The Catholic Vacation Bible School Edition
{Pretty}
It was worth it—is always worth it—to dive head over heels into the pretty beautiful truths of our Catholic faith.
It is also really beautiful the way that my friend Cathie stepped up to the plate when our beloved DRE became ill. Cathie took on the leadership of CVBS this summer the way she takes on everything—with tremendous energy, efficiency and grace.
Everything is grace, I’m learning—everything that’s worth anything, anyway. I’ve spent a fair share of time wondering about…life this past month. Where am I supposed to be spending my time? How do I fit it all in when the seams are already bursting? Is it God’s will for me to spend my free time online when there are so many people (and dust bunnies) that need me?
And…um….heck if this “Choose Life” table isn’t pretty!
(Like how I snuck that last one in? I am all about coming full circle with these categories.)
All seven of my kids are participating this year: three as helpers, three as students, and one as a hold-me-please-never-put-me-down tumor.
They have a special room for tumors. They call it the nursery.
Working in the nursery is hard work, of course, but little faces like this one make me happy:
Her name is Hannah and she’s a major honey.
At the end of each and every very full morning, my kids come find me in the nursery.
And then they try to eat up all our treats.
“Funny” is getting seven kids up and out the door by 8:00, five summer morning in a row.
Ha HA! That one really made me laugh.
Funny, too, is teenage helpers teaching my kids the “Baby Shark” song.
You can see one version here.
And finally, “funny” is seeing my little George in a classroom setting. “Weird” is seeing him working alongside his big brother, who was the same age—four—when we first started doing this vacation Bible school.
Weird. And hard.
Fast-forward, please, to the next category of “Real.”
“Real” is the hard work of parenting both a baby and a teen.
Mentally…emotionally…it’s hard to feel that you’re on top of things because, in truth, you’re not. Real is watching your teenager pull away from you because that’s what he’s supposed to do. It’s teaching him to drive (Lord have mercy; this may kill me) and sitting back while he accelerates—fast & hard & fearlessly—onto the freeway of independence.
I prefer, I think, the quiet country roads of children.
I want to hold them all close and never let them go.
Baby and teen! I have four and my oldest is almost ten, so I may get there some day, but it does sound hard…although your teen holding your baby is one of the sweetest sights ever!
What fun at VBS! Your kids always make me smile.
'The quiet country roads of children.'…love that. I very much prefer it too. I'm just starting to get a glimpse of preteen and I feel very much like a fish out of water. And emotionally tired.
Like your new look! Just now seeing it, but perhaps you've had it like this for a bit?
Baby and teen…someone once told me it was so hard….this person told me this while I had 4 little ones and I thought she was crazy. She was right.
I agree, teen holding baby, makes me smile. I think that little baby of yours may be keeping your teen from pulling away more quickly 😉
We had CVBS this week too. So exhausting but so worth it, and I didn't even work. And one of my kids had your DRE's sweet daughter as a teacher. She was amazing.
I like the picture of all 7 and the babe is holding a red spoon and a little red flower is above his sweet head. so cute. Then he had the red spoon in other pics…he loves the red spoon!!!
As a mama of a teen, I totally get ya, Margaret. And SO thankful for little ones around the home to "sorta" keep them grounded.
looks like you had an awesome busy crazy..grace filled..week!
Eating chocolate, drinking coffee and reading beautifully written blog posts by one of my very dearest friends…best 5 minutes of my day!!! 😉
Thank you for everything you did this week. I knew, totally knew, my dear sweet Ellie was in the best of hands. For all the other mom's there, I thank you, too!!! We are so lucky to have you and all the help you brought!
Yes!!!! The babies and the teens . . . I am having such a hard time keeping a foot in both realms. And none of my close-by friends are navigating that path with me; they either have all grown kids or all babies. Thank goodness for the interwebs, where one can find anyone and anything! 🙂
I think one of, if not the hardest, part of being the mom of a large family has been being the mom necessary to all the different ages and stages. What an infant needs is different than the preschooler, than the tween, than the teen, and finally the young adult. I often have to switch gears rapidly and it can be a real struggle for me. I was pregnant at my oldest's college orientation 😀 Being a Catholic university though I wasn't alone. I love my teens and college students. It is totally awesome that I could go see Much Ado About Nothing with my 20 year old and share cheesecake and coffee and laugh. I can't do that with my 15 month old for sure but my 20 year old has friends and a life that I am only on the periphery of as she goes out and finds her own way and my baby is still my baaaaaaby. :hug:kiss:smooch:tickle: