What I Learned

When setting your alarm, it is of utmost importance to make sure you don't mess up the actual time otherwise the following conversation will take place.  

Knock on door.

Sr. B (my companion): Sr. Relish?

Me: Yes? (Half awake out of a dead sleep)

Sr. B: Um we were supposed to leave at 5:30.

Me (looking at clock): It's 4:37.

Sr. B: No. It's 5:30.

5 minutes later I was sitting in the van.  And that was after the Sr. in charge said we were leaving not a second after 5:30.... Whoops.  

They Call Me...

Sr. Relish.

Yep, as of last week I am officially called Sr.  It's taking some getting used to, but gradually it's becoming less weird to hear people put Sr. in front of my name.

August 2nd my companions and I entered deeper into our journey on the way to become Salesian Sisters.  We are now novices.  For the next two years we will be more completely living the life of a Sr. as we study the Constitutions of the Institute and the vows.  At the end of the two years, we will then make our first professions.

Oh and now we wear gray.  I've learned very quickly wearing an apron is critical.  Within 24 hours I managed to spill balsamic vinegar on it and then have to wipe it off immediately so it wouldn't stain.

Other fun things I've learned in my two weeks at the novitiate.

- Be careful when walking down hill. The rocks can move and you can almost sprain your ankle.
- I'm not allergic to poison ivy.  At least, I don't think so, but I don't want to test that theory.
- Double check your clock after setting your alarm to make sure it still has the correct time.

It's looking to be a very educational two years.

That Awkward Moment...

When your're standing at the pharmacy window picking up your antibiotic and the tech asks you to put in your phone number and you get it wrong twice so he asks if the number sounds familiar and then rattles off the number you were sure wouldn't be correct.

At least he still gave me the antibiotic.

I miss my pharmacist.

What I Learned Today

Putting on a habit (or uniform right now for me) makes random people comfortable talking to you about anything.

Yesterday we went to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the altar of Mary Help of Christians.  Sitting with some of my companions waiting for Mass to start, an elderly gentleman came up and took the open seat next to me.  He turned to me and began talking about the Basilica.  I asked him if he had been at the dedication of the altar 50 years ago which launched him into telling me about himself.  He lives at the Veteran's home in DC and since he's 94 years old he figured he should go yesterday because he just never knew how much he longer he would be able to go out.  Then he showed me the speaker device he had for his hearing aid because he had lost most of his hearing in combat.  "Take care of your ears.  Stay away from all those loud noses and things or else you end up with bad hearing like me.  They didn't tell us that back then. And make sure you brush your teeth.  They didn't tell us to do that either and I didn't brush mine." At this point he popped his dentures out of place and showed them to me.  "See.  You got to take care because you only get one shot. God only gives you one body.  God bless you." And with that he turned back forward.

It was very sweet of him.  Although it really took a lot to control myself when he popped out his dentures to not get a little bit of the church giggles, but I kept myself composed.

This particular situation is really a mild case of what happens in habit/uniform and honestly it could have just been an older gentleman taking a chance to share some things he had learned in life with a young person.  Either way I take it as preparation for the conversations that could happen when I don the habit, God willing.

What I Learned Today

I'm not valid. Turns out my lovely home state doesn't issue IDs up to federal standards and you can't get on federal grounds at places like West Point.

Today as culmination of our Don Bosco class, Sr. D took us on a field trip to visit West Point and our Marian Shrine where there is a replica of Don Bosco's childhood home.  The first stop of the day was West Point.  On arriving at the security check, point my companion and I were informed we couldn't go in because our licenses' didn't meet federal requirements, and we didn't have any other form of identification on us.  Divine Intervention saved the day as we had just met an officer from West Point when we were getting breakfast and he had graciously arranged to meet us and give us a tour.  Thank goodness he was able to come and get us in so we could join the tour.

