From the BCC Blog... In the Spirit of Christ, which is Love

You can find the original version of this blog at: http://butlercatholiccommunity.blogspot.com/2012/11/in-spirit-of-christ-which-is-love.html

So, I was going to write about all the travels that I’ve been doing lately. I mean, I’ve gotten to do a lot. I spent a weekend at St. Mary of the Woods for my orientation as a Providence Associate. That was an awesome opportunity to grow closer to God. I then spent last weekend, actually 5 days, in Dallas for a Ministry Conference. I got to see cool people, family and friends that I have been missing and wanting to see. I’ve had so many blessings lately and I wanted to tell you all about that. But then, today, I was reading my facebook news feed and something else more important was re-iterated to me in a way that I feel like I have to tell you about it.

One of my good friends from college is also one of my heroes. Her name is Genevieve. I call her Genna. And Genna is a teacher in the poorest school district at the poorest grade school in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Yes, I know, we talk a lot about poverty at the BCC. We’re Catholic and part of Catholic Social Teaching is preferential option for the poor. But let me tell you about this poverty.

One of the students in the bilingual class at Gena’s school lost his shoes the other day.

Who knows where or why, he’s a five year old boy. That happens. The problem is, they were his only pair of shoes. His mother sent him to school in slippers. The school said that wasn’t appropriate footwear and he had to go home until he had real shoes. His mom can’t buy shoes until the middle of the month at payday. It’s the beginning of the month now. This kid is going to have to stay home from school for a week—in kindergarten, an important year where missing a week is like missing a month—because his mom can’t buy shoes. And that’s not to mention that he probably gets the majority of his food at school. So now, he has no shoes and he’s hungry. And the school district can’t do a thing about it, because they can’t even put paper in the classrooms. The teachers have to buy their own supplies. And let me tell you, these teachers don’t get paid much.

Guys, this is not okay.

My first instinct was to ask Genna what size shoes I need to buy this kid. I mean, I can’t do a lot to change the world, but I can get this kid shoes so he can go to school. Genna can’t do it—the school doesn’t pay her enough to keep her own kids in nice shoes, much less put shoes on her students. I’m still waiting to find out about his shoe size. I know there are several other friends of Genna who are waiting for the same thing. One of us will get him shoes. And when we do, he will go to school. And someday, I pray, he will change the world and then, maybe there won’t be any kids without shoes.

But my buying a pair of shoes doesn’t really solve the problem.

The problem is, I live in a house with nine other people. Between all of us, there are probably over hundred pairs of shoes in this house. And there are probably over a hundred kids in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex whose shoes are too small or too big and cause blisters or too worn to keep their feet warm. Why? Why is it that in the richest nation in the world in the 21^st century this is still happening? And forget Dallas, my old home, what about Indianapolis? What about our city, the one in which we attend school and live at least 9 months out of the year? What about the kids in our schools?

I imagine it’s not much different.

We need to reevaluate our lives, people.

I have been talking about Nazareth Farm (where the BCC will be taking our Alternative Spring Break trip next semester) a lot lately. That’s because a) I love it and b) I want you to go and love it, too. One of the four cornerstones of Nazareth Farm is simplicity. Let’s talk about simplicity for a moment.

Simplicity seems to mean something different for every person. One person can say they’re living in simplicity while they have a flat screen tv and a dvr (I would question this person and their idea of need). The next person might be living in a tiny house (check out Tumbleweed Tiny Houses if you don’t know what I’m talking about) and own less than 100 items (I can’t do that—sorry, my books are really important to me). Whatever you think simplicity is, we are called to it. As we say at Naz Farm, we are called to live simply so that others may simply live.

During the month of November, I would like to both invite and challenge you to try to live more simply. Maybe that means not going out for that burger, ordering that pizza or those insomnia cookies. Maybe that means that instead of buying a new scarf, you’re going to use the one you bought last year. Same for that new coat and those new mittens. Maybe you’ll look in your closet, count the number of pairs of shoes you own and donate a dollar for every pair to the BCC Christmas Family Adoption fund. If you don’t have a lot of shoes, but find yourself buying a lot of something else, maybe you’ll match that. Maybe you’ll tell Mom and Dad that instead of yet another new blouse or new boots, you want to donate that money somewhere else. Maybe you’ll participate in the Tech Fast and see where, without the temptation of entertainment technology, you really do have enough time to volunteer, to serve, to change the world. Maybe. I can’t make that decision for you. I can only decide for me.

