7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 139) Women of Faith Rock the World

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Grace is…having two grandmothers who were strong women of faith as examples when I was growing up,

two parents who always pray for me (one still on earth and one in Heaven), a merciful Lord, reaching out to those who are struggling to survive, living examples of people who do the right thing even when nobody's looking, actually believing God has great things planned for your life beyond your wildest dreams…

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One Year Anniversary My grandma past away one year ago today.  She has been an inspiration to me for many reasons seven of which you can read about here, if you like.

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Top 10 Mommy Blog Epic Fails I’ve finally accepted that I don’t have what it takes to have a hugely successful, widely read, and dutifully followed mommy blog.  I know exactly why that’s the case, and since many of these things aren’t likely to change anytime soon, we might as well be transparent about these drawbacks.  Here are the top 10 reasons why my own blog is not a super-colossal mommy blog at the top of everyone’s blogroll and whose notification of new posts pop up in inboxes everywhere and some links to cool successful mommy blogs.

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Stuff my husband says: After I admitted to Kevin that it’s a good thing I looked up the directions before going to pick up my friend and take her to her infusion, because I’d written down an incorrect street name: Coswell as opposed to what it’s supposed to be which is Cogbill  (Apparently the closest Coswell St. is in Alabama.), he says to me in a very patronizing, aww, how cute tone: “I love you.”
I responded: “Don’t!  It’s not a good idea!”
He said: “No, following your directions is not a good idea.”

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King George & the Ducky In honor of the Mass readings for today, I thought I’d direct your attention to one of the most brilliant pieces family friendly filming that takes actual Bible stories and puts them into an animated form that will have your whole family LOL and educated about morality.  Yes, of course, I’m speaking of Veggie Tales King George & the Ducky. 

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Gimme Shelter I haven’t seen it yet, but I plan on seeing it soon and have only heard amazing things about it.  I couldn’t even make it through watching the trailer without tearing up:

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Day of the Little Way On Feb. 4, Catholics everywhere are invited to join an unprecedented movement on Twitter and Vine called the Day of the Little Way. Inspired by St. Therese of Lisieux, the Day of the Little Way asks Catholics to embrace the New Evangelization by living out your faith in 140 little - but powerful - characters all day long!

The Day of the Little Way encourages Catholics to use the hashtag #LittleWay all day long on Twitter and Vine as a way to share their small stories of faith, prayers, quotes, inspiration and encouragement online. By uniting under one hashtag, Catholics not only demonstrate solidarity in their faith, they also open the door for dialog with people online in a new way. As Pope Francis stated in his recent Communications Day message, “A culture of encounter demands that we be ready not only to give, but also to receive…Let our communication be a balm which relieves pain and a fine wine which gladdens hearts.”
    
Ironically enough, I don’t have a Twitter account, but I did read the book that inspired this movement, and I’ll be posting the review of it on February 4^th.  Check back, then you can tweet it for me ;)   

Check out Jen Fulwiler’s tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday at her tremendously popular blog Conversion Diary.

Wonderful Women of Faith: Are You a Spiritual Diva?

     

   
I’ve been reminded in some very powerful ways how much women of faith have made a difference in my life, in my journey with the Lord, and in how I relate to and pray for/with others.  This week I’ve had the blessing of getting together with a number of women of faith in various settings for prayer, to share a meal, catch up on things, listen, laugh, and offer encouragement. 

    
I am currently part of the formation team for the Women’s Cursillo Weekend that will take place this April 24-27, 2014, so I’m meeting with that group of women (and the two male deacons that are part of our spiritual direction team) on Sunday afternoons from now until April.  I first met some truly remarkable women, many of whom I’m still good friends, when I made my Cursillo weekend at the Abbey back in June 2006 and sat at the table the Sea of Conviction, but we were the youngest three there, so we renamed ourselves the spiritual divasJ. 

   
 I usually meet Monday evenings with a strong prayer warrior friend who has also been taking the Theophostic Prayer Ministry training with me over the past few years.  It changes everything when you have discussions, prayer time, and do ministry with someone who is actively seeking the Lord’swill for her life and doing her best to live it out.  She’s one of the first people I text with major prayer intentions, because I know I can always count on her storming the Heavens on behalf of whoever needs it.

