A Lenty Lent, benefits to working from home, pants with nobody inside them, and more (7 Quick Takes)

~1~

We have only two weeks left until Easter, and I can’t decide whether Lent has been fast or slow. It’s just been…very Lenty.

As much as I can’t wait to return to Mass one day, I have to admit that it has been easier in some ways to integrate faith into daily life. There are so many daily reflections and livestreamed Masses and so many people expressing their longing for the Eucharist. I’m hoping those continue beyond Lent since I am sure we’ll be quarantined for a while.

Last Sunday instead of watching Mass together, we read the readings as a family and made a Spiritual Communion. I love watching Mass, but it is hard to have the children bring reverence to something on a screen. John and the boys each read a reading, and I found it to be quite moving.

My favorite thing lately is Zooming with family members to pray a rosary. And I had a lovely Zoom with my prayer group this week. Thank goodness for technology.

~2~

 One bonus to being home during the day is that I have time to make real coffee in the morning.

I’m actually not sure why I don’t use the coffeemaker more often because it’s really not much trouble, and the coffee is certainly tastier.

I especially like the way the house smells like coffee all day—and I really like realizing later in the day that there’s extra coffee I could drink over ice.

~3~

The other morning our younger son came in the kitchen and said, “Mom, I just want to give you a big hug and a kiss!” Then he pulled me into the living room to dance together to “Tennessee Homesick Blues” by Dolly Parton.

There might be better ways to start the day, but I haven’t found one yet.

Oh, and he has introduced me to filters on FaceTime, and I don’t think there’s any turning back.

 

~4~

The other day, on the Feast of the Annunciation, ¾ of the family woke up in time to pray the Our Father with Pope Francis. It was brief and special and made me feel the world is quite small. I couldn’t believe that St. Peter’s Square was empty.

I still remember being there just after I graduated from college. We were packed, practically shoulder to shoulder, for a Mass with Pope John Paul II.

~5~

A few weeks ago, I ordered a case of chicken with rice soup, and it arrived last weekend. I lined the identical cans up on the kitchen counter, and I said we were going to have a taste test to see which flavor they liked best. Would they rather have chicken with RICE or CHICKEN with rice? They happily played along.

I’m not sure what the boys will remember from their childhood, but I hope they will laugh remembering some of their mother’s silly games.

~6~

I like to write surrounded by happy noise, but I like to take video calls in quieter spots, so I have a few different work spots at home. But I often work in the kitchen because I can meet many needs quickly there, and the boys know where to find me. And my kitchen is such a happy place.

I’m pretty focused when I’m writing, though, and I don’t always notice what’s happening. The other day I paused while working and realized someone had shed his pants and left them not far from me on the floor. It made me laugh. One day maybe I’ll write a book called Pants on the Floor: My Life with Quarantweens.

~7~

Yesterday afternoon one of the boys went to close “the black-out curtains.”

I don’t know whether other children like to draw parallels between World War II and the current situation, but mine are intrigued that certain items—like milk—are rationed at the store. Maybe it’s time for us to start a Victory Garden.

I didn’t even know they knew about black-out curtains. But they love Dad’s Army, an old BBC show that is just about to go off of Netflix.

Read more quick takes at Kelly’s blog, This Ain’t the Lyceum, and have a wonderful weekend!

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