Daddy

My mother always told me never to compare myself to others. This usually happened when I tried to use the old "everyone did poorly on this test, so if you think about it, I did pretty well" trick. I don't think I ever heard my dad say that though. So here is a list of reasons why my dad is cooler than your dad. Happy Father's Day, daddy.

daughter and daddy atop Grandfather Mountain in N.C.

-He collects Victrolas. He also has a walk in closet full of vinyls to play in his room full of Victrolas.
-He is always the first one to pull out the rosary on family road trips.
-He beat up a guy who tried to rob him at gun point. I think he might be batman. If you want to see the news story, I'll send you the video.
-He loves our mailbox. He built our mailbox. My grandmother ran into the mailbox in her Buick, and the car was dented, the mailbox was fine. He really loves that mailbox. It's a healthy pride.
-He laughed so hard once, he passed out. I can only aspire to laugh so hard.
-He bought a 1967 VW Bug, sight unseen, flew from Virginia to California to pick it up, and drove it back from California to Virginia. I wouldn't be surprised if he picked up a hitch hiker or two along the way.
-He has run a couple marathons.
-He got his first job at Burger King.
-He got a job that required our family to be near the ocean at all times.
-He was in the seminary. I'm glad that didn't work out.
-He shakes when he laughs.
-He is passionate about life. Living it, defending it, and enjoying it.
-He can fix anything.
-He always brings back presents for us kiddos when he travels.
-He uses the word whatchamacallit more than 'the' or 'and'.
-He reads more books than anyone I know.
-He loves inviting those Jehova's witness types into our house when they knock on our door, and tries to evangelize them for the Catholic Church. Rock on, daddio.
-He is always warm, wonderful for snuggling. We call him the human heater.
-He always answers my big life questions with, "whatever God's will is".
-He always answers my little life questions with, "whatever God's will is."
-He joins us kiddos in making our family's traditional farting noises every time we cross a state line.
-He says the reason he had children was so he could make them bring him his beer. I'm not sure if it's a joke, but if it is, gosh he's funny.
-He gets all emotional-in-a-macho-way when a large group of people sings a classic hymn or the national anthem.
-He stuffed a kid in a trashcan once, but he swears it was his friend, and his friend asked him to do it because he thought it would be funny. I want to hang out with people like that too. (The principal didn't believe them)

dad giving big brother "the death grip", not to be confused with "the alien face grip"

I could go on and on with more awesome things, like the time he got all of my friends out of trouble for being at a party in high school, because he just laughed it up to all the other parents, reminding them that it's really just a funny story when you think about it.

But in all seriousness, my dad is more than just a great guy. He is a good man. He loves God above all things, and that love for Christ and His Church spills over into his family. My brothers and I can sincerely say we had a childhood full of love. The family unit is so vitally important to an individual's well being, and I am blessed enough to have a strong and loving father leading his family. I love you daddy. Thanks for being weirdly cool.

toastmaster

True friendship

I read this in Italy, in my Magnificat. It was like a little piece of home, because I could agree with the words based on my own experiences, particularly in college. And because it was in English. I hope these words resonate with you as strongly as they did with me.

"Real friendship is very rare, extremely rare in history, for it calls for natures that are already very lofty, and it elevates them still more.
Friendship with Jesus, however, is of a far more exquisite quality, and it brings to souls blessings that are infinitely superior. It consecrates friendships that are purely natural, and raises them up and endows them with a supernatural quality. That is why we should cultivate both at the same time..
Unfortunately, this second friendship is difficult, because the object of our love is not such as comes within the scope of our senses, and our relations with Jesus are bound to follow the way of spiritual things. These make little impression upon us, just because they do not appeal to our senses. One needs time to understand the things of the soul, and to experience the relations that souls can have with one another. How often do we say, “I do not forget you; you are always in my thoughts.” But do we reflect on the deep reality that lies beneath our words?
We do not understand, or rather we do not realize, that when two souls are united, they do no lie side by side like two bodies; they are really each in the other. And this is the principle of the love union, and in particular of that friendship which is the highest form of that union. Two friends become one, because their minds and their hearts are in perfect harmony, in the worship of the same truth and in the love of the same good. That community of love – note the word “community” which means “common-unity” and is very significant – increases our life two-fold, and makes our being greater with all the greatness of the life of the one we love. That is how, when we love God and when we enter into these relations of friendship with him, our life takes on a wideness that is measureless, and becomes eternal life."
Dom Augustine Guillerand, O.Cart. (+1945)

the seniors on GMU's Catholic Campus Ministry Student Ministry Team, and my true friends for life

Anything you can do, I can do better

This was my very first weekend as a working woman. And I spent a good portion of it in dreamland on my little makeshift futon on my floor. I'm learning to embrace all the new cracking sounds I can make with my neck everyday.

