IF - The series, at least from my perspective

When I started this blog almost two years ago I was inspired to write by all the women who were still waiting for their miracle to occur.  I wanted to let them know, even if that miracle never happened or was delayed, life could still be true, good and beautiful. 

I have been reading so many angst^* filled posts lately.  IF tends to eat away at your self-confidence, and, perhaps especially for Catholic women, your purpose for being.  We were taught and want to be fruitful and multiply; to have good Catholic families; to raise future nuns, priests and saints.  When we cannot, we often feel like failures.

I wasn't able to come up with good, quick comments for many of the heart wrenching posts I have read so much of.  I am slow to put into words what I inherently know to be right and true.  So, I have decided to do my own little IF series, my reflections on what I have learned through our IF journey.    These are a few of the topics I am thinking of writing about. 

Throwing in the towel/waiving the white flag
Regrets??
What have I learned

If you have any others you think I should cover, I am always open to suggestions.


^* I debated about using this word, as lately it has been so often used as a derogative.  (i.e. teen-aged angst)  But when I looked up the definition, it is most appropriate and hardly a putdown.

AMDG

It is finished!

1,157 Roma tomatoes

dozens & dozens of uncounted yellow and red beefsteaks

nearly 400 cucumbers

15 pounds of cherries

several dozen beets

40+ quarts of  tomato sauce

6 pints of pickled beets

24+ quarts of dill and bread & butter pickles

5 pints of cherries

3 bags of sundried tomatoes

It is all finally done!

The pots are washed, dried and put away.

The extra canning jars and lids are packed and stored.

The canning pot is nowhere to be seen.

And there was much rejoicing!!!!

AMDG

I stand corrected

I just about had a cow when I heard the supposed news about Chick-Fil-A the other day.  It seemed like such a slap in the face to all those who stood for hours supporting the chain when they took flack for owner Dan Cathy's comment in support of traditional marriage.

Well, I should know by now not to trust the mainstream media.  But I did.  And they were wrong.  And so was I for posting without verifying.  Mea culpa!

Himself and a good friend both sent me this link refuting what had been recently published.  Chick-Fil-A also published a statement, "Who We Are" on their website.  It's worth a read.


AMDG

Life Amplified

A couple of weeks ago I starting writing a post on how, although I hate wishing my life away,  I was certainly glad August was over.  At the time it felt like a long, hot, and very trying and stressful month.  Of course, I never finished that post.

A friend was telling me about the stresses in his life at the moment.  He is getting ready to move across the country for a new job, trying to sell his house, pack up, find a new place to live, replace both his and his wife's old cars, and, oh, by the way, his three year has to have surgery next week.  When I remarked that I felt for him, and by comparison, our stressors were much smaller, he asked what was going on in our lives.

Truth be told, I had a hard time remembering what had me so overwhelmed.  I thought back on it and came up with August had been Life Amplified. 

Elderly parents and older cars tend to break down.  And both did.  Job changes happened.  Vacations got cancelled.  Crops ripen and have to be harvested, now.  And processed, now. 

All in all, it wasn't anything terribly unusual.  It just seemed to happen all at once.  I'm hoping that will only occur once in a blue moon!

AMDG

Ch-ch-ch-chicken!

You know something?  I really should change the station that comes on with my alarm in the morning.  Lately it seems that even listening to a song where the dog runs away, the lover leaves and the pick-up truck breaks down will be happier than the news.

Chick-Fil-A caved, people.  They announced that they are no longer giving donations to groups that support traditional families and marriage.  I guess all those people that stood in line supporting the comments of the founder had it all wrong.  They wasted their time. Perhaps they should have just stood in front of the restaurants rudely gesturing.  Then, in the middle of the night, they should have snuck up and spray painted the buildings.   

Can you tell I'm angry, annoyed, and royally disappointed? 

I guess I've had my last chicken breakfast burrito.


AMDG

Just because you can?

This morning I was listening to one of my new coworkers tell another about the baseball game he went to last night.  It wasn't the greatest of games; they lost, as they are wont to do this season.  The highlight for him was the seats he sat in.  It wasn't that they had a great view, he didn't mention that.  The great part about the seats was that they were in the all-you-can-eat section.

He went on to list everything that he had eaten during the course of the game - a salad, fries, a couple of burgers, a hot dog, a slice of pizza, more than one brat, popcorn and nachos.  I'm sure I might have missed something in that list.  He was then complaining that he didn't feel well, his weight rose three pounds overnight, and his blood sugar shot up.  Really?  Who would have thought it!

Sometimes I wonder why we do what we do.  You know, the certain something you do that may feel okay for a moment but you know in the long run just isn't good for you.  I did that yesterday, too.  It was just one donut.  It tasted good for about 15 seconds.  After that it did what I knew it might, it made me queasy.  Was it worth it?  Nope.  But still I did it. 

We humans are crazy beings!

AMDG

Theology of tomatoes

I've mentioned a few times that we planted a much larger garden this year than we have in the past.  We've had some hits and some misses with what we chose to put in.  Our biggest "hit," by far, has been tomatoes.  The harvest has been abundant.  But, the workers are few.

Last weekend I hurt my back and have been pretty useless when it comes to picking what's ripe and ready.  Himself went out the other day and made it through about three quarters of the Roma plants.  He came in with a heaping bushel basket full of red goodness. 

Since there was no way I was going to stand at the sink peeling 300+ tomatoes, I came up with an easier, and, actually much tastier way, to process them.  I washed them, cut them in half and tossed them in a pan with garlic, onions, EVOO and S&P, then roasted them in the oven for a couple of hours. 

After they cooled at bit, I spun them in a food mill to get rid of the skins and seeds.  As I sat at the kitchen table cranking away, with my back screaming at me, I watched the tomatoes turn into something that looked completely different from what they started. 

The heat of the oven and the pressure of the grinding mill produced a delicious sauce.  When I thought I got all I could out of the tomatoes, I ground a bit more.  What do you know?  Still more sauce.

It got me thinking that making tomato sauce is like the trials we go through in life.  A bit of pressure, whether IF, a