As we begin November, I notice a lot of Christmas stuff in the stores. It’s a little early for it, but I am starting to be in a Christmas mindset. Christmas reminds me of my Uncle Tim, who I never met. He died from cancer at the age of 18 almost three years before I was born. But my uncle had a saying and it was passed on to me. Around Christmas, when he wanted something, he would say, “In the spirit of Christmas, which is love, please ___.”

In the spirit of Christmas, which is love…. Perhaps it would be better to say, “In the spirit of CHRIST, which is love.” Because He was love. He was not just love the noun, but love the verb. Suddenly the question at Christmas becomes the same as the question we must ask ourselves every day all year round: How do I, Kaitlyn Willy, love better? How do we, the Butler Catholic Community, love better? How do you, reader, love better?

To answer that, this year, in place of buying each other gifts, my community is adopting a local family and giving them Christmas. And by Christmas, I don’t mean they’re getting a bunch of toys (though I might slip a few in). Primarily, I’m shopping for PJs, undies, socks, and bras for an elderly grandma and her daughter and clothes to keep their three babies warm. This family will be way more excited about these clothes—which won’t be all that nice and certainly won’t be name-brand items—than I have ever been about a Christmas gift. Need does that to people, it makes them find joy in the simple things.

In keeping with this spirit of love, the BCC Service Committee and Leadership Team have decided to adopt two families for Christmas. I mentioned this above, in the “maybe” paragraph. I’m serious, friends—count those shoes, those lattes, those whatever-you-spend-your-money-ons. Donate a dollar for each one you have. Or, donate five dollars, ten dollars, whatever you can muster. Ask mom or dad or grandma to give you your Christmas money early—donate it. Make a difference.

And, if you really want to keep it up, go to Nazareth Farm. Live simply so that others may simply live. Do as Christ calls us to in the reading for tomorrow: love your neighbor as yourself. Change the world.

When people ask me to describe my students, I say that they all want to save the world. Guess what, friends—this is how you change the world. You change it one person at a time. Not one poor person at a time, but one human being made in the image and likeness of God who has intrinsic dignity and who for some reason or other lives entrenched in poverty and cannot get out. One step at a time, one foot in front of the other— in the spirit of Christ, which is love. 

My other blog...

So, as you all know I am a Campus Minister at Butler U. Here's the link to our blog that I keep over there, in case you are interested:

http://butlercatholiccommunity.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-greatest-adventure-of-all.html

There are no success stories here

14 October 2012

I have been thinking a lot about the term “success” lately. As a child growing up in rural Missouri, success was something to be aspired to. In fact, it was just about the only thing that we aspired to. No one really ever explained what it meant, but it was like a blessing passed on from the older generations: “May you be successful, may you find success.” My own obsession with education and knowledge was linked to (though not merely a result of) my maternal grandfather’s insistence that the only way I could be successful was if I got an education. It was never directly stated, but I was under the impression from a young age that this being successful involved money. My maternal grandmother, who, I must say has only ever wanted the best for us kids, longed for lawyers and doctors in the family. This was not because she wanted legal or medical advice, but because those seemed the most lucrative positions (this was before the technology boom and computers became the money makers). I’m grateful that she doesn’t seem too disappointed about our failure to produce either (although, let’s not give up hope too soon, I have a cousin who would make a great lawyer if he would get through the schooling).

At any rate, looking at my life right now, I’m not sure if I can be considered successful. I certainly don’t have a lot of money. On the contrary, the only material thing I have a lot of is debt. Then there’s the question of success in my field(s) of choice. As a classicist, I must be a failure because I left the field. As a historian, same thing. As a theologian, the fact that I have already admitted to hating theology (http://morethanfleshandbone.blogspot.com/2012/03/so-heres-why-i-hate-theology.html) probably means I’m not very successful. As a writer, I’m generally too tired to write down the many thoughts in my head and heart. Instead, I lay down and read what other writers have to say.