    
Wednesday evening, I gathered with some of the wonderful women who I met back in February 2009 when I made my Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) retreat and then served on the team for the next Women’s weekend that summer.  I felt bad showing up to the scheduled planning meeting with light supper provided rather tired, and weary without any food, drinks, books to share, or really anything much to offer.  

    
Everyone welcomed me warmly and was so glad to see me after such a long absence from many activities that I realized that these women genuinely love and care about me, not because I plan great retreats/events (haven’t planned a single one for that group, I don’t think), or host fun parties (definitely haven’t given any parties at all), or even because I recently offered much in the way of donations of time, talent, or treasure in effort of keeping the group going.  I didn’t even bring my usual huge stack of books I’ve read, loved, and reviewed to pass along to whoever is interested.  I just brought my planner (which doesn’t have any monthly planner pages in it beyond January, because I haven’t placed that order yet), and soaked up the love, prayers, camaraderie, laughter, and joy of the gathering. 

   
I found out yesterday that a woman of faith I admire a great deal is in the hospital.  My mom went to visit this person, and there were four other visitors in her room when she left.  At noon Mass at the Pastoral Center, I prayed for my usual list of loved ones, both living and deceased, including Nana (my dad’s mom) and my grandma. 100 years from now, I hope to have brought others closer to God by being a strong, devout, compassionate, loving, joyful woman of faith.  I’ve had so many great examples to follow!

     I’m only part of the way through a book I love already called Sisterhood of Saints.  It’s by woman of faith and spiritual writer Melanie Rigney.  The cover is beautiful and so are the stories of these saints, inspirations and challenges included.  We have such a rich tradition of women saying yes to the Lord and living out that yes every day of their lives. 

    
Both of my grandmothers and my parents have had a strong devotion to the Blessed Mother, one that I have grown to love and appreciate more and more.  Last weekend when I was leading the opening and closing prayers for our Cursillo formation meeting, I shared with the group one of my favorite prayers: The Prayer to Mary for the Conversion of a Loved One, which I prayed daily, along with the Rosary for Kevin’s return to the Catholic faith in which he was raised when we were still only dating and he’d fallen far away from the church.

     “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.”

     “Blessed Woman, Peaceful Dove, teach us wisdom, teach us love.”

Rewinding in Rochester

Railroad Bridge Scrapped

This is the view a couple years ago of the Genesee River from Ontario Beach Park (aka Charlotte pronounced without the "r") when the actual railroad bridge remained. Kevin modeled that bridge to scale (N-scale) as part of a model railroading layout he began of the area around 1950. The bridge has been scrapped in the past year. Kevin's beyond disappointed, but it may open up the possibility that someone will be interested in his layout for historical purposes and interest.

Gravestone Not Yet Engraved

Since the weather was so horrendous, Kevin and I couldn’t make it up to Rochester at the beginning of February for my grandmother’s funeral, I wanted to visit the gravesite where she is buried.  We asked at the office where she was buried, and we were given a map and directions.  I knew that other family members who died many years ago are in the same plot.  I found the right gravestone, but I was rather discouraged that my grandmother’s name wasn’t anywhere on it.  I called my mom to ask her if we were at the right gravestone, and she confirmed that we were. 

Apparently, they have not gotten around to engraving my grandmother’s name into the stone purchased years ago by and for her family members.  My grandma’s name, Marilyn Lohwater, was not engraved on the gravestone, but I took comfort in knowing that she’s definitely engraved in God’s heart and in His book of those meant to spend eternity with Him in Heaven.  

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 116)

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First Things First Saturday the first thing we did after dropping our things off at the cottage was to go to 4:30pm Mass at St. Charles Borromeo Church, the same place where my parents got married in the 70s, where I brought Kevin even before we were dating to attend Mass with me, and where he later went weekly on his own once he came back to the Catholic faith in which he was raised.  Most recently, St. Charles Borromeo was where my grandmother, Marilyn Lohwater’s funeral Mass was held.  The weather was so bad this past February, Kevin and I were unable to make it up there, since airports were closed due to the blizzard.  It was also through involvement at St. Charles that my grandmother knew Kevin’s aunt and uncle, who rented us their side of the cottage some sixteen years ago, initiating a friendship that may never have occurred otherwise. 

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With Grandma Gone It feels strange being in Rochester without my grandmother alive.  So many of my memories here have to do with her.  Growing up, this was the one place we returned to each summer.  During the year, Grandma would come visit us wherever we happened to live at the time.  I lived with my grandma in her two bedroom apartment off of Lake Avenue the summer after I graduated from high school, so Kevin and I would only be three miles apart rather than 500 miles.  So many connections, so many memories.

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Want to Make Mudpies?! I can still picture my cousin (who is now a teenager in high school) when he was just a toddler.  My aunt, uncle, and their two children came to spend time with us at the cottage and enjoy the beach and the lake.  With the utmost enthusiasm and a huge grin on his face, my cousin would approach our grandmother and ask in what came out in almost a high-pitched shriek: “Gamma, wanna make mudpies?!” as if this was the most thrilling activity on the planet (which, of course, to a little guy playing at the beach, it was). 

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Playing Cards One of the many things I learned from my maternal grandmother was how to enjoy playing card games.  We started out with Crazy Eights, Go Fish, and later progressed to War, Gin Rummy, and Conasta.  When four of my cousins came to visit one time, we all ended up in a line on our living room floor, paired off playing cards. 

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When the Cousins Came My grandma also taught me how to knit.  One of my earliest knitting projects was a baby blanket for my soon-to-be-born youngest sister.  Another memorable, amusing and definitely Grandma-inspired activity when my cousins came to see us was wearing the knit slippers Grandma had made each of us and seeing how far we could slide in them on the hardwood floors in our house.  That was an interesting Thanksgiving break!

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Sweet Sixteen My mom, sisters, grandma, and I met Kevin and his dad, the real Harry Potter, when I was only sixteen.  All of us became friends when we rented the other side of the cottage where Kevin and his dad lived, so we could spend a week right on what my mom refers to as “her lake.”  None of us imagined what God had in store for the next sixteen years, but here Kevin and I are, back where it all began, coming up on our ninth wedding anniversary.  Just like the lyrics said in one of the mixed tapes Kevin made me when we were dating, “I can tell you my love for you will still be strong after the boys of summer have gone.”  It’s a pretty fitting song for Kevin and me that you can listen to below, if you like. 

    

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Family Ties Now when Kevin and I come to Rochester, we spend much of our time traveling down memory lanes (because there are multiple ones in this town for both of us).  We also have fun spending time with family, mostly Kevin’s sisters and their families, who we usually only get to see when we’re in town staying at their side of the cottage.

     
God has given us so much to be grateful for!!  Thank You, Lord!

                   

Check out Jen Fulwiler’s tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday at her tremendously popular blog Conversion Diary.

Glimpses of Grandma

Hanging in there

In an ongoing effort to clean out, organize, and clean up our apartment, I dropped several donations off at various places today.  I started by dropping a load of things off at Goodwill.  I’ve made a number of trips over there and hope to make many more in the days and weeks to come.  It helps me to sort through things and part with them knowing that something I haven’t touched in months might be exactly what someone else is looking for and would use daily. 

    
After all, in some ways, I’m definitely my grandma’s girl.  She rarely tossed stuff out if it could be recycled or reused by her or by someone else.  I am absolutely certain she’s quite tickled that Kevin and I currently have hanging in our bathroom a turquoise (her favorite color) shower curtain that my grandma must have had for 30 some years.  When I found it and realized it had never been used and was still in its original box from a department store that went out of business awhile ago, I couldn’t bring myself to toss it, knowing my grandma would have wanted someone to use it. 

Re-Gifting         

I swung by the Pastoral Center to see my mom and gave her back a couple of the framed pieces of handmade artwork I’d done for her years ago.  I have a number of things back in my possession that I originally made, wrote, and gifted to different family members over the years.  I’m not sure how many of the items would ultimately have been trashed or donated when my sister and her husband bought a house, when my dad passed away, my youngest sister went off to college, my mom moved out of her house into an apartment, then my grandma passed away, but it was easier for me to box these things up and bring them to our place rather than wonder and worry if something I’d spent so much time and energy on would just end up in the garbage.

     
I’m not sure if it’s out of plain old nostalgia, sadness, regret, or hope that I hold onto gifts from me that were left behind.  I don’t know what would have become of the letters I wrote and gifts I made for my mom, dad, sisters, and/or grandparents.  My mom assures me that many of the things I’d made for her over the years she’d had no intention of getting rid of when she moved into her apartment.  I believe her, so when I unearth such things again, I offer them to her. 

