It's been a while since I've written any news so it can be hard to know
where to begin. Daniel has been home for a few weeks now. He seems to have
recovered well. He and Michael have minimal spit up now. One could say that
they burp like my sister, Suzanne.
(grin) Just kidding, Suzanne!
Some aspects of life are starting to return to normal, somewhat. Michelle
has been to a few step aerobics classes. I've started to resume helping out
at RCIA, although I go after the kids are down in bed.
Work has been a bit hectic, much like it's been for the past year. In my
case I keep bouncing around between development/customization work and
customer support work, much to the chagrin of both departments.
We took the kids to visit the nuns at our local convent. It's not that
we're pushing them into religious life. It's just that the nuns have always
prayed for Michelle whenever she was pregnant. They are always so excited
to see the babies afterwards. In a way it lets them see the outcome of
their prayers. Unfortunately, there weren't many nuns there last Sunday
afternoon because something came up for many of them at the last minute. We
told them we understood and would try to visit again in about two weeks. We
stayed for an hour or so and saw a few of them.
It's hard to believe Lent is half over! Like many people, I feel like I
need to get my act together and redouble my efforts to keep my Lenten
commitments. It's so easy to slough off and lose site of the improvements
in virtue you are trying to habitualize. If you feel the same, don't give
up. Redouble your efforts and try again. There are still many weeks left!
My sister, Alyssa, recently gave me some letters from back in the days when
she was in high school and I was away at college (Rose-Hulman). These were
back in the winter/spring of 1987. I was a college sophomore and she was a
high school junior. We were both in the grips of boredom and frustration
with school and our lives at that stage. It's ironic how even though we
were both doing well academically, we both felt so aimless and empty. The
sort of "why are we here and where are we going" feeling. Who would believe
we would end up as parents of great kids and with great spouses. It makes
you wish you could give other teens some encouragement. I don't know why
people say the teens are among the best years of your life. You tend to
feel so powerless and out of control of your situation. I would want to
tell them, "Keep your chin up. Things will get better soon". My thirties
have been the happiest years of my life (at least, so far...),
even
amongst the chaos and substantially increased responsibilities of being a
spouse and parent.
Even though spring is here, we did get about half an inch of snow last
night. Because of the warm temperatures, most of the snow from the storms
earlier this month is gone. I'm sure by tonight the snow that fell last
night will be melted away. It was nice to see the world in a thin clean
blanket of snow this morning, though. It temporarily covered the road
dirt that builds up in the snow banks. Michelle can't wait for it to be
warm enough to go outside on a more regular basis. Cabin fever can be
rough for New England moms! I think she's looking forward to setting the
babies up on a blanket in the front yard and taking them for walks in
the stroller.