As a Campus Minister, I’m not really sure how you can define success. Is it quantitative or qualitative? In our conversations with the Archdiocese, we’re always being asked about numbers. Honestly, sometimes there is only one person who shows up to my events. Sometimes there are thirty. But if we have a great conversation about God in which one or both of us grow closer to Him, in which Christ becomes present in a tangible way, isn’t that meeting with the only student who showed up a success?

A couple weeks ago, we had a Leadership meeting on a Saturday morning. Our leadership team is made up of about 16 students and only five showed up. For my boss, this was a failure. And really, as a leadership team meeting, it couldn’t have been much of a success because part of being a team meeting is the team showing up for the meeting. But I don’t think it was a failure, either. I had great conversations with the students, got to know them better in new ways and during our hour together I saw us grow in understanding of what it means to be a Christian and to be in communion with the other. We shared the stories of our “Eli”s (1 Sam 3:1-18), those people who challenge us and invite us to follow our calling, those spiritual leaders who have made us who we are. Sitting there, hearing the stories that these five women had to tell, two of whom are freshmen in college—I don’t think that anything which brings such powerful witnesses together and unites them in prayer could be other than a success, and it was a success brought about by the Holy Spirit.

As we are preparing for a lot of changes and transitions at the BCC, we find ourselves being asked to defend the need for campus ministers at Butler. People ask us for success stories. Fr. Jeff has many—he can tell you about the students who entered into the Catholic Church, the ones who went on to change the world in many ways and who stayed strong in their faith. He considers those to be success stories. Certainly, they are the easiest ones to tell and he tells them which such love and warmth that the hearer is satisfied in the need for ministry to continue here. 

My temptation is always to say that there are no success stories at the Butler Catholic Community. Instead, there are love stories. I’m not sure what success is, but I do know what love is and these kids teach me about it every day.

I can tell you love stories about my love for my students, about how I see God in them and how my own love grows abundantly through them. I can tell you about their love and generosity and patience with me as they teach me so many lessons about life and love. I can tell you about our mutual love for Fr. Jeff, a man with amazing wisdom and kindness and a great power and ability to love that we all benefit from every day. I can tell you about their love for each other: the strength they give each other during tragedies and heartbreak, stress and studying. I can tell you about students who say to me that they wouldn’t have gotten through their breakup, the death of their grandfather, their PCAT, their final exams, their own illnesses without the love of their friends from the BCC.

I can tell you specific stories: the girl who found the ability to love herself through being loved in a way that didn’t demand, didn’t take—only gave; the young woman who finally found a place where God made sense and became the loving creator she needed instead of the judge she had been taught about as a child, how she found this place through the dedication and love of a friend who invited and invited until she came; there’s the one about the young man who carried a girl to her dorm all the way across campus because she was sick and too weak to walk. I look at their faces and see not only college students, but I can see the face of Christ so vividly sometimes that I am perpetually amazed by them.

The most important love stories are the love stories of these college students and their Creator. There are the love stories of their love for God: their trust, their faith so strong that it makes mine pale in comparison. There is the girl who just came back from studying abroad where she had a conversion experience and now is bravely facing the knowledge that the five year plan she had so carefully crafted and protected in her heart since high school isn’t God’s plan for her. She is going forward with far more grace than I did when I had a similar experience. She is one of my heroes and I am blessed to know her, much less to serve her.

Far more beautiful are the love stories that I witness quietly, the ones of the love of a passionately loving creator who so obviously cherishes these college students in spite of anything that they might do to deter his love. I have seen Him come back again and again to pursue them, to work miracles in their lives only to be recognized after with some mystified disbelief. I have seen men and women grow into something far greater than what they were before and while some might call these “success stories,” I am painfully aware that I had nothing at all to do with it. I just sat with them at the Blue House or in Starbucks or walked around campus with them, watching the changes take place.