Life-long Learning

I swung by school with a bag of assorted books and arts and craft supplies well before the insanity of after-school carpool began.  I always end up using a vast hodgepodge of materials from home and from school when I teach summer camps there, so some of the things I came across I figured they would make use of at school before I’d do something with them at home.  Others were books and things that had gotten grouped in with the children’s books I have, ones my mom kept from when we were little, in addition to some French ones and favorites I’ve added so I can share them with the kids at school and when I nanny.  I got a few minutes to catch up with the program director, who’s been a good friend and supervisor for the five years since we both started working there.  Even though I came in during the post-rest story-time, I still got a couple of spontaneous hugs from kids who remembered me.      

Good Food, Nice Weather, Many Thanks

Next, I stopped by Cook-Out for a grilled chicken sandwich, fries, and a Heath Toffee milkshake too thick to drink through a straw—good thing they included a spoon.  I drove to Little Sisters of the Poor, a stop I wasn’t really looking forward to, as I hadn’t been back there since going to collect my grandmother’s things after she passed this January.  It went fine, though. 

I sat in my car and ate my lunch, remembering one beautiful day when I’d picked up a chocolate shake and fries from Cook-Out to share with my grandma.  I’d brought her outside in her wheelchair over by the swing in front of the entrance walkway to the building and angled her so she could see the garden while we visited.  I’d gotten an extra cup so I could give her some of the milkshake, which I deftly spilled spots of on the swing and my pants.  (Getting spots on clothing while eating is another trait I picked up from my grandma, truth be told.)    

    
This afternoon, while eating, I thought about what my grandma would say on a day like today if she were sitting out there with me.  She’d make mention of the lovely garden and the beautiful colors all around.  She’d comment on the trees, the landscaping, and the gentle breeze.  She’d be grateful for a visitor, for time outside, for fun foods she can’t remember having tasted before…

    
When I finished eating, I took in the body lotions, a wide assortment of handmade jewelry, plastic organizers, and a large supply of beads to make more jewelry.  I left them with the receptionist, who I am certain recognized me.

    
I still have a number of things from my grandma’s, mom's, and my dad’s I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do with, yet.  They’re here with lots of memories I haven’t sorted through, but I’ll get around to them sometime, possibly soon.

Thank You, God, for a beautiful day, for the opportunity to share with others, to remember loved ones lost, to be thankful for little pleasures, and be reminded of the many ways that You are able to use what others cast aside to create a masterpiece of each of our lives.  Amen.            

Note: This post is linked to New Evangelist Blog's June Issue of Catholic Bloggers Best Posts from the month of May.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 93)

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My Prayer for Our New Pope: 

Lord, thank You for watching over the conclave and guiding the cardinals by the ever-present gift of the Holy Spirit as they discerned who our next pope should be.  Jesus Christ and Blessed Mother Mary, keep your servant Pope Francis focused on the Will of the Lord above all else.  Give him the courage to carry out the tenets of the Catholic faith which protect and respect the dignity of human life from conception to natural death.  Make him a bright light and lasting inspiration for priests and laity as we do our best to live, teach, and preach the New Evangelization.  May his deep prayer life and joy in serving the Lord be an example for us all!  Amen.

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Such a Cutie!  After waiting what I consider to be a long time before getting to meet my new nephew—three whole days after he was born—last Saturday afternoon, I got to meet the little peanut and hold him for a while. Ezra, our youngest nephew, is my sister Mary and Jordan's first child. He is so flipping adorably cute! I asked to hold him as soon as we came in, and then I held him again for a bit before we left since he was just asleep in his swing so I scooped him up for some more cuddle time.

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Now It’s My Turn!  It was kind of funny when my mom and I went over the first time I got to meet Ezra.  Jordan greeted us at the door holding the swaddled not-so-little (10lbs 13oz natural birth) newborn.  I gave his proud papa a hug and congratulations, then scooped up the little guy the second I got the go-ahead.  My mom kept giving me jealous looks and making comments about how I was getting to hold him more than she did.  I told her she needs to ask to hold the baby or just scoop him out of the swing when he’s fast asleep.  She was so busy cooking, doing dishes, laundry, and such to help my sister and her husband that she forgot to make time for the best part of all, snuggling up with her grandson.  It’s hard raising grandmas these days!   

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From the Under Five Crowd I always hear a number of hilarious things in a week, many from the little people in my life.  Here are a few of my faves from recent days: “Do you want me to hold the Earth up with one hand or two?”  “The spring is coming up soon.  I saw a purple flower.”  “It’s my turn to count.”  I feel a poem could easily come from these quotes or maybe a dialogue for a children's book or maybe the lyrics to a country song or... 

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We’re Just Sayin’ Kevin gets me laughing quite often.  There are many reasons why LAUGHING TOGETHER is the perfect acronym for what’s most important in our relationship!  His sense of humor is one of the reasons I fell in love with him to begin with.  While telling me about his work day, he commented that his supervisor had complimented him on “making it happen.”  My response: “That’s about right.  You spend your day making it happen, and I spend mine keeping it from happening.” He works in a call center where it’s important to make things happen.  And for my regular paying jobs, I nanny and substitute teach—where I have found it’s often most essential to keep things from happening, such as: major outbursts, serious injuries, mid-morning meltdowns, whining, tattle-telling, potty accidents, objects from nature used as weapons, hard to mop up sticky messes, teasing, pinging off the walls, coloring on the walls… you get the idea.

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A Rare Gem Thursday evening, I found out after driving all the way home that my sister Theresa had arrived at my mom’s.  They were planning on watching a movie, and my mom said to come on over.  We had a fun evening.  I’d never seen or even heard of Moonrise Kingdom before then (and since they started the movie before I got there, I still haven’t seen all of it), but what I saw was quite entertaining.  The two kids in it who fall in love are quite endearing, the supporting cast has lots of adults you’ll recognize and laugh along at/with, and it’s a good, very entertaining story.  
     I would have to say that my absolute favorite part of the movie was a real life scene that was inspired by watching it with two people I love dearly and find very amusing.  After making a comment about dysfunctional families, my mom said that the main family in the Moonrise Kingdom movie wasn’t that dysfunctional.  My sister and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.  My mom (definitely a rose-colored glasses kind of gal) was completely serious which is why Theresa and I were in hysterics.  It’s always nice to know that we still put the fun in dysfunctional.       
     

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My Sisters the Saints on Virtual Book Tour Can women with very different lifestyles focused on doing the Lord’s will above all else be companions, true guides, and sisters for women of today?  Absolutely!

     This book illustrates the truth of the adage that you should choose your friends wisely because you will become like them in some interesting and unexpected ways. 

     The six saints most prominent in Colleen Carroll Campbell’s life and spiritual memoir are holy women also very dear to me: Teresa of Avila, Thérѐse of Lisieux, Faustina Kowalski, Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), Blessed Mother Teresa, and Our Mother Mary...To read the rest of the review, click here.  To check out other stops on this virtual blog tour, click this.     

  

Check out Jen Fulwiler’s tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday at her tremendously popular blog Conversion Diary.

My Grandma's Hands

This morning

I held your worn red rosary

to pray the joyful mysteries

just before your funeral began.

You cared for so many

and prayed for so much.

This mourning

I must do alone.

I sift through your prayer books,

Miraculous Medals, Mass cards,

special intentions, and charitable deeds.

I’m not sure where

I fit in them now

you’ve passed from this life

into the next.

You’d cut up fresh fruit,

slice raw vegetables,

knit slippers for your grandchildren,

work in your garden,

play cards with your friends,

receive the Body and Blood

of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

You’d roll your hair in curlers,

put homemade cold cream on your face,

ponder for periods forming the longest words

when you played Scrabble.

 

You saved a pile of newspaper clippings,

stories from magazines, and articles

to pass on to a family member or friend

you thought might find them of interest.

I still have some of the garage sale

finds that you’d give us each holiday

along with a savings bond receipt,

put aside for our higher education. 

A passion for learning, current events,

international travel, new foods, and

exotic places kept you moving, tasting,

experimenting long after others

had slowed down, given up

or thrown in the towel.

You longed to be useful and needed

always wanting to know

what you could do to help.

You came to Mom’s rescue

when Dad was away

traveling for business,

or not available in some way.

Making meals, cleaning up,

decorating the church for holy days,

being one in the Legion of Mary

who interceded daily for many petitions.

Recycling pieces of foil,

scraps of paper, collecting

packages of salad dressing,

and reusing paper towels,

you didn’t waste or trash things

before their usefulness had run out.

Your eyes filled easily with tears

after all you’d been through—

the loss of your sister so young,

your mother, your daughter,

your long-suffering husband,

your health, your independence,

your memories—

quite a bit over the years. 

Ever-appreciative of a visit,

time spent outdoors,

bouquets of flowers,

spicy beef with broccoli,

chocolate candy,

a hearty laugh, a good book,

an old movie, a familiar song.

Now forever

won’t be long.

I wrote the above poem in honor of my maternal grandmother Marilyn Lohwater, on the day of her funeral & burial, February 9, 2013.

Déjà-Vu All Over Again

There We Go, Again

We received a notification from the airline we’re taking to get to my grandmother’s funeral that there's a winter storm advisory for Boston, MA (where we were originally scheduled to get our connecting flight) that might make it a good idea for us to change flights.  Kevin said in response to this: "If I have to, I'll just take a whole day. It's bereavement; they'll get over it!" That is my dearly beloved husband and one of the reasons I find him so hilarious and endearing.

     
Thankfully, after speaking to a number of not-so-helpful customer service people, Kevin was able to get our flights changed so that we are less likely to get stuck in Boston, MA on Friday.

Flashback ‘92

There are some things that I don't think need to be repeated, but they are anyway. Nana (my dad's mom) passed away when I was 11 years old.  She lived in Florida, but she was visiting us for the holidays.  My nana, dad, and I stayed up late on Christmas Eve watching the movie Home Alone and laughing hysterically.  My nana had the sort of laugh that was like a cartoon character, and her laugh made my dad crack up even harder.  The next morning Nana went into the hospital near us, where my youngest sister had been born less than three months before, and that is where my paternal grandmother passed away.  Her funeral had been planned for quite some time, so, of course, we all made the trek to upstate New York in the middle of a blizzard at the beginning of February to go to the Mass. 

Back to 2006

Seven years ago in January, Kevin had just had foot surgery and we got a call that his mother’s health was failing.  She’d been in a nursing home for years with Alzheimer’s, so getting worse for her meant she wouldn’t likely live very long.  Kevin was able to speak to her on the phone to tell her he loved her and that it was okay to let go.  As soon as the 48 hours was up that he had to be off of his foot, we were able to fly to upstate New York (thanks to the help of one of the families for whom I nannied at the time letting us use their frequent flyer miles) for the burial of Kevin’s mother (Joyce) and father (Harry Potter).  His father had passed away the year before and per his request had been cremated and was to be placed in his wife’s coffin.   

Then and Now

My maternal grandmother miraculously lived through a number of brushes with death.  Doctors told us numerous times she only had a matter of months, if not days, to live.  They were wrong for sixteen years about that.  Despite having an advanced stage of cancer and having a pacemaker put in, she returned home and was able to live on her own for several more years. 

     
In 2009 when my dad was also in hospice care, we admitted my grandma as well.  My grandma, however, had the blessed experience of getting well enough that she got kicked out of hospice.  The nurse figured she probably didn’t need their care anymore when they kept trying to come see her, and she wasn’t in her room.  She was off playing bridge or at Mass (in the building), but she was clearly doing significantly better. 

     
The prayer that if this was my grandmother’s time to go to the Lord that it would be quick and painless for her was granted.  Kevin and I went and visited her last Wednesday evening and saw that she was on oxygen and exhibiting many of the symptoms that Kevin and I have come to recognize in those whose death was going to happen very soon.  I thought she would at least make it until the weekend, but that wasn’t to be. 

     
I was at the family’s house where I nanny when I received the call from my mom about how Grandma had passed away during the night.  My mom and some of the nuns had been with her praying at the time.  Because I’d had my initial cry and mourning period a couple weeks earlier, I was able to take the news in stride.  (I was cheerleading at a St. Mary’s basketball game held at Benedictine High School when my dad and uncles came in to tell us that Nana had passed away.)

     
Interestingly enough, a couple weeks before my grandmother’s sharp decline, I walked into Mass at Little Sisters of the Poor, saw her asleep in her wheelchair and having difficulty breathing, and I just knew she wouldn’t be with us in body as well as spirit for much longer.  I cried throughout the Mass, much the same as I did the evening a couple weeks before my nana’s death when it sank it that she wouldn’t be getting better this time like she had the other times doctors told us she wouldn’t make it. 

