb trees for the sake of climbing trees. Because the tree is there-and it's beautiful- and, praise the Lord, you have limbs, which means you can climb that tree, so why not?

There's something to be said for living life as a seeker of Beauty and Joy, for choosing God in each moment instead of self (easier said than done, right?). And, by choosing God, opening yourself up to the beauty He's poured into each moment.

(Disclaimer: All these thoughts are the product of recent conversations with wonderful and intelligent friends. Major kudos go to them.)

*Lond (lah' nd): Eng., noun: a mix between a pond and a lake.

Commencement

The best way to begin any story is to say:

"So, I was at Target today..."

Everyone knows that any story that begins with the words:

"So, I was at Target today..."

is going to be a ridiculously awesome story. Or, at least, your audience will be fooled into thinking that it's a ridiculously awesome story, because they are still not over the ridiculous awesomeness of your opening sentence:



"So, I was at Target today..."


That, my dear friends, is called strategy. More specifically, it's called good strategy. I most ardently urge you to employ it as ubiquitously as possible.


So.

I was at Target today.

My little brother and I were shopping for birthday cards, graduation cards, and water guns. That's right, water guns. Gotta love going shopping with the seven-year-old midget child.


So, I'm browsing through all the numerous graduation cards: college graduation cards, bad humor graduation cards, graduation cards with the Obamas on them, sappy graduation cards, kindergarten graduation cards, and graduation cards of penguins wearing mortarboards (<<mais pour quoi?>> as our French brethren would say...)...Then, my little brother asked me:
"Why don't they have graduations going into highschool?"
Putting away the graduation card with the cute duckling on it, I responded: "Pardon?"
He explained, "They have graduations going into college, but not going into highschool." And I said, "No, no, dear, graduation is at the end. It's at the end of highschool, and then the end of college."

Then, as our conversation turned to other matters, I let the matter rest. But, then I realized that it's not called "commencement" for nothing. When I was younger, the word commencement always confused me, because I knew there was that-thing-that-happened-at-the-end-of-high-school, called commencement, so I always assumed that commencement meant "the ending." But it means beginning.


Commencement is a time of new beginnings, of fresh starts, of new adventures.
Commencement celebrates the adventures you've already had, your accomplishments and achievements, but it also invites you into a new world, full of new lessons, journeys and a new stage in life. And that, my friends, is something to celebrate.

Mark Twain (an author whose writings I thoroughly detest [sorry, Mark, dear]), has an absolutely beautiful quote: "To get the full value of joy, you must have someone to divide it with." I've been waxing nostalgic the entire weekend, as I've collected photos for photo boards, hugged friends, smiled, laughed and reminisced. And I've been thinking often about the girls who write this blog. And I'm so thankful for them. For their friendships. Because all the tears, giggles, hugs, pie nights, and beautiful experiences would mean nothing without the people we share those adventures with.


The world beyond commencement is a brave new world. But I know we can face it as long as we have our awesome-sauce friends by our sides.

Love and Friendship - Part One

No, no, this post has nothing to do Jane Austen’s satirical short story. That is a post for another day. This post will address the difficulties that people face in their attempts to forge friendships that are lasting. In this day and age “social networks” such as myspace and facebook thwart these efforts every which way. Although these networks can be used as tools to connect and stay in contact with people, they do not facilitate very deep connections between people.


They can only operate on a superficial level, to check the status of the people on your friends list, to chat occasionally, etc. Such things help us to stay informed as to our friends' and acquaintance's movements in their day-to-day lives, but it cannot assist us in knowing the state of our friends hearts and minds. This can only be obtained through true conversation, whether face-to-face, in a letter or on the telephone.

There is an intangible, yet very real, connection of minds and hearts that is completely lost when posted for the whole world to see. True friends take personal interest in the feelings and ideas of those they have befriended, not just their recent activities. True friends are able to bear their souls to one another and feel safe in the knowledge of mutual understanding.

Summer Attractions

After reading Desdemona's post about On the Verge, I commented, "Hurrah for femininity! When the collegiates get back, we should hold a summit on ways to add femininity to the world. ;)" Apparently Desdemona got an idea into her pretty little head, and she is now organizing:

The Femininity Summit 2010

Changing the World, One Catholic Gal at a Time.

Of course, the summit will mainly consist of eating pie, drinking coffee, and giggling our heads off, but we'll also be talking about what it means to be a woman, how being a woman affects our lives, how we relate to God as women, and what that means for how we dress, act, speak, etc. We'll tackle sticky wickets like the fine line between flaunting your body and wearing potato sacks; how to treat yourself with the dignity you deserve; and what to do in those oh-so-awkward moments in public when poise and confidence seem impossible. We'll post the results -- which most likely will be slightly edited and clarified ;) -- and show the world that not everyone conforms to its standard of "pretty", "hot" or "sexy".

Spring has Sprung

And there's nothing more delightful than lying on the fresh green grass on a Sunday afternoon with the sun on your face while talking to a dear old friend (many thanks for the lovely conversation, Celia!).

Stealing Rose's Idea...

Rose did this on A Rose in Bloom (an excellent blog that you should all visit, by the way.) And I can never resist stealing a good idea when I see one. Thus, I continue:


Date... Sunday, January 10th, 2010 (2010 already-eep!)

Starting time... 2:10 AM (I have no idea why I'm up at this hour...)

Mood... Decidedly overwhelmed

Outside my window... Snow, snow, snow, snow, snow, oh and yes, more snow. (Maybe there's some ice thrown in there for variety. Love winter. Can't you tell? :) )

I'm thinking... Break is over :( ... I've gotta do columbinus research...scholarship apps...how on earth am I going to schedule Monday...Shakespeare paper? GAH!...interview...cinnamon rolls...blog posting...facebook...sleep? Naaaah... But, Hallelujah, praise the Lord! Return to Cranford is airing at 8:00 PM tomorrow evening! Mark my words, I will be glued to the telly as long as that delicious vision of a show is on the screen. Yes, that will definitely allow me to get through the week.

I'm reading...Re-reading Sense and Sensibility (It just gets better and better!) Red, by Ted Dekker-slow so far, not as compelling as Black, but I'm sure it'll pick up.

I'm listening to... The water seep through the aquarium filter...

I'm wearing... Green t-shirt, and lovely, warm, cozy fleece pants.

Yesterday, I... Had coffee with some lovely young ladies, went to work, then Mass, then played Trivial Pursuit with my family. Good day. :)

I'm excited for... Return to Cranford!!!

I'm sad because... Break is over and people are going back to college...This is simply not okay. :(

I'm hungry for... cinnamon rolls, gingerbread, or a corn dog.

The song stuck inside my head is... Invisible, by Taylor Swift

I want... Scholarship application essays to write themselves. Please.

I love... life, love, laughter, Balderdash and SNURGES!!!

I loathe... people who put up fronts.

This week, my goal is...to pray the Liturgy everyday. No slacking. And to get scholarship apps done. And to make it through the week.

Did I meet last week's goal?... Thankfully, I didn't set any for last week. :)
Ending time... 2:20 AM

College...

College

Give a girl an education and introduce her properly into the world, and ten to one but she has the means of settling well, without further expense to anybody.
Jane Austen
Right now college means one thing to me:

applications

which of course equal:

loads and loads of work.

Writing essays, I'm fine with. What was really starting to get to me was the neverending checking boxes, filling out the SAME information over and over, squeezing words into limited spaces, number crunching, etc., etc., etc. in never ending succession!

*insert plaintive sigh here*

And furthermore, the endless and monolithic process known as "APPLYING TO COLLEGES" takes up lots of TIME.

*insert groan here*

Time that could be spent enjoying oneself, laughing and talking with friends, scrapbooking, journaling, going for a walk, or any other infinitely more enjoyable activity.

So. Those were my feelings up until about 5:00 today.

After having to cancel my second outing with a friend this week, I decided that if I was going to have to stay home and work on these college applications, I jolly well would. And I would finish my calculus homework, even if it killed me, and I would not waste the afternoon on Facebook or the forum; I would sit down and get stuff done. I was not going to sacrifice my time with friends just to waste more time. So help me, I was going to get some actual work done.

So, on the way home from my show this afternoon, I stopped by my church's Eucharistic adoration chapel. It was lovely and peaceful, and I sat in front of Jesus, finishing up my calc homework. I've always found the adoration chapel is the best place to work through my problems. I now know that math problems can be worked out there as well.
Then, I got home, and I sat down at the computer and I got my first college application submitted! One down. Five to go. I can do this.

And, I realized I've been letting my laziness get in my way. There were some points over the past week I was debating whether college was really worth it or not. In reality, though, I was just bogged down in the mire of applications, and also, scared of leaving home, friends, and family. Then, I realized how absolutely stupid I was being. Because, I AM excited for college-I know it'll be awesome. Anything that is awesome won't come without hard work; and I hate to admit it, but hard work is an aquired taste for me. I have to teach myself to enjoy it.

And as for leaving friends, one of my favorite new quotes I discovered is Eleanor Roosevelt's: “Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.” I can leave home and all the people I love and care about won't leave me-their footprints will be in my heart.

*insert violin music here*

Now, I'm feeling ready to tackle these remaining applications with all my heart. Wish me luck! And when I get to the end of this adventure, let's have coffee together. :)

Quotebook Time!

Your Weekly Quotes!!



~The Old Favorites Edition~

Classic quotes that warm the heart and tickle the funnybone.

"Why would you want to go to Canada? It's like Minnesota squared."--Mara

"I look like a neo-feminist."---Becca

"I like your feet."---Hannah

"*gasp* Poor Bach! His nose is trapped in the confines of some vaccuum bag."--Catherine

"You can never have a Hegland."--Mary

and...

"You're in the quotebook, deaf one!"---Mara

Summer

Around this time of the year, I always get really pensive-I spend a lot of time looking over the summer, analyzing and thinking over the events of the summer, and thinking of all the lessons I've learned this summer.
I think I've learned many, many things, most importantly:
God makes all things work out for the good. Throughout this summer, I've been touched and amazed by how well God has woven together the tangled, crazy threads of my life to create a beautiful masterpiece and story. It's awe-inspiring, heartbreaking and just incredible.

I've learned that a large part of being mature is knowing when and how to act on feelings that emerge.

I've learned that the reason I get up everyday is to LOVE-love my neighbor, love God, love my friends, love my family. Spread joy and peace and happiness and bubblegum everywhere I go.

I've learned that if you spread that love and joy to others, they'll recognize it as Christ's love, and they'll respond.

And one of the biggest lessons I learned this summer was the importance of friendship (well, that was a lesson I've been learning this whole entire school year). I realized how important all my friends are to me and how much I love them. A thought came to me-I get to spend eternity with these people! How cool is that? It's not like we're ever going to stop having to deal with each other-we're going to know each other in Heaven, we might as well keep knowing each other here on earth. Sorry, girls, you're suck with me. :)

So...
What have you learned this summer?