I have been praised before for the love that I so obviously have for these mischievous college kids, the frat boys and sorority girls, the seemingly frustrating and narcissistic kids who really just want to be loved and don’t know how to love themselves, the socially awkward kids who are still trying to figure out who they are. But really, it’s nothing to love them. I am not Mother Theresa, saving the poor of Calcutta. I’m not Fr. Greg Boyle, loving the homeboys in LA. Like Oscar Romero, I am blessed to say that it is easy to do my job well when I have such great students. The trick is not in loving them; it’s in not letting my heart break because I love them so much. I challenge any person to know these amazing men and women, to spend even a couple days with them, and not love them. It’s not possible, I promise you.

Last weekend, I went home for the Oktoberfest. It was a well-needed and wonderful rest. Going back to Rolla for things like that is like walking into a big, warm hug. I felt wrapped up in love and was reinvigorated to continue my ministry. The only downside of the trip was the immense number of people who asked what my plan is for after I graduate Notre Dame. The frustrating answer is that I don’t know, but like my student who so bravely is letting God guide her future, I am trying to trust that He has a plan and that his plan, unlike my own half-dozen batch of half baked plans for next year, will rise up and give me the answer I need.

On the drive down and part of the drive back, I listened to the audiobook of Tattoos on the Heart by Fr. Greg Boyle. This is an awesome book and everyone should read it (thanks to Sarah Hallett and Fr. Jeff separately for the recommendations to read it). He quotes Mother Theresa saying that we are not called to success but to faithfulness. As I look forward to this next step into the great unknown, I try to hold onto this. I am not called to success, only faithfulness. So, let us all faithfully move forward out of the darkness and into the light, listening to our call. 

30 September...

So, I realize that I haven’t written in quite some time. I’ve been beyond busy and I’m afraid that’s how it will be for a while.

I’m back in Indianapolis and well into my third semester at Butler as Chaplain’s Apprentice for the Butler Catholic Community. Things are going well for us at the BCC. We have a great new group of freshmen women who are very involved. Last year, my freshman women’s ministry had 1 girl on the first day. This year, we had 16. The group has varied each week since, but it’s always a good size group and the women are very involved in the discussions. I am pleasantly surprised by the level at which we can have  these discussions.

On Friday (two days ago), we had a movie night at the BCC where we watched the Lorax. I think it was the largest group we have had for a social event in a long time. It was great! The third floor was packed. It makes me happy to see that many kids who would rather come and watch a movie with the Catholic Community than go to the multiple parties I passed on my way to the movie.

The freshman girls had texted me the night before asking if we could have a sleepover after the movie night. On such late notice, I didn’t want to do a sleepover (somehow, these take more out of me than they used to—not sure if it’s because I’m older or because I’m in charge now), but we did have a “Girl’s Night” after The Lorax, which was really fun. We did nails, colored in coloring books, and all kinds of fun stuff. We did a lot of talking and bonding and it was good to have the freshmen with the upperclasswomen.

I do love my job.

Outside of work, things range from excruciatingly boring to insane depending on the week. Right now, I’m taking a well-deserved break from reading (I read 16 books in September!) to write this.

I can’t believe it’s already October. I need to write a CV and a Resume, I need to start looking for jobs, I need to do so many things! I can’t believe that Echo is almost over, it feels like it just started. But I might go on for more schooling, I’m not really sure yet. I think that the idea of being a “real person” who is done with school is just too scary… as is the idea of paying off those loans while we’re in a recession like this one.

I’m homesick for Dallas all the time, and (strangely, because this didn’t happen that much before) homesick for Rolla, too. I really don’t want to stay in Indy. Just about the only thing that would keep me here is if I could get a full time job at Butler, which looks like it’s not an option right now.

Yesterday, I went on an outing to see Downtown Indy with my roommate, Matt. Matt is in the Lalanne program and is one of my (nine) housemates. (Yes, you read that right, there are TEN of us living in this house. It’s a lot of fun most of the time.) Anyways, Matt was a doll and took me to all the places downtown that I’ve never been. For some reason, Downtown Indy gives me panic attacks as bad as Chicago, even though (logically) it shouldn’t bother me when I love Dallas so much. I think it’s just a different type of downtown—very crunched together. Dallas is so spacious. Besides, downtown Dallas usually means Molly or Kevin or Mark… and these are all comforting thoughts (I miss you guys!). Sadly, although the day was WONDERFUL (thanks, Matty Matt!!), I still don’t think I want to live here after I graduate, even though I am the Ted to Matt’s Marshall and Meg’s (his girlfriend) Lilly (HIMYM reference, anyone? – it’s a popular show in our house).

