Author: Maria Johnson

new post at Rosary Army

I know we’re all trying to make a concerted effort to stay on task and celebrate Advent before Christmas, instead of what the retail industry would have us do, which is to embrace Christmas before Halloween so the Valentine’s Day hearts can go on sale on December 26. Well, who said we had to listen?

I admire the folks who can really pull it off. I think I get about halfway there but I admit to getting sucked into celebrating Christmas a couple of weeks into Advent. The Advent wreath and hymns at Mass are a reminder that it isn’t Christmas just yet, but then I succumb to my favorite holiday shows and … well … I’m weak. I admit it.

It starts with one of my favorite cartoons, A Charlie Brown Christmas. I so loved it as a child although probably for very diffierent reasons than I love it now. When Linus reads from the Gospel of Luke and tells the nativity story I am overwhelmed. So beautiful!

The cartoon is usually aired right in the middle of the self-induced hysteria that generally substitutes for Advent. To my amazement, the show sends a powerful and timely message about the misplaced values and commercialization of what mainstream society calls the Christmas Season. As Catholics, though, we celebrate the Christmas season starting with Christmas and ending eight days later. Unfortunately, it seems like everybody else moves on to New Year’s when we start to celebrate the real Christmas season.

Still, I can reconcile the mixed messages. A Charlie Brown Christmas rejects commercialization and focuses on the real meaning of Christmas. Before the T-shirt kiosks at the malls were making money on their “Put Christ back in Christmas” shirts, the Peanuts Gang sang it loud and clear. I don’t mind the reminder, even if it comes a little early. In fact, I need to hear the message early to prioritize and remember that I am not preparing for Christmas turkey and gift exchanges and too much eggnog.

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how to get out of making dinner…

the sacrificial spinach leaf
the sacrificial spinach leaf

Not a recommened technique, nevertheless, effective. While making homemade creamed spinach, I couldn’t get the bag open, so I thought it would be an entertaining way to open the bag by dramatically (i.e., in an over-the-top theatrical way) hack at the bag with a gigantic ham knife.

I missed.

I hacked at my thumb instead.

[pause for appropriate heckling and mockery]

I finally got my thumb to stop bleeding by applying a frozen spinach leaf to it. Note to self: when facing life-threatening bleeding, a frozen chunk of produce could work in the absence of a tourniquet.

Maybe not, but the pictures are worthy of mockery.

the wound, with the long-suffering husband in the background, finishing dinner
the wound, with the long-suffering husband in the background, finishing dinner

*For the record, and in an attempt to garner sympathy, the wound is very deep and very painful, and bled for a really really long time and no one in my vicinity offered any kind or soothing words. The meanies called my parents so I could get long distance mockery.

Happy Birthday to Mom, and other stuff

So Mami, happy birthday. I hope Christi took you some tasty food! Yummy!

After spending Turkey Day in pajamas and watching parades and Christmas movies and eating leftovers, we celebrated a post-Thanksgiving thanksgiving meal on Friday when Vicky snuck out between a harried return from New York and an insanely early call for rehearsal and deployment to the land of the enemy in Athens. At least today’s battle was successful. go Jackets!

Christy has recovered very nicely from the surgery. She is still terrified by the thought of sneezing, and now that she looks less swollen we enjoy laughing at her hysterical response to the tickling that is a preface to a sneeze. Ha! I do not envy the follow up next week when they yank the splints out of her nose. At least they don’t do any packing any more. She looks totally normal now that her face isn’t swollen. Oh, and her nose is on straighter. Christaar is a champ!

The boy, on the other hand, is still in a great deal of pain, and then has a good day, only to push himself and fall back again. Percacet and ice packs are his friend. Poor kid. the physical therapy felt good, but the exercises are maybe stressing him a little.

Okay, so that’s it — not quite the Thanksgiving break we were expecting, but everything’s cool.

Christaar has a new nose

I was going to post a picture, but past experiences in humiliation resulted in some teasing, so I’ll save the picture for people who really know her. I don’t mind humiliating Christy in front of family and close friends.

Surgery went relatively well, if longer than expected. It turns out that in addition to straightening out her schnoz, Dr. T removed her adenoids which were the size of walnuts and thus he couldn’t “suck them out of her nose” and had to go in the old way. I didn’t ask what the old way was because he went into detail about other gross and disgusting things and all I heard was “sore throat” and ice cream. She liked the idea of ice cream.

Anyway, she spent the day recovering nicely, parked in front of the TV, terrified of sneezing. Finally, she sneezed, the world didn’t end, but the dog looks at her suspiciously.

In other news, Jonathan started physical therapy and his knee is healing nicely.

one down…one to go

Jonathan is fine from his surgery, and he’s home and complaining about how inefficient the ice bag is. Yeah. He got a space-age ice bag from the nurse, and he has checked it out and declared that it is insulated and therefore inefficient. I dunno about that. It strapped to his knee and he slept all night without a peep.

Of course, maybe it was the percacet. Ha!

I suppose I could post a picture when I get back from class this afternoon. Thanks for your calls and prayers.

the human condition…is everywhere

I haven’t been posting lately because I am working on NaNoWriMo, and somehow, every time I attempt this feat, I rediscover that I only have a set number of words I am capable of producing in a day, and today’s quota is going to be spent here. Frankly, I don’t how how to get through the rest of my day if I don’t put down in words the feelings that are not just welling up, but spilling out all over the place.

Generally, I’m not very open with my feelings. I was thunderstruck this afternoon when I got a call from Vicky to share the contents of mystery package she received. A little back history first. Vic, some of you may know, was actively involved in the Marine Corps Junior ROTC in high school, and considered a career in the military…she even gave a shot to the Army ROTC program in college before deciding that she preferred a man in uniform to herself in uniform.

She’s been actively involved in corresponding with soldiers deployed to the combat zones, and has established some lovely friendships, and then they come back and move on with their lives and she picks up a new soldier to write. Until now. Her soldier was killed in a bombing in Baghdad.

When she shared that news with me, it was devasting, and after some prayers for the repose of his soul, and his family’s peace, I moved on, as I thought perhaps she had. Until today, when she received a very special package.

His parents sent her the casket flag, along with a letter detailing how he often spoke of her and how her correspondence had been such an integral part of his life.

How little we know of the effect we have on others.

Be kind.