  

Funeral Arrangements & Prayers Requests  

This Saturday, February 9, 2013, my grandmother, Marilyn Lohwater’s funeral will be held at 10:30am at St. Charles Borromeo Church.  May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

     
Please also pray that all of us will make it safely to and from yet another female family member’s funeral in upstate NY at the beginning of February during a snowstorm.  They’re saying that the storm could end up dumping 2 feet of snow in the Northeast.

Note to reader: we weren't able to make it up for the funeral, but at least my mom got there before the worst of the weather descended.

7 Quick Takes Friday (Vol. 87) Grandma Edition

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May She Rest in Peace: My maternal grandmother (and last living grandparent) Marilyn Lohwater passed into eternal life January 31, 2013 early in the morning.  Fortunately, Kevin and I had gone to visit her the night before.  I’d held her hand, prayed for her, told her I loved her, and kissed her goodnight, thinking she’d at least make it to the weekend.  Instead, she passed away peacefully that very night with my mom at her side and the Little Sisters of the Poor nearby lifting her up in prayer. 

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Miracles and Cause for Celebration My grandmother led a remarkable life for many reasons, not the least of which, she had very strong will to live, a deep faith in God, a devout Catholic prayer life, a special devotion to the Blessed Mother, and she lived through a number of serious illnesses and complications during her 89 years on this planet.  Here are just some of the miracles and causes for celebration. 

           

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Choose Life: My grandmother was a strong pro-life advocate in all senses of the word.  For years, she took care of sick and elderly family members and joyfully welcomed each new baby and grandbaby. 

     She also was very proactive about her own health.  She ate nutritious foods, took vitamins, exercised (even when it meant taking an hour long walk around her neighborhood using two canes), kept up an active social life, engaged in some fun hobbies, developed an attitude of gratitude, prayed fervently, enjoyed a good laugh, and never gave up. 

     When doctors told her that she wouldn’t live less than a year, she was determined to do whatever she could to get better and keep on going.  When her oncologist basically told us it was pointless to keep treating her, we fired him and promptly got a physician who would respect the fact that she was still coherent and was not going to give up hope that she would recover. 

     She would join us at the 40 Days for Life vigils when she was still able to leave the nursing home without too much trouble, but once that became too difficult she’d pray in the Chapel or in her room for the international campaign. 

    

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Very Thrifty Since my grandmother lived through the Great Depression and World Wars I and II, she had a special knack for being frugal, reusing, and recycling things.  I can remember her re-wetting a paper towel and laying it out to dry.  She would reuse aluminum foil.  She laughed at expiration dates: those on food and those doctors gave her.  She saved little scraps of paper to use for lists, bridge scorecards, or phone numbers.  She would pick up things off of her carpet and put them in the trash for the exercise value and to keep from having to vacuum as often once she was getting up there in age.    

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Her True Colors Grandma loved the color turquoise.  She was also a fan of deep brown and dark orange.  For a number of years, the one house we returned to no matter where we moved because of my dad’s job was my grandma and grandpa’s split-level in upstate New York.  We were always excited to pull into the driveway of the dark brown house with orange trim. 

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Well-Read My grandmother was one of the first women in our family to go to college at a time when that wasn’t something most women did.  She was an active member of the Rochester chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW).  She absolutely loved to read books, magazines, newspapers, letters…which I’m sure greatly influenced my mom as well as me.  Another thing my grandmother and I had in common was our rather atrocious handwriting.  I’m not sure exactly what chicken scratch looks like, but one of us probably comes close. 

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Hope in the Lord Of all of the gifts my grandmother has given us over the years, her faith and hope in the Lord is the one I value the most.  She clung to God throughout her life, and though she had a number of life-altering challenges to face, losses to mourn, and illnesses to overcome, she stayed strong in Him. 

     Lord, thank You for the gift of my grandmother.  Help those of us whose lives were touched by hers honor her legacy by drawing ever-closer to You.  Amen.

  Check out Producer and Reality TV star Jennifer Fulwiler's blog Conversion Diary for this weeks dose of her tradition of 7 Quick Takes Friday.