I will be going back to Dallas in October, which is ALMOST this month! I’ll be there for UDMC and I’m SOOO extremely excited just to be in the right state for once. I think I was meant to be Texan.

At any rate, I’m done with classes and will soon be preparing for comps.

Please pray for my discernment!

P.S. I've read 55 books this year. Check them out on my "100 Book Challenge" page!

Quick Update...

So, I'm aware that I haven't written in months.

However, I have been READING. I've read 50/100 of my 100 books for the year. Halfway done.

Woo hoo!!

I thought that deserved a blog post.

I'll write again updating everything else soon.

KMFW

P.S. Check out my list of books!

End of May/ Beginning of June and Echo Summer II

I am sorry for how long it's taken me to write. I've been busy. I figured I’d recap a little from last time, since it was written so quickly.

First, I left Indianapolis to go to Rolla for a couple of days, then headed up to KC for Amanda's wedding.

Now, Amanda asked me to come up early, so I got there on Wednesday (the wedding was Saturday). We were pretty busy because Amanda didn't outsource anything. I'm not sure what their total wedding budget was, but it was pretty small. Brent's mom made the cake and his sister, Christina, decorated it. It looked gorgeous-- better than any professional cake I've ever seen. Amanda did the flowers (with a little help from Lisa and me). Amanda, Brent, and I  did the rest of the food-- I was in charge of the kitchen during the reception. I think I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off for most of the week, trying to be the biggest help I could. The wedding got on with only a couple mishaps, one of which being that I forgot my dress at home in Rolla. It all worked out well, and the new Miller family had a beautiful wedding.

While I was in KC, I couldn't stay with Amanda because her apartment was full of bridesmaids (it's a tiny apartment, right off the plaza-- nice location, but not a great size). So, I stayed at Jerusalem Farm. Many of you probably remember the wonderful experiences I've had at Nazareth Farm and Bethlehem Farm. Well, this one is a new one. I'm loving it. Getting to stay there was one of the highlights of my week. I got to come home to people who I can only call "my type of people," which was a blessing when I was coming "home" from Latin Mass (not my type at all). We had a lot of fun and I got to know Jessie and Jordan Schiele much better. They're lovely people. All my friends in Missouri should check Jerusalem Farm out as soon as they can!

The day after the wedding, I went to breakfast and Mass with my friend, Bernie, and then headed back to Rolla. I got home just in time. I walked into my parents' house and looked at my dad. He looked absolutely awful-- pale white, breathing hard... Mom told me that she had been trying to get him to go to the hospital since the day before, but he wouldn't go. I told him he had to go and finally he agreed to. I'm not sure I really gave him an option. Mom said she was going to force him, but knew I'd be home soon and I could get him to go easier than she could (it's a baby girl thing, Daddy rarely says no to me).

So, Mom and I spent a less than awesome day and evening in the ER with Dad and they admitted him, saying that he had severe pneumonia in the lower part of his left lung. It was pretty bad. Over the next two days, I became familiar yet again with the hospital in Rolla, something I wish I could avoid for a while now. Mom was able to stay with us on Monday because it was Memorial Day, but had to go to work Tuesday. The big problem was that Mom was having surgery the Friday of the same week, so she had to get the hospital ready for her being gone.

On Tuesday, around 5pm, I finally got to bring Dad home. He was doing better, but not much. I spent Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with him, not even leaving the house. Then, Friday, my aunt and grandmother took mom in for her surgery, since we couldn't leave Dad alone. I felt bad not being with her. My aunt kept calling to tell me how things were going, but what Aunt Sharon didn't seem to understand is that the problem with my Mom and surgery is not the surgery. Mom heals really well. Mom's problem is the anasthetic, which she has almost not woken up from before. So, really, Aunt Sharon was just making me more anxious by calling me.