Remember Where You Belong

As part of our Salesian Spirituality class with Sr. B, we recently took a field trip to visit the Dominican Nuns of Summit, NJ. You might find this strange that a Sister would take us to visit another order, but it really was a great opportunity for us.  Some of us, myself included, didn't really look a lot of other orders during our discernment so our knowledge of other congregations' spirituality is very limited. The purpose of the trip was for us to interview the Sisters and then compare and contrast the differences between our Salesian charism and their Dominican charism.

It was very enlightening.  Going in Sr. B had prepped us a bit telling us that we would be sitting in a room with a wall in the middle and windows, the Dominicans would be one side and we would be on the other with the windows opened for interaction.  Other than than that all I knew about this particular cloister of Dominicans I learned from a five minute YouTube video we watched in class.

In my mind, cloistered nuns were quiet and super prayerful.  I figured they would be reserved and the conversation might be a little awkward just because of how reserved they were.  I was quickly proved wrong.  The Sisters came in and were super cheerful, one opening up the windows while another rolled in a cart with homemade hot chocolate and biscotti for us to snack on.  They were laughing and joking with each other and were super welcoming of us.  Sr. B and the Prioress (their Superior) exchanged little gifts and then we all sat down.  Each of us had prepared questions for them and after a round of introductions, we started asking. My first question was if they took some form of a vow of silence.  They don't and they were quick to inform us that although they have times during the day where they do observe silence, they never formally take a vow of silence and it's actually a very inaccurate stereotype of cloistered nuns.  Throughout the rest of the interview, I was surprised by several moments where I realized there were similarities to Salesians. Obviously, there were major differences as well because they're cloistered so their ministry is mostly contemplation and sharing the fruits of their contemplation through praying for others.  However, I noticed a joy the Sisters had that I have come to realize is present from doing God's will and living to serve Him.  They also had a real family like spirit.  After talking to them, it makes a lot of sense because unlike with the Salesians where we are moved from one house to another depending on ministry needs, once they enter the cloister that's their community for life.

The time for conversation passed very quickly and honestly I think I might have left with more questions than I came with, at the same time possessing a better idea of what cloistered life could be like.  We had already planned on staying for evening prayer, just participating on the public side of the chapel, but the Prioress invited us to join the Sisters in their side of the chapel.  It was a beautiful experience. The Sisters' chapel, instead of regular pews, has choir stalls since the Sisters sing the Divine Office. All of the choir stalls were made of very beautifully carved woodwork.

No worries though. I won't be jumping ship to enter the cloister. Before leaving on our field trip Sr. TK told each of us have fun but remember where we belong.  Coming back I told her the Dominicans were nice, but they just weren't the Salesians.

You can kind of see the wall and windows which were separating us during our visit. 

On the Road Again

We're taking our show on the road again to help the vocations director at another event.  This time we're heading west to go to the National Catholic Youth Conference.  Three days surrounded by tens of thousands of teenagers hyped up by the Holy Spirit, it's going to be intense and totally awesome all at the same time.  Plus a true test of our relationships as aspirants since the trip begins and ends with driving 11 hours to get there.  

Before we head out though, I thought I'd answer the next couple of questions.  The next two come from the Mrs.

Question 1:  Is there a Sr. Mary Clarence in your convent?

Answer:  No, unfortunately there is not a Sr. Mary Clarence.  We do however have several Sr. Marys, Sr. Mary Ann, Sr. Maryann, Sr. Mary Louise, and Sr. Mary Bertha. (These are from all of our houses, not just the one I live in. I do live with one of the Sr. Marys and Sr. Mary Ann and down the hill are several more Sr. Marys and Sr. Mary Bertha.)

How often have you watched Sister Act (1 or 2) since being in NJ?

We haven't watched either of the Sister Acts at all since we've been here.  One night we watched a movie called Lillies of the Field which is movie about some Sisters who move to the U.S. from Germany.  It was pretty good.  Last weekend we watched The Sound of Music because one of my companions had never seen it.  Sad I know.  No worries she is now culturally in the loop. One of the Sisters found out I hadn't seen Troubles with Angels so that is on our to do list for Thanksgiving weekend.  Needless to say we do watch movies about nuns.  

