I love this time of year. It's when I get all of these people asking me whether I celebrate this holiday, whether I boycott it, whether I (as an employee of the Roman Catholic Church) think we should guard against desensitisation and "The Great Deceiver".
You probably think this is going to be a huge post, an article of some description.
You're wrong.
Halloween is fun. The "evil" images are not images of real evil. They are fairy tales. We're not desensitising our kids. If anything, they're the one's who judge evil best. We are allowing them to dress up as fictitious characters and have some fun getting "candy" from trick or treating.
Lighten up people, it's just a party! The Eve of All Hallows (Halloween). A Christian Holiday on the same day as a Pagan Festival? Yup. Just like Christmas.
Think about it...and now smile. :D
Friday, 28 October 2011
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Thoughts
I have had so many since my last post!
Don't worry though, I will not list them all, that would be impossible. I want to share some of the feelings and thoughts I've had this past week.
Wednesday October 12th 2011 was the day my Grannie died. Being in the US I found out via a Skype chat with my Old Man. Well, actually I found out through a WhatsApp message from him. It said: Call me. That was it. My Pops doesn't talk much ESPECIALLY through text. When I saw this I knew my Grannie had gone.
My world felt like it was crashing. Made worse by the fact I knew I couldn't be there for the funeral. I had to say goodbye from 5000 miles away. Not an easy thing to do by any stretch of the imagination.
I am blessed enough to have some amazing friends here in SF. They really rallied round and actually knew exactly what I would have wanted from them and needed them to do for me (generally give me words of support and keep certain people away from me!). That was Wednesday. A flood of emails, texts, phone calls, facebook messages. It actually surprised me, I loved it.
Thursday saw my hungover self rise at 6.30am to prepare for my 4 day retreat with our 8th Grade. Again, this was something I am glad for. A distraction? A chance to be on retreat myself? A getaway? YES! I had a hard weekend that helped me more than I could have known. My boss, the High School team, the 8th Graders themselves; they all helped me through it. I got to talk about my Grannie, I had space to think, I had things to distract me, and I had reconciliation with the guilt I felt. Literally. I went to reconciliation with my boss and gave my guilt for not being at the funeral to God. I felt a weight lifted.
At the end of the retreat I was honoured to have Mass said for my Grannie. She would have loved that, an incredibly devout and loving woman. I confess I nearly cried and I choked up, as they say. But I had reassuring smiles from the seniors, and strong 'proper' hugs.
My life is one I often marvel at. It seems no matter what is thrown at me, my situation, my job, my friends seem to help more than they probably know themselves.
For that I am thankful.
These are my thoughts. Thank you for reading them.
Don't worry though, I will not list them all, that would be impossible. I want to share some of the feelings and thoughts I've had this past week.
Wednesday October 12th 2011 was the day my Grannie died. Being in the US I found out via a Skype chat with my Old Man. Well, actually I found out through a WhatsApp message from him. It said: Call me. That was it. My Pops doesn't talk much ESPECIALLY through text. When I saw this I knew my Grannie had gone.
My world felt like it was crashing. Made worse by the fact I knew I couldn't be there for the funeral. I had to say goodbye from 5000 miles away. Not an easy thing to do by any stretch of the imagination.
I am blessed enough to have some amazing friends here in SF. They really rallied round and actually knew exactly what I would have wanted from them and needed them to do for me (generally give me words of support and keep certain people away from me!). That was Wednesday. A flood of emails, texts, phone calls, facebook messages. It actually surprised me, I loved it.
Thursday saw my hungover self rise at 6.30am to prepare for my 4 day retreat with our 8th Grade. Again, this was something I am glad for. A distraction? A chance to be on retreat myself? A getaway? YES! I had a hard weekend that helped me more than I could have known. My boss, the High School team, the 8th Graders themselves; they all helped me through it. I got to talk about my Grannie, I had space to think, I had things to distract me, and I had reconciliation with the guilt I felt. Literally. I went to reconciliation with my boss and gave my guilt for not being at the funeral to God. I felt a weight lifted.
At the end of the retreat I was honoured to have Mass said for my Grannie. She would have loved that, an incredibly devout and loving woman. I confess I nearly cried and I choked up, as they say. But I had reassuring smiles from the seniors, and strong 'proper' hugs.
My life is one I often marvel at. It seems no matter what is thrown at me, my situation, my job, my friends seem to help more than they probably know themselves.
For that I am thankful.
These are my thoughts. Thank you for reading them.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)