Half a cookie of kindness

I walked into the kitchen this morning to find each of my children eating a chocolate chip cookie.

No sooner had I walked in than Vibiana dropped hers and the dog quickly snatched it up. Of course, there was immediate outcry. Vibiana crying, "Mine cookie!" and Darian and Sophia looking to me to fix the problem. Sebastian, however, broke his cookie in half and, without a word, handed it to Vibiana. The crying immediately ceased and peace reigned. I was a little surprised by this automatic kindness that is too often lacking, not only in our family but in our surrounding community.

On Thursday afternoon I was standing outside Sophia's kindergarten class waiting for the bell to ring. I am not one who normally eavesdrops or pushes myself into other conversations, but in this instance I couldn't resist. These two moms were talking about having seen a homeless person walking down the sidewalk in front of the church. One of the moms said, "I wish Fr. Tom would just tell all those people to stay away. We don't want them here." She then went on to describe this "disgusting" man who actually went to mass on Sunday. As she was describing him, I realized who she was talking about.

I broke into the conversation -"Oh, you mean my friend Michael!"

The moms both looked confused and one said, "No, this isn't a friend of yours. I'm talking about this dirty man who hangs out here at the church."

"Yes," I said,"that is Michael. He is one of the most devout, holy people I know. You should try talking to him instead of judging him next time."

With that, I walked away, furious. Yes, Michael can be dirty and he carries most of his belongings in his backpack. He is mentally disabled and suffers from severe epilepsy. He is also one of the most wonderful people I know. He is sweet, innocent, caring, loving, prayerful, and truly devout. When I see Michael, and especially when I see/hear others being unkind to him, I am reminded of the song "My Jesus" by Todd Agnew.

"Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet might stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despised the proud
I think He'd prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd"




A great song , one that serves as a reminder to me. A reminder of not only what my Lord endured for me, but what he called me to do. I am bound by my commitment to the Gospel to treat others with love and kindness. This is almost never easy for me, which is evident in my handling of the situation with the two kindergarten moms. I know that I could have handled it better, spoken more kindly. But, I am not perfect and all I can do is continue to strive do my best and remember to break my cookie in half for those who need it.

Check this out

My dear husband has started blogging!! Check him out here - iubilatio.blogspot.com . He also has his incredible conversion story here. If you have never heard his story, I highly recommend reading it.

Incomplete

The bathroom is not yet finished. How is it that one (fairly) simple project could turn into so much work?

The bathroom is painted. I also pulled up all of the old floor. However, when I got the old floor up, I discovered a lot more moisture under there than I had anticipated. Once I got the floor up and cleaned, I left it for a few hours to dry out. When I returned, there was a puddle of water around the base of the toilet. Yikes! Well, thinking I knew my limits, I left the toilet leakage for Jason to fix. I proceeded to at least put up the towel rods, toilet paper holder, etc. Turns out, having arthritic hands is not conducive to either using a drill or trying to screw in screws. Who knew?

Well, Jason got home safely and spent Saturday removing/repairing the toilet. Not a fun job, but replacing the wax ring seemed to fix that problem. Then, before I could start laying the new floor, I discovered yet another toilet leak. This time, water is leaking from the hose that leads from the pipe in the wall to the tank. Jason claims this is an easy fix, but he has yet to find the time to get in there and fix it.

As if all that wasn't enough, Darian took a shower last night and now the bathtub faucet is leaking really bad - the faucet was not on my refurbishing list! The leak is bad enough that a two quart pitcher is being filled every few hours. Again, Jason says that he can fix it but I am not sure when he is going to have time. He tends to not get home until later in the evenings and this Saturday we have Diaconate Formation.

Maybe I just need to call a plumber.

Happy Feast of St. Agatha

Today, we celebrate the feast of St. Agatha, martyr, patron saint of breast cancer.

St. Agatha, please pray for all women suffering this horrible disease, especially Suzanne, Dawn, and Ana. May these women experience the love and healing power of our Lord. Amen.

I must have lost my mind

In the midst of another crazy week in the Schalow home, I have decided to overhaul the kids' bathroom.

Why, oh why, did I think this would be a good idea??? On top of the "regular" craziness, Jason is out of town all week and I am still fighting a cough/cold that has been hanging on for weeks. I now have all the bathroom redecorating supplies (paint, light fixture, towel rods, accessories, and flooring) sitting in my entryway. I took the old light fixture down and I need to paint before I put the new one up. Painting I can do - but lighting? How in the world did I convince myself to mess with electrical stuff???

Here's hoping I don't electrocute myself or set the house on fire...