At any rate, Saturday I had two sickies to take care of. Sunday, I went in to Mass and brought them the Eucharist. By Monday morning, two things were apparent: 1) Mom could probably handle taking care of herself and Dad for a couple of hours on her own and 2) that was good, because if I didn't get the heck out of the house, I was going to go crazy. So, I went to the store to take care of a couple of things.

In the middle of all this, I noticed that the water was tasting funny, so we have been drinking bottled water (something I hate doing). I had to go get more water, for one thing, because I think that contaminated water was what was making Dad sick. We still haven't found out if that's the case.

But, I went into town Monday, happy to get away for a couple of hours (literally a couple of hours). Then, I came home. We spent a lot of time that week watching movies and reading. I think I read 7 books over the course of the two weeks that I was home.

Tuesday, I went to lunch with a new friend and then Mom and I got adventurous and went out to dinner with friends. Wednesday was spent at home, as was Thursday, and Friday was spent preparing to go to Notre Dame.

One thing I have to say for all this is that, even though I missed going to Texas (which was heartbreaking-- Ponikiewskis, I miss you!), I got to spend more time with my mother at once than I have EVER spent with her in my whole life. We've never gone on family trips and Mom has always worked late hours and early hours and all the hours in between. I'm sorry she was sick and had to have surgery, but it was kind of fun being together.

Friday was an adventure getting ready to leave. Mom ended up buying me a camera, since mine wasn't working very well. It's really nice and I'm trying to take as many pictures as possible, since I have a grand total of like 5 from last summer. It's my last year at Notre Dame!

I also ended up borrowing my best friend's (Hannah's) mini fridge, since the one that I took to college the first two years didn't even fit into my car.

So, last week on Saturday (the 9th?) I left for Indianapolis, where I would spend the night and then go on to Notre Dame.

Saturday, I got to Indianapolis just in time to go to Mass with my friend, Annie, and her family. It was fun being back in Indy and nice to know the roads (I was perpetually relying on my GPS in KC). After Mass, Annie and I went to a concert at The Vogue in Indy for Jon McLaughlin, who was really good. I had never heard him before, but Annie loves his music. It was fun just to be with Annie, who is such a dear friend. She is often the very embodiment of joy. I wish everyone could know her and love her. She brings such sunshine into my life!

So, Saturday night I got back to my house really late. Amy had to let me in, since I gave up my key for the summer (annoying). But it was nice to sleep in "my" bed.

Sunday morning, I got up and headed for ND, stopping at a Marsh on the way to buy fruit for breakfast. It wasn't a very long drive, and it's an easy one. I made 13/14 stoplights on a green!! (We keep score.)

I got to ND around 1, which was when we could move in. I was the first from Echo 8, and only the second to arrive. Meg Kanatzar, who was one of my BEST friends at UD, got there just a little before me, but waited for me, so I could show her where to park. Apparently, the guard told her it was confusing. At any rate, it was SOOOO good to get there and have a hug from my Meggie, who I hadn't seen since my trip to UD in October (she was the generous soul who let me sleep on her floor).

We unloaded quickly and about halfway through, Luke Slonkosky, one of our directors, showed up. Then, other Echoes started arriving. It was unnerving that there were so many people I didn't know! Now, of course, Echo 9 has not only grown on me, but wormed their way into my heart the same way that 7&8 did. Dear Echo 9, I love you. Thanks for being part of our family!

Unpacking, eating dinner in the dining hall, hanging out... it all happened so fast, I'm not sure there's much to tell. I think I've learned the names a lot more quickly this year, but I only had 9 names to memorize this year instead of 23 (I already knew three of the Echo 9 class-- 2 were my friends in college and 1 came to visit our community to get a feel for Echo back in the fall. I'm so glad they're all here!).

Orientation was great and a typical Colleen Moore experience. She's our director, and she is wonderful.

I'm rooming with my friend Meghan (different from Meg/Megan) and sharing a quad with Kathy and Pam. It's an ongoing adventure.

