Ready for Life

Yesterday, my son came up with an idea for a game show that I thought epitomized his inner concerns well.

Alex came to me and said he wished there were a game show that would help young people get ready for life.  I asked him what he meant.  He said that he wished someone would help young people get the money they needed to start their lives on their own.  I said that was a good idea. 

He said, someday if he were rich enough he would start a game show that would help young people get started in life.  I asked him how it would work.  What would the challenges be and what would they win?

Alex knew immediately how the contestants would earn their living.  Contestants would have to play his favorite computer games against him.  The winner would receive money to buy a place to live, a car, and a wedding.  The name of the show would be, "Ready for Life."

These are clearly things that Alex has on his mind a lot: computer games, money, and getting married.

I hope, Alex, someday you will be ready for this future life you envision. 

Mno Hiya Lyta!

Pascha 2014

Another year, another Pascha celebration.

Easter never gets old, when celebrated rightly.

Fasting, prayer, loss

and then Resurrection!

Lately, whenever I feel that great void,

as though God were very far way, 

or not there at all,

 I have been reminding myself,

"You are never so far away as you think you are."

 Then I feel myself rush back into His presence.

There it is like a hot, breathless, summer day

--warm and encompassing.

When breathing swarms back,

Tears of joy fall.

Though I feel not worthy,

I almost feel as though I could be one of His saints

--someday.

Preparing for Pascha

My first year preparing for Pascha by myself, I had one day off work and tried to cram all the preparations into Good Friday.  I was on my feet all day working very hard to prepare the items to go into our Easter basket.  I totally missed out on a rare day with my son who was probably 2 at the time and infant daughter.  But, I was adamant about finally getting myself together enough to put it together.  One day Pascha basket preparations is insufficient. 

Ever since I became a homemaker I have spread the Pascha basket preparations over Holy week.  Each day I prepare some of the items for our basket. 

Today, I prepared boiled, dyed and pickled eggs.  Usually, I save dying eggs for Holy Saturday preparing the kids' minds that Christ will rise from the dead.  However, I am making a different Pascha bread this year and want to make it on Holy Saturday so that it will be somewhat fresh on Easter Sunday. 

The kids were very excited to help with this activity...I have been trying to include them in the work this year as they are less of a nuisance in the kitchen now. I actually let them help every year and it is such a disaster.  But they are bigger and more helpful this year...I have not made boiled eggs since Lent began.  They all were eager to sample the eggs after they were dyed.  I insisted that they wait until Easter.  However, I left the room and came back and they had all peeled an egg and were inhaling them.  Six eggs later, we will have to repeat Easter egg dying on Holy Saturday anyway, so we will have deviled eggs for Easter.

I let Lucy participate this year.  I thought she would delight in the activity.  She sat down like all the others.  then I placed eggs in front of each child and two in front of Lucy.  All the other kids plopped eggs into the buckets.  Lucy looked confused, grabbed her egg, which she knew to be food, and thrust it into her mouth.  She took a big crunchy bite--shell and all.  I told her not to eat the shell and to spit it out.  She seemed a bit upset and confused again.  I peeled her egg and then she didn't want it.  She thrust the other egg in her mouth and crunched away.  I made her spit again and peeled it.  She was less interested now, but she finished eating her eggs and toddled away.  Her little bewildered face was such a precious moment.  She was an alien to this strange activity of augmenting food.  I want to remember forever that look of innocence.

 

Mno Hiya Lyta!

Home Haircut Don'ts

I'm not sure home haircuts are costing us any less.  We decided to buzz cut Alex's hair last night, because it was so long and we are heading into warm months.  The girls all stood around giggling as Alex received his cut.  At some point during the haircut Annie disappeared with a pair of scissors and gave herself a haircut.  It was beyond my skills to fix.  So I had to pay someone to fix it. 

A bad haircut to me three weeks ago.  I took a coupon to a discount hair salon and received the worst haircut of my life.  That bad cut cost me more than I would have liked to have it fixed.

Even so, I won't give up on home haircuts, because as my dad always said, the difference between a good hair cut and a bad one is a few weeks.

Here are the stylings of Annie: