A Meditation on God, Original Sin, and Grace. Featuring Cody and Cordelia.

This weekend was . . . interesting. That is, in the sense that we all survived it. It was one of those weekends that comes around every six to eight weeks where the kids make a collective decision to try to push us as close to the edge of sanity as possible.

Anyhow, in the middle of this there was this beautiful moment. On Saturday morning we were in D.C. and Cody noticed, for the first time, some homeless people.

He wanted to talk about it at dinner and we explained to him that some people don't have all of the blessings that we have in life, and that it's important that we (1) are grateful and (2) work to help those who have been less fortunate. The conversation went about like this:

JVL: We have so many good things--a beautiful home, cars, toys, stuffies--but we don't have these things because we deserve them.

Cody: We don't?

SLL: No, these are all blessings from God, and we should be thankful for them. No one "deserves" to have them all just like no one "deserves" not to have them, and be homeless.

Cody: I want to take all of my money and give it to the people who don't have as much as we do so I can help them have homes.

[Here there is a pause, as Shannon and I marveled at what a truly good heart our little boy has.]

Cordelia: Well I deserve all of the nice things we have.

Cinderella Story

[mumbling] . . . out of nowhere. To lead the field at Bushwoods. Crowd is hushed. He's gonna use about a nine iron.

Since Pop-Pop introduced Cody to mini-gold during the Great Parsippany Holiday of 2014, CJP has been chomping at the bit to return to the links. So we went yesterday. It was so much fun that after playing 18, we did another loop.

Two stand-out moments:

On the second course, Hole #5, we both got holes in one. It was like Christmas.

On the first course, around Hole #16, Cody solemnly informed me that "Pop-Pop says that golf is a game about respect."

I'm sure he did.

Army Had Half-a-day

Cody and I were driving somewhere this weekend and he informed me that he is a marine. He's been doing a lot of soldier talk recently, since reading the Magic Treehouse books set in the Revolutionary and Civil wars.

I was surprised at the news--like me, he does not seem to have a particularly martial temperament. Then he told me that both Bidi and Shannon Snake were also marines. I was double surprised.

CJP: Yeah, we've fought in a lot of battles.

JVL: Really? That is what marines do, I suppose.

CJP: Yes. Also, we won some wars.

JVL: Good for you guys.

CJP: They gave us trophies.

For some context: Cody exhibited mild fascination at school this year when he saw the trophies for the chess club and the top reader. I suppose it only seems natural to give the same distinguished prizes to war heroes.

In Every Job That Must Be Done, There is an Element of Fun(ny)

Emma and I went to Mass this morning, which is always both lovely and, well, a bit exhausting. She's just at that antsy, chatty age—daily Mass or the early Sunday Mass are about all she can handle. And even then, she's all over the place. But she loves it. Churches—even ugly exurban ones—really are houses of wonder for children. Incense, art, statues, candles. Especially candles. That's the best, except of course for the holy water fonts. Clearly. I mean, clearly.

So we're sitting in Mass in front of a friend, who's there with her two youngest and looking about as harried as I feel. Emma keeps turning around and exclaiming, "MARY CLAIRE! BABY ANN!" at them. Then saying a loud "HI" to whomever catches her eye. Then, "Candles? LIGHT THEM! See them? LIGHT THEM! Pop Pop. Walter!" So we did. Beneath the statue of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, she yelled, "Hi Jesus!" I gently corrected her and told her who she was; then she shouted, "MARY SETON!" Close enough. 

All the way up to Communion, she reached out her little hands to people attempting to kneel in prayer, saying, "Peace WIF you! High five?" On the way back we pass Big Mary, the statue at the front of the church. She yells out in joy, "HI MARY!" I whisper, "Would you like to go see Big Mary after Mass?"  "OTAY!" she shrieks. She then calls out—again, during a moment of profound silence—"MARY! SEE YOU! LOVE YOU! MARY! MARY POPPINS!"

We're gonna need a little catechism. : ) I just can't help but believe God smiles down with extra mercy at all mothers with young children who get themselves to Mass. Because let me tell you...

Instant Classic

Me, on the way home from VBS today: Cordelia, you looked like you were having so much fun up there. Did you enjoy yourself today?

Cordelia: I loved myself today!

God Sightings

This week was VBS at our church, and Cody and Cordelia loved it all over again. The theme was "Weird Animals: Where Jesus's Love is One-of-a-Kind" and they spent the week talking about how God specially designed each of his creations to be unique—and how their uniqueness makes them beautiful and beloved. And how even when you feel lost in a crowd, God could spot you because he knew every fiber of your being wayyyy before you had a being. :) They came home each day with a new catchphrase, and it was so cute to hear them shout them out at today's end-of-VBS "performance." Patty Platypus (aka Jackie, who runs the religious ed program at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton) did a little call-and-response with them. You could actually hear Cody's voice in the response part. : )

Even when you feel left out…JESUS LOVES YOU!
Even though you're different…JESUS LOVES YOU!
Even when you don't understand…JESUS LOVES YOU!
Even though you do wrong…JESUS LOVES YOU!
Even when you are afraid…JESUS LOVES YOU!

They had a ball.