Classes started today and I'm in the break between classes and I thought that I would take some time to update you all before I start my homework. I hope that you are all well. My Dad is doing much better, thank you for your prayers. I'm doing okay. I'm exhausted and my plan for recharging my batteries fell apart because of my Dad's sickness, but I think I'll pull through. It's a day to day thing.

Classes are going to be interesting. This module I'm taking Theology of Prayer and Teresa of Avila. Next module will be "Contemplation and Action" and "Catholic Sacraments."

Also, my friend Annie (from the concert) is having trouble. Her external harddrive, which had everything (pictures, video, homework, stuff for comps) from the last five years, quit working. Please pray that the people she is sending it to can fix it!

And, as always, I'm praying for you, please pray for us!!

K

The End of May

So, since the last time I wrote, several very important things have happened.

My last weekend in Indianapolis was spent doing three things: 1) hanging out with my hoursemate, Matt; 2) packing like a crazy person; and 3) attending the wedding of two of my very dear students, Brendan and Katie Quinn.

Katie and Bren’s wedding was BEAUTIFUL! I have to say, Katie did a great job planning, organizing, decorating, etc. Also, the food was breakfast for dinner, which is brilliant. I think that will have to be featured in my own wedding, should the event ever arise.

So, I spent Sunday at their wedding and then left bright and early Monday morning for home, arriving in time to go with my mom and grandmother to the KC Ladies’ Auxiliary meeting. I love going to the Ladies Auxiliary because it’s always good to see people from home, and this time was no different. We played bingo and my table won half of the prizes (everyone else was rather jealous). And, of course, I ended up with all of them, because it was my aunts and mom and grandma. So, that was fun.

I spent Tuesday with my dad having lots of fun and then left for Kansas City on Wednesday. I was spending the rest of the week helping my friend Amanda with her wedding. Fortunately, I got to break up the stress a little bit by spending the nights at Jerusalem Farm, which was AMAZING! I’m so excited about the farm and I loved getting to see Jessie and Jordan and meeting Becca and Jeremy.

Anyways, on Wednesday we cut up fruit and went to Latin Mass. On Thursday we made bouquets and had the rehearsal dinner. Friday was for decorating and finishing the food, followed by the rehearsal and then the bachelorette party! I think Amanda enjoyed it, so that was great (I had fun, too!). Then, Saturday, was Amanda’s wedding! It’s crazy to think that one of my best friends from the last five years, with whom I often complained of being single, is now Mrs. Brent Miller! Congrats, darling.

Sunday, I had coffee and went to Mass with my friend, Bernie, and then headed home. I got home and walked in the door, took a look at my dad, and told him I was taking him to the ER. He looked awful, and he should, since he had a pretty bad case of pneumonia and a UTI to boot. We spent all night Sunday followed by Monday and Tuesday in the hospital. Unfortunately, this ruined the Memorial Day party my Aunt Linda threw especially because I was home. However, it was really important to be with my Dad.

So, I got to bring Dad home on Tuesday. I was supposed to leave Wednesday for Texas so I could see my friends and be there for Randi’s graduation, but unfortunately that was just not possible with Dad’s health. We’ve been hanging out at the house ever since.

To top it all off, today my Mom had surgery to have her gallbladder removed. So, basically, I’m taking care of sick parents. Fun, fun. It’s not that I mind so much as it is that I wish they weren’t sick. I love them and hate to see them both so puny!

Tomorrow, I’ll be watching Randi graduate via the internet, just like I did Trevor last year. It won’t win me the adopted sister of the year award, but Randi understands. I just miss my “other family!” It’ll just have to wait. I’m hoping to go to Texas in August, or to convince Travis and possibly Trevor and Randi to come visit me (but it would be immensely more practical for me to go there to see them).

Alas, I haven’t yet learned to bilocate. How handy that ability would be when seperated from the people you love!

I’ll be heading to ND late next week to begin summer #2 of Echo. I can’t believe how fast this year has flown by! And, my greatest consolation is that one of my best friends, Meggie, will be with me in Echo this year!! MEGAN, I LOVE YOU!! Sylvie, I’m excited for you, too!!

Please pray for my family, especially for my parents’ health. Also, prayers for my sanity would be nice.

Love and Sunshine,

K.