My life has finally slowed down after a whirlwind of events. I ended college in a hurry, cramming for final exams, sprinting to graduation in heels because I woke up late, moving out of my apartment at school into a new one closer to the city in one day, and leaving for Italy the next (hence the makeshift futon on the floor). I returned from Italy two days before I was to start my job, and one week later, I am still sleeping on the floor and trying to figure out where to store my 17 bottles of wine.

Don't judge me.

disclaimer: my photo, not my bottles. i totally had more

As I sit down and catch my breath, I can't help but think about my trip to Italy. I am still on that post-trip high, wanting desperately to go back and do it all over again, but time is a one way street. The only plans I made for Italy were my plane tickets, and a one-item to-do list that read LIVE PRESENTLY. I thought I knew what it meant to live presently. I thought it meant drinking slowly the  sweet nectar of life, so as to savor it. I was ready for a relaxing time to just sit back and take it all in.

somewhere near Positano

And then I was whisked away by scooter to see miles and miles of the magnificence, with only  windblown strands of hair between my eyes and raw beauty.  No distortions from gigantic tinted tour bus windows to skew perfectly formed coastlines and cloud murals in the sky. I was speeding along going I don't even know how fast because can't convert kilometers to miles without a calculator.

beach in Amalfi

I had prepared myself for stillness, but instead I was constantly moving. Each hairpin turn along the Amalfi coast gave me one stunning view after another. I think God just relishes in astounding us. Even the thought of it can't get any better than this makes God smile with glee, knowing that He is the ultimate one-upper.


I saw magnificent views. I got to stop on the side of a highway to Amalfi and just look out at the vastness of the sea, the splendor of the mountains and the radiance of the sun. I got to just stand there and hold my arms out, hugging the warm rays of sunshine and breathing in the salty, healing air. This was it, living presently. The zipping about, the moving around, the running amok and the stopping. The breathing and enjoying. This is life.

vatican as the sun sets

vatican after the sun sets

God takes us through whirlwinds, and gives us breaks. Before I embarked on this little Italian excursion all on my own, I thought that the breaks were the times to sit down, collect my thoughts and realize how much I had enjoyed something. But now I realize enjoyment and contemplation are simultaneous. To live presently, I must thank God for every moment and rejoice in whatever is happening now. To live presently, I must delight in the peaceful, serene moments of silence that God grants to me.

Napoli

So even here, on my makeshift futon bed on the floor, where it is peaceful and serene, I will delight in knowing He is here and He loves me, and He can't wait to show me.

Ritorno a Sorrento

If you are planning on visiting Italy, and if you are anything like me, you will wake up every morning and try to convince yourself that you are, in fact, in Italy. It won't work though. I tried pinching myself, splashing cold water on my face, even a quick smack on my cheeks. Nothing worked.

So how do you know you are actually in Italy? After physical violence didn't work, I tried looking for other signs to make sure I wasn't dreaming a fabulous dream of good food, great landscapes, and wonderful people.

Is it because your toilet was made by Ferrari? No, that's totally normal, right?


Is it because your hotel bathroom was designed by Versace? Still dreaming.


Is it because I saw priests and nuns every other block? Nope, that happens all the time at FOCUS National Conference.


Is it because your feet hurt from playing soccer on rocky beaches? No, please, my feet hurt when I'm wearing cleats on turf. But I am also a wimp.


Is it because everyone is speaking Italian? No,  I could be in little Italy in New York, or maybe international week at my university.


Is it because I couldn't understand the Italian homily at Mass? No, sometimes I don't understand them in English, especially if there is an adorable baby in front of me.


Is it because I gained at least a million pasta pounds? I think I do the same thing annually in November and December with baked goods and ham.


Is it because I have scooter butt? If you are wondering what scooter butt is, let me define it for you: it is when you have ridden on the back of a scooter for an hour, and you can no longer feel your body from the waist down. And no, this gives me no indication of my global position because I got a very similar sensation my family lovingly calls numb-butt, from ridiculously long road trips throughout my childhood.


Is it because all the men I see are more fashionable than me? Nope, that seems to be a pretty common occurrence.


Is it because I am inundated with American pop culture? This gives me zero indication about where I am in the world.


Is it because of that time I "accidentally" walked into adoration, and Jesus said "Ciao, la mia bella figlia", and I understood exactly what he meant, even though I don't speak Italian? Yep. That's it. I'm in Italy.