Would you believe it's 4:30 a.m. and I've already cleaned up the kitchen (from a mad pizza feast last night), swept the floor, and made a fresh pot of coffee, one cup of which I am enjoying as I type.
Recently I made the decision (for reasons which I may, or may not, explain later) to begin homeschooling my children. Having decided that they will continue to attend public school until the next holiday, I took the opportunity to order manuscript paper, maps, workbooks, and textbooks from several different places. All of which has been arriving on my doorstep lately, the last box coming yesterday afternoon. the dining room has been subjected to some minor rearranging, I added a new set of shelves on which to keep the books, all the little things I imagine teachers must do before students arrive for the new term....and do you know my kids, who are SO observant that they know if I've had a piece of their Halloween candy IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, only noticed yesterday, and that was only to say 'oh, cool, we have school books here now so when we go camping we can have school.' Now, I have no idea where that came from, because we are not in the habit of camping during the normal school year, and when we do go, the general program of activity is Pray, Eat, Play, Play, Pray, Eat, Play, Play, Play a bit more, Eat, Eat, Pray, Sleep!
My daughter has hermit crabs that she loves very much. One of them is smaller than the other two - it is about the size of a big marble ( a shooter), while the other two are nearly the size of apricots. Anyway, we lost track of the small one for a while....last night when I picked up one of the water dishes in the crabitat to refill it, there was small crab, happily sitting in a lovely hole he/she had dug underneath the dish. In case it might be molting we didn't disturb it, but she and I are both comforted to know that it's not dead (I don't like conducting funeral services for animals). The larger of the other two has had some adventures...twice it has been left out of the crabitat (accidentally on purpose, I'm sure) and once it made it all the way into the upstairs bathroom, then on another occasion we found it in my daughter's closet under a sock. the other one is not very sociable....I think if you left it out it would just sit in the middle of the floor like a lump and await rescue.
I read in this morning's Office of Readings from an early Christian homily...the priest (no author's name survived, so I can't attribute it, but it's from Wednesday of the 32nd week in Ordinary Time, the second reading - the first reading being the passage from Daniel about the writing on the wall) is talking about how being in pursuit of pleasures in this world, while ignoring the world to come, not only has bad consequences for the individual, but drags everyone around down with him. It would be nice if everyone realized that....also it would be nice if the world realized that freedom isn't really the freedom to do as you wish, it's the freedom to do as you OUGHT. So many people today are castigated and persecuted because of doing what they Ought To Do, but because that necessarily involves Admonishing the Sinner, Instructing the Ignorant, and/or Counseling the Doubtful (Spiritual Works of Mercy), they are perceived as being intolerant and divisive. Well, duh! Read the Bible! God (all Three Divine Persons) is intolerant - of sin, of disobedience, of lack of charity, of presumption on His Mercy. And He tells us more than once that we are to pattern our lives after His earthly one. So, having written that, I shall now go and begin another day of serving Him by serving others. Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!