Below are videos from their performance today. (See Cordelia, above, in full Elaine Benes mode.) Hard to see, but they both sang with gusto (and knew every word, which, no doubt, will happen to JVL and I before too long). But the cutest thing was that "Joey Jackal," actually our seminarian, would do a bit of catechesis each day. He told them to be on the lookout for "God sightings." As Cody and Cordelia explained it to me Monday night, "That's when you see something in nature or in what happens in your day that reminds you of GOD or helps you to see God in something!" So we've been on the lookout, and recounting our "God sightings" at bedtime. They've been interesting, ranging from a sunflower, a giant slug, Hoppy, Bidi, and the kindness of Judy at the bakery, who gives them free donuts. I'm not totally sure that's what Joey Jackal was after, but it's a good habit to get into, anyway. : )

Anyway, watching the earnestness with which they sang their songs was a definite God sighting for me. In the hectic pace of work and family life, it's sometimes hard to see the face of God in each other. And yet — it's also impossible to miss. In Cody's melting, worried eyes and daily self-reporting and curious mind and kind heart; in Cordelia's devotion to her siblings and love of stories and unspeakably beautiful eyes and perfect lips, which as often as not spew lies; in Emma's curls and elbow dimples and the way she pats your back when she hugs you and her joyful proclamation of "OTAY!" when she agrees with you. In the way that C & C cheered for each other today and hugged each other on their way up and back from stage. In the way Emma screamed "JESUS LOVEYOUTOO!" along with the kids. In the way JVL danced around the back of the church hall with her. In the way they immediately started demanding muffins the second they got in the car to come home, having spied them in the bakery bag. : )

I love you kids. All the time. All the way to the moon. And back.

What Will I Do When They're Teenagers?

Usually, both Cody and Cordelia are wonderful with Emma, and love her to the moon and back. They were just up in NJ visiting with Granny and Pop Pop (an AMAZING week for US, really — plan on it EVERY SUMMER, Mom and Dad!) and she missed them so much. By the third day, she would just wander into their room and say, "Dee Dee miss you? Tody! Miss you!" She was napping when they got home, and when I got her up she heard Cody's voice and went nuts. "TODY! TODY! MISS YOU! TODY HOME! TODY'S ARMS!" And in she went.

She was equally happy to see Cordelia, who was delighted to have her little sister back, too.

Last night, though, my little bird had a bee in her bonnet. She and Emma were playing with blocks together, building towers. I popped out on the deck to hang wet swimsuits on the line, and a second later heard E screaming and Cordelia looking full of rage. I shouted, "What just happened?!" Emma, bless her precocious little heart, said, "DeeDee HIT you!" I turned on her in my own rage: "Did you just hit your baby sister?!" She replied defiantly, "I punched her on purpose—but it was an accident!"

I don't even know what to say.

Uncle John (Not Pictured)

On Saturday, Cody, Cordelia, and I drove up to Belmar to spend some time with Aunt Mary Beth and Uncle Walter. The big bonus was that Aunt Monika and Uncle Sean were up there, too.

In the afternoon, Monika, Sean, and I went down to the beach with C&C. I didn't particularly want to go into the water, but the kids wanted to jump waves and Monika and Sean were game, so they took them out. Cody held Aunt Monika's hand while he jumped and splashed about; Cordelia held onto Uncle Sean.

After maybe 15 minutes, Cordelia did to Sean what she normally does to me with wave jumping. She declared that she was tired and asked if she could just come up into his arms while he stayed in the water. Because Sean is awesome, he said yes and the two of them spent a lovely long while in the surf with my beautiful princess wrapping her arms around them. Who knows what treasured words passed between them that hour.

Back at 606 6th Avenue, Cordelia was incredibly affectionate with Sean. Clearly their relationship had moved to a new level of affection. She even cuddled into his arms out on the porch. And it was there, in his arms, that she declared, "I love you, Uncle John."

My head snapped around. I stared at her.

JVL: "Uncle John?"

CML: Yes, I love you, Uncle John.

JVL: His name is Uncle "Sean." It's "Sean." You've known him for four years--your entire life.

CML: [scrunches up her nose in disbelief] No! It's Uncle John!

JVL: Not "John." "Sean." Uncle Sean.

CML: Really?

It was like Michael Bluth talking about Egg Ann. "Her?"

The term the shrinks use, I believe, is "transactional."

Beach Catch-up

Just a smattering of pictures that hadn't made it up yet from June at the beach.

Happy CrackerFireworks Day

…or, "how the United States of America broke away from England."

HOWEVER! We became "independence."

And how we celebrated!

A is for Altar, D is for Darling

This one is beloved by all the kids. Something about the simple pictures and incredibly difficult-to-say words when you're that little. But she loves it. :)

Smallpools

My boss's nephew is part of a band called Smallpools, who has a pretty successful debut single called "Dreamin'." Which which the kids are…obsessed. To wit:



I love how he says "forever" as "forevah." : )

From Her Lips to God's Ears

To my five faithful readers, I will get up to speed eventually, but we have been consumed by Emma — something is wrong, and we don't know what, and it's been 10 days, and no one can diagnose it. We are just taking it a bit at a time so I will catch up once we are on the other side of it. But I didn't want to forget her at bedtime tonight (prior to 2 hours of inconsolable distress): each night, we take her little crucifix off the wall and she pats and kisses "Gigi," though she can now say "Jesus." She still speaks in the second or third person ("You do it!" or "Emma do!" means "I'll do it!"). Tonight, she kissed her cross and said clear as a bell, "Jesus. Tank you! Help you? Wuv you."

I cried, for a lot of reasons. Lord, hear our prayer.