A Unique Experience

Sorry for the lateness in posting about Philly, but we came home and had to get right back to class and help get ready for a very large fundraiser for the high school.

Turns out we had tickets for the Papal mass all along, but when the vocation directors switched at the end of the summer that wasn't communicated.  So Monday we had the van loaded up and off we headed to Philly for a week at the World Meeting of Families.   The WMOF was a very cool experience.  There were people from literally all over the world.  My only speaking English status was a bit of a hindrance in communicating with some of the foreigners, luckily some of my companions and the sisters with us were able to talk to those people.  In order to make up for missing a week of classes we were encouraged to go take in some of the talks taking place throughout the week.  I sat in on the talks from Bishop Robert Barron and Dr. Scott Hahn.  Both men had some really great points to make that although directed at the family could also be applied to people in religious life.

Friday is when the real fun began.  After tearing down our booth and sending all the stuff back to the convent, we headed out to explore historic Philly.  Being the Revolutionary War history nut I am, I thoroughly enjoyed touring Betsy Ross's house, attending church at the oldest Catholic parish in the U.S., and seeing other places our Founding Fathers frequented while in Philly.

Saturday we got up super early in order to be present for all the activities the Pope would be participating in upon his arrival to Philly. We somehow managed to be standing right next to the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul when he arrived to say mass.  Unfortunately, due to the large number of people we couldn't see him.  After listening to the mass on the jumbotron we headed to find good places for the parade and in doing so I met up with a group of students form U of I.  Pretty much made my day getting to see the folks from home.  Then along with one of the sisters, the priest who spent the week with us and a friend from U of I we went and stood along the railing for something along the lines of 4 hours waiting for the parade.  The parade finally came and although it was very exciting to see Pope Francis in person, it was a bit of a let down because they drove him by really fast and we literally only saw him for 6 seconds.

Sunday was the big day.  We got to the Parkway super early so we could have good seats. One of the Sisters grabbed a nice section of a hill and we parked it until the Mass. It was amazing the number of people who were crowding into the area to attend the mass and in hopes of seeing Pope Francis. Shortly before the parade started, the same sister who found our sitting area suggested to Companion B and I that we go try to get a closer look for the parade.  I'm so glad we took her advice.  We found a spot next to a family that wasn't super crowded.  The great part, the family had a two month old baby.  When Pope Francis drove by, the dad held out the baby and the pope stopped for the Secret Service to bring the baby to him so he could bless her. It was amazing! For a solid two minutes the Pope Mobile was parked all of about 20 feet away from me.  Seeing him that close was a very moving experience.  I had to chuckle because when he stopped he looked down at his watch to check how much time there was before mass started, showing his punctuality and humanity.  Mass was also pretty cool.  The only downside was he did the homily in Spanish so I have to find it online and listen to the translation.

All I can say from the whole experience is that God works in wonderful and mysterious ways in providing us with such a unique and monumental experience in our formation.

What I Learned Yesterday

I have every right to be Munchkin's favorite niece.

Because filling in for AL for the day while she's at Munchkin's bachelorette party is no easy feat.  For starters, AL has everyone's schedule memorized so she wouldn't have been surprised when White Tornado waltzed over an hour after his cross country practice was over because "Saturday's are ice bath days." Duh Relish why didn't you know his schedule?   Then AL has the patience of a bunch of saints because dealing with hormonal, misunderstood preteen Little Miss would take all of it.  Almost ten must have been a pretty rough age if being told that you need to redo the bathroom sink you were in charge of cleaning causes you to break in to a traumatic fit of "No one understands me." and " Nobody likes me." Cue phone call to BOTD.   Bless Grammy for taking Star and Charmer for the day.  Next up figure out a movie for the parish Block Party.  No problem.  That had to be on the simpler side of the tasks I was left with I do believe.  The next item I thought was going to be simple turned out to be the most complicated and stressful process of my day: Scotcheroos for White Tornado to take to the FFA picnic today.  No problem right?  I bake all the time, consider it a hobby really.  Wrong.  Two trips to Walmart and Aldi's, a biking trip to County Market by Elizabeth Taylor and two pans of Scotcheroos later White Tornado had his dessert for his picnic.   Great now I get to go to a parish function right after it comes out in the bulletin that I'm moving to New Jersey in a week to enter the convent.  Super awkward interactions with church people here I come.  Let me tell you they were super awkward and I got hugs from people that I've maybe only talked to once or twice in my entire life.  A well timed text from White Tornado requesting to be picked up from Grammy's pretty much wrapped up uncomfortable church people interactions.  I took the youth minister for the parish a long with me so the city girl could get an up close interaction with horses which was all fine and dandy and I think she enjoyed it, but then a tired White Tornado put a kibosh on our fun.  He then  suckered me into giving both of the little two baths because when given the option they picked me.  Thanks guys.  Charmer in being his ever flirtatious self wanted the youth minister to give him his bath and put him to bed.  She ended up doing story time and helping with prayers which Charmer drew out to be a show off.  After making sure both kids were in bed, we left White Tornado in charge and took off back to the party.  We helped clean up for a while and then I told BOTD I was going to go home with Liz Taylor, Little Miss, and WiiMan.  Since AL had taken Little Red to go the bachelorette party, it was my lucky day to drive the Red Bus, which had been fine all day minus potentially a few sketchy park jobs at the grocery stores.  All was well until I had to park in the garage last night.  Munchkin you remember that Sunday when I had my permit and you let me drive home from church and I was going to back into the garage?  Yeah, that got repeated last night except for this time the rubber flap thing got broken and there's a scratch on the Red Bus that BOTD is going to have to get filler for.  I quickly learned the fastest way to get BOTD to come home when I called him and in a voice trying not to start crying asked him to come home please.   Luckily he wasn't mad, I think he might've actually laughed when he saw me tearfully sitting in the garage behind the Red Bus.  And so pretty much wrapped up my day in the life of AL.  

I hope you guys had a great time because I don't think I can be mentally prepared to be AL again for a long time.

Happy Bachelorette party Munchkin.

It Felt Like I Was Experiencing Deja Vu

This summer no different from any of the last eleven of my life has been spent at the pool with the swim team.  However unlike 10 of the previous summers, I am no longer one of the swimmers.  I'm a coach.  AL and I have had multiple conversations regarding "did you ever think when you started you would become a coach?" and similar lines.  To be honest with you, no I didn't ever see myself as a coach.  Honestly I don't know that ever saw myself swimming much past those first couple summers and I certainly didn't see myself teaching other people how to swim as well.  Eleven years and a lot of swimming later however, I am a coach and I am spending my third summer in a row giving swim lessons.  The other day while giving a lesson to a little girl one of the pool rats asked me if the girl was my daughter.  My reply "Um, no I'm teaching her how to swim." In my mind I was immediately taken back to a time that seems like forever ago, when I was the little girl and Amy was me and another child had asked if I was her daughter.  It was a little scary how similar the situation was and frightening to find myself in the position of the teacher.  Oh how the times have changed, and oh how I certainly didn't expect to find myself in this position.

Minnesota Eh!

This is a little late, but last Friday the Engineer and I took off for a suburb of the twin cities of Minnesota to visit our friend the Musician for the weekend.  Some things the Engineer and I learned this weekend,
There are many different versions of the alphabet game, we completed none of them,
When a tire blows on a semi it sounds like a gunshot going off and will awaken all sleeping passengers in a vehicle
It's really easy to mess with the Musician as to when you are going to appear on her doorstep, Minnesotans don't appreciate when you show up in Blackhawks shirts,
Old people from Minnesota will attempt to make any connection to foreign youth -- "One time I drove through Illinois on my way to Florida...",
It's the land of 10,000 lakes and no Minnesotan will let you forget it,

As is evidenced by most of my pictures from the weekend.

