I've been absent a few weeks from the What I Wore Sunday linkup, but with a recent resale trip and a new haircut, I thought I'd pop back in for a bit! We are in that place now where we are taking bets each Sunday on how long it will be before the little man is taken out of Mass. At a little over one year, he does NOT want to sit still or be quiet. Mostly sit still - his sister has the motormouth issue which has been slightly curbed to a whisper for the most part during Mass. However, you will still hear an occasional "Are we done yet?" pop out at audible levels. No, baby girl, Jesus is never done. Just say thank you.
With a very active little boy, I have to be a little more picky about what I wear these days. No big jewelry that he can rip off my neck or out of my ear (that was a fail this weekend with the earrings), no loose shirts or dresses where he can give everyone a free show of the goods with a little extra tug, no skirts that might flip up too far in the back when I contort myself to get him up off the floor at some point when everyone else is likely kneeling or quietly postured in prayer. I think this weekend's ensemble was a winner, except that it was about 20 degrees too hot for it in the cry room as it turns out. (Yes, I have given in to taking the little man to the cry room. The calisthenics are just too rigorous for the pew.)
Skirt: Resale
Jacket: Resale
Tank top: ? Don't really remember...
Boots: Resale
Haircut: SHORT to give less ammunition to grabby fingers
(we'll have to work on the backdrop so I don't blend in next time)
As for this week's homily, which I did end up hearing a bit of, it spoke VOLUMES (yes, that loudly) to our family. We only have two, I know, but silence during family prayer is really a thing of the past. That was the part of the homily I remember. Father was talking about how important it was for our children to see that prayer is an integral part of family life. Whether they are old enough to hold and pray a rosary or just chew on a safe one, involving them in prayer consistently, even with short and loud attention spans, is important.
This is where my nostalgic tendencies get the better of me. I remember living alone, in silence whenever I desired. No kids, no cats - the hubs is pretty quiet so he's not on that list. Sometimes I long for those days where I could sit in silence and reflect. After all, as Blessed Mother Teresa noted, it is in the silence of the heart that God speaks.
In light of yesterday's homily, though, that notion takes on some new meaning. In the silence of the heart... Sometimes we wait for the exterior to be silent so we can take time to reflect and unite our hearts with Christ. The truth, especially in this season of our lives, is that there needs to be an interior silence even when the exterior is full of chaos. That was the truth all along. It just doesn't become as evidently necessary as when there are two (or more) hurricanes of kidpower running through your lives. You can tell the moms who have it figured out at Mass. They simply take it as it comes and realize that this stage will pass. Me, I'm the one who is ready to look for a muzzle and harness for the kids. (Yes, I know that is wrong. No, I will not actually put my children in those.) It is an interior silence that I need to refine. We can only do this through discipline and practice (oh, yes, and prayer and intercession, right).
I have an image of a gymnast sticking a landing. She may twirl and whirl her way down, but on that solid landing, her feet become one with the floor, holding her firmly in place. So too our stillness with God amidst the chaos of life. The more we practice, the better than landing becomes. Will we ever reach that perfect ten? Maybe - the saints did, and we are called to sainthood. Either way, we keep at it in the hopes of sticking the landing. The worst that can happen is that we wobble and get back up.
(Speaking of saints, have you entered the giveaway yet? Read all about it here. Feel free to join in even if you have the book being given away!)
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Looking good, woman!
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