I came across this little leaf on my way home from walking the dog yesterday and I thought…
“I know just how you feel!” Buried! And trying so hard to be happy, hopeful and full of life, when inside you just feel…gray. (Not to mention dead, but don’t tell this little leaf that.)
February can be a hard month for us Northerners. The winter stretches on and on! My five-year-old, especially, keeps murmuring, “When will it be spring, Mama?” Poor little sweetie—you should have seen her face when I told her the groundhog saw his shadow!
Insult was added to injury yesterday when Angela came down with the stomach flu and we were forced to skip our church’s annual Mardi Gras party at the local roller garden. It took all that I had to both doctor my little loll-about and discourage the older kids from complaining. They were so disappointed! At that point the mom-guilt kicked in FULL FORCE and from then on, the day felt very Lenten.
Which is good, right? : )
My Little Loll-About
Yes, some of us are sick and some of us seasonally affected around here. Even the dog’s been throwing up. (Are you having a snack as you read this? I’m sorry; I really am.) It got to the point yesterday where I went to my husband’s aquarium and just stood there, hoping that the bright lights might help my perspective.
(They didn’t.)
All this to say that I’ll take a prayer if you can spare it. I will pray for you right back, I promise! And as I don’t want to end on an unhappy note, I will close with a very happy photo from Sunday. Everyone, meet my beautiful brand-new goddaughter, Danielle!
Looking at this picture, I am reminded of the fact that baptism—like Lent—is a type of death. We die with Christ (in the words of the Catechism, are “buried”) so as to rise with Him. This thought consoles me, that whatever seasonal darkness I might be feeling right now—whatever sadness or anxiety—there is the hope of Easter, and the hope of spring, only 40-plus days away.
Ad Jesum per Mariam,
I have a special place in my heart for you Northerners. You are strong stock, I tell ya. I don’t think my pysche could handle those long winters….
Many prayers for you today, with hopes of a few rays of sunshine to poke through!
🙂
Here’s hoping we can be that burning ball of gas for you. Wow. That sounded better in my head.
We love you sweet Margaret! That little one is so lucky to have you praying for her!!!
Margaret, I completely relate to your February/almost-Lent blues. Just yesterday a friend and I were remarking how February seems to be one of the toughest months of the year for us, mothers. We lack the outdoors as an outlet, children (and mothers) are sick (among other things–like whiny!), and the brewing coffee can go only so far as to warm our ever-cold bodies…
But then I stop to appreciate that this is the BEST of seasons for Lent, especially with all of its sacrifices.
I will be praying for you and for all the other wonderful mothers out there! We can do it!
Hugs to you, and by the way, you look absolutely gorgeous in that beautiful dress!! Sunshine coming your way :)))
Oh Margaret, sorry to hear that your family is under the weather physically – and emotionally too. Those are truly the longest days of motherhood, aren’t they? I hope that you are able to find some silver linings in your clouds these days. I always relish slowing the pace of homeschool when we’re ill and enjoy the increased play and family time we get together. I consider it to be a “gift” in the time of illness.
I just returned from Mass by way of the Caribou drive-thru this morning and I wish I was just a smidgen closer and I’d run a white chocolate mocha over your way too. Wouldn’t it be heavenly if Caribou had a delivery option?!!
Hope to catch up with you on Thursday!
Oh Margaret, I am so sorry this are so blue (or grey). We’ve had the same sort of dissapointment around here. We have five weeks of cancelled plans due to illness and bad weather. My poor daughter cried her little heart out (and also says she hates winter and we need to move to Louisiana). I will say a prayer for you and your family today. I hope you all get better soon! This time of the year is very, very hard.
We are all sick with some sort of flu thing here too!! I guess it’s better to all get it at the same time instead of it taking weeks to go through the house. But, this is one crabby mama, with no sleep and taking care of 4 ones through the night. Daddy is sick too, he stayed home yesterday, but trudged off today.
I will pray for you.
I DO like February though, because with Valentines day in the middle, it breaks things up and before we know it, it is March, the month I do not like. The month where you want it to be Spring so bad, but winter just hangs on another month….We will make it, if we did not live in MN where would we go on vacation? haha!
We’re in the same boat! First flu for my little guy yesterday and it can wear a mommy out! I understand about the blues- it’s our first winter in the Pacific Northwest from the desert. When they told me be prepared for lots of rain and grey I had NO idea it would feel so claustrophobic!!I’ll pray for you and your family. 🙂
Hopefully the surprise for you over at my blog will cheer you up a bit!
{{hugs}}
At least you had a good reason for missing the Mardi Gras roller skating party, as opposed to my kids who got “because you can’t stay up until 8:30” as a reason not to go.
Hope things perk up at your house soon!
Praying for you, dear Margaret.
You’re my last stop on blog reading every day . . .So, I’m going to include your intentions in my daily rosary for as long as it takes. And, I can start today, because I got a late start on praying it due to three kids going to a new dentist. I know God has you in His hands. He loves you like no one else does! And look how many people love you!!
I pray sunshine in your cloudy days. God bless!
What a great blog! I’ll pray for you!
What a beautiful picture!
And you’re right…baptism is extremely lenten. Go read about Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan; it’s proleptic of his death and resurrection and descent of the Holy Spirit. At that time, baptism included a confession of sins, but Jesus had no sins to confess. So he descended into the water, made in all ways like one of us, taking on our sins. His descent into the water is like his descent into Hell. His rising from the water, like rising from death. And it was after he rose from the water that heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended “as a dove”, just as the Holy Spirit descends upon the Church t each and every Mass.
The Holy Spirit in that case was akin to an annointing as a king; in his case, the Messiah.
Another tidbit; if you follow iconography, look at icons of both the baptism and resurrection. Behind Jesus is a similar image. The waters in baptism often form a tomb-like appearance, and it might even be easy to mistake one icon for the meaning of the other (were it not for other important elements to distinguish them!)
If you haven’t already, get a copy of Jesus of Nazareth and read Chapter 1 and the beginning of Chapter 2. Use that for your lenten meditation. You’ll find the specific passages, and the chapters aren’t long.
🙂
(((MARGARET)))) … I can understand that “buried” feeling. I will pray for some peace and clarity within your soul.
What a beautiful photo of you and your new god-daughter!
Dear Margaret,
You are in my prayers! May spring come early this year!