Going three days without rain is absolutely glorious,
The Cathedral of St. Paul is gorgeous,

I really want to go back and do more touristy things in the twin cities because two and half days were not enough,
It is possible for either the Engineer or I to fall asleep every single time we get in a car, thankfully there is no photographic evidence of that,
Knowing where you're going is especially helpful when taking friends from out of state on a tour,
It's fun to match your friends,

What you can't see is our matching black shorts and over the shoulder purses...

Also on Engineer's list were they don't sell liquor in MN grocery stores and you should always wear tight swim suit bottoms when boating. 

All in all I'd say the Musician did a pretty good job at convincing us that Minnesota is pretty cool place. 

A Reintroduction

She came and she conquered. After a stressful 72 hours and a nerve wrecking 4.  Madam President became Madam Treasurer, for the state of Illinois.  No big deal, I mean my best friend just became one of the biggest names in the FFA world in the state of Illinois.  So basically I'm best friends with a famous person.

Before she got elected though we had to go through the stress of the elections.  The candidates are allowed to have a runner who tells them what they should do for their next speech or how they are doing since all the candidates are only allowed to be on stage to give speeches for the position currently up and then they are put in a locker room in the basement of the conference center.  As Madam Treasurer's faithful sidekick I was asked to be her runner which turns out is a rather stressful job.  I impatiently awaited the few seconds I was allowed to go see her between positions to encourage her and give her bits of advice from our advisors.  When we got to the position of treasurer we were down to the wire and really wanting to pull this out.  The last three times I had seen her I had been able to get her to laugh or break a smile and I was getting told to help her relax.  Not an easy job when a person is incredibly nervous, but on this last time I was finally able to break her tension and got her to crack a smile.  She went out there and rocked it and landed the position of treasurer.

What a blessing it was to be the first person to see her after she came off the stage.  To see her start crying with excitement and relief on her success.  I am so proud of her and wish her the best of luck on her adventure for the next 365 days.  Bless the other four who are going to spend the year with her.   I hope for her sake that since she has to travel all over the state she takes Siri with her so she doesn't get lost.

They're the Best

God blessed me with two amazing best friends who are willing to go to great lengths for my birthday.  I mean it's not just anyone who after getting their car backed into still wants to go out and celebrate someone else's birthday, or just anyone who wants to make sure they have perfect spot because they want to have a picnic while watching the sunset and then watch the stars, and it definitely isn't just anyone who will drive all over for an hour try to find an open place to get ice cream. 

Needless to say, last night I had quite the adventure with Madam President and J making it a birthday I won't soon forget.  They had planned to pick me up after I got done coaching swim practice at 6 and then we would head to supper.  Unfortunately, J's car got backed into and the adventure was postponed about an hour. Finally we got on the road and headed to B-N to start the evening with some Potbelly's.  Then I was simply allowed to know we were going to picnic with our sandwiches. I guess we were supposed to watch the sunset from a park but that didn't really pan out because the first park we were supposed to go to had geese and J is petrified so we headed elsewhere.  After 15 minutes of driving around Bloomington, we arrived at our new destination, geese free.  Unfortunately, (again) the whole sunset thing didn't pan out because it was cloudy, but we did get to enjoy a lovely pond with a fountain and a lot of super nice houses.  

Next on their plan was to go get frozen yogurt so we loaded back up into Madam President's car and got to Orange Leaf, five minutes after they closed.  Siri told us Cherry Berry was open until 10 so off we went to find our frozen yogurt. Fifteen minutes and a real struggle for J giving Madam President directions and we discovered Cherry Berry was also closed.  Next try Carl's.  According to Google, they close at 10.  We arrived at 9:33, the sign on the door said they closed at 9:30.   A Google search informed us that Cold Stone was also already closed, but Baskin Robins was open until 10.  Madam President stepped on it and with help from J to get back to Veteran's we made it to Baskin Robins with 8 minutes to spare.  I jumped out and grabbed the door to pull it open, locked, ran around to the other door, locked.  Solution to our  situation drive thru.  Thank goodness they were still taking drive thru orders because after an hour of trying to find a place that was open we were starting to get desperate, like to the point of potentially just running into the nearest Walmart, getting a tub of ice cream and three spoons and eating that.