Don't Pee on the Bee

Humorous Harold

OK.  So this may not be the post I was thinking about . . . the post-holiday update . . . reflections on how Hundred Dollar Holiday was a part of our celebration . . . musings on what I learned not only about myself but about others too . . . the fun that we had . . . the journeys that we took . . . the things that we saw . . .

But--depending on your sense of humor--this may be one of the funniest post-holiday posts in a truly lame literary sort of way.  You decide.

In our Christmas travels, we went to Mass at a different church.  Here, they pass out pamphlets with the music for the day.  As we sat down in the pew, I looked at the front page to see what the first song would be.  (Some of you may not know this about me, but I love to sing!)  Here's what I saw . . .

 

Seriously, I still find this hysterically funny.  And in a weird way, I feel somewhat ashamed!  Am I being sacrilegious?  I don't mean to.  It's just one word, but so amusingly funny to me.  All I could see was the cover of JJ's book, Harold and the Purple Crayon, and this image of Harold as the angel calling all to the joyous event! 

I pointed it out to my mom who got a small case of the giggles.  I tried explaining it to J.R. later.  He just gave me one of those looks that said, "You need to get out of the house more."  Oh well.  To all the Harolds out there who herald joyous news, I thank you!

 

Since We're On the Topic of Books

I've been meaning to get to a post about three books I've recently read and decided to get to it today!  (Well, also because my neighbor who loaned me the books needs them back!)  She loaned the first one to me when I went away in June.  It was one of those books that I read until midnight and then got up and read from breakfast to lunch.  The next one I read as soon as I got home, surreptitiously catching minutes here and there, and savoring when everyone in the house was asleep and I could read uninterrupted.  I had to wait weeks to get the third one as my neighbor was gone, but I had it read within 3 days after she gave it to me last week.

Intrigued?  The books may be controversial to some of you as they are somewhat Da Vinci Code-ish, but I loved them for their art history, their descriptions of travel to beautiful European countries and for the feminine storytelling that was involved.  The author is Kathleen McGowan, and the books are The Expected One, The Book of Love, and The Poet Prince.  There is a lot of intrigue, conspiracy-theory sort of stuff with the Vatican.  The books tell the tales of a woman author who gets caught up in certain religious mysteries having to do with alleged gospels by Mary Magdalene, by Jesus himself and then also with the spear that was used to pierce Jesus' side at the Crucifixion.  (I never knew the name of the soldier who did this until I read this book.)

Whether you believe these things or not, what I appreciated from the books was a more personal and more feminine perspective about these events.  When the main character, Maureen, had visions about Mary Magdalene being at the Crucifixion, it brought it to life for me in a way very different from the readings on Good Friday in Mass.  The feminine perspective (real or imagined) lent an emotional overlay that resonated for me. It might not for you.  I just really enjoyed these books at this particular moment.

The one thing that did kind of turn me off is that in the first book, the photo of the author, Kathleen McGowan, shows her wearing a ring identical to a ring discussed in the book.  She also has red hair which is a key component of "the expected one."  To me, it seemed a little self-indulgent to do this.  But if I continued to look at the books as fiction, it really didn't bother me too much.  I did notice that in the next two books, she changed her photograph.

If you check out these books, let me know what you think!

Going to Mass alone

I went to Mass alone today.  Just easier that way today.  But what a morning I had! 

I sat next to an elderly gentleman.  The man had his cap on the pew next to me.  It said, "Ex-POW" and listed the camp that he had been in.  I was completely blown away.  So blown away, in fact, that I thought of little else during Mass.  What had he gone through?  And he had done it for us--for all of us, doing whatever we were doing today.  He happened to be sitting in church next to me.

After the homily (which I had a difficult time focusing on!), a couple came up to the altar and renewed their vows as a celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary!  So I am a total sap AND had changed purses yesterday, so I had no Kleenex in my purse as I cried watching this couple.  How amazing and how lucky for them to have been married so long!  J.R. and I will be REALLY old if we get that far!

After church, I went up to the ex-POW and told him that I had noticed his cap.  I wasn't sure what else I was going to say.  He replied, "I was just another POW in World War II."  I was stunned by that comment.  How could he say that in such a blase way?  He then tried to explain it to me, but the "wedding people" were next to us and laughing, so even though HE was the one with the hearing aid, I was the one who had a difficult time hearing! So I ended it by telling him I was glad he was here and bid him and his wife a good day.

There was also an older, gray-haired man playing the bass guitar with the choir this morning.  I thought that was kind of cool too.  Wondered what kind of music he played as a younger man!

I looked around at all the people at church today and really had a different viewpoint, realizing that we were all there for our own reasons, but each one very important for us, and each of us just as important to God and the Universe.  It was a very profound hour for me today.  When I'm there with my kids, I just usually notice every little noise they are making and if they are touching the backs of the people in front of us!  Nothing quite so profound!

Welcome to Villa Maria del Mar!

On Wednesday, I told a friend of mine that I was going to Santa Cruz for the weekend.  "Alone?" she asked.  "Yep."  Then she said something that surprised me.  "You do that so well."  I laughed because I really don't think I do.  Usually I am a nutcase, ready to get the heck out of Dodge!  She said, "You do!  You do it well because you actually do it!"  Now that, I thought, is true.  I DO do it, not always well and not always easily, but I do go away a few times a year to do whatever I feel like doing--which is usually sleeping, eating and reading--in no particular order.  I usually try and get some writing done too!  And I am truly grateful to have a husband who encourages me to go.  His theory?  If Momma ain't happy, ain't NOBODY happy!  Works for me!

Welcome to Villa Maria del Mar, a beautiful retreat house on the coast in Santa Cruz, run by the Sisters of the Holy Names.  I came here years ago (before kids) on a silent weekend retreat.  Boy, was that interesting!  I didn't really think that I needed to be quiet to get something out of the retreat, but I did it anyhow.  Now I come here and CHOOSE to be quiet!  It's so peaceful, it's just amazing.  My hope is to organize a retreat here for other moms and women who need a break, so that they, too, can "Do it well" and feed their souls!  (By the way, I didn't take this picture of the villa.  It's from their webpage.  The sun wasn't out this morning when I was taking photos, so mine look a little grey.  I did take the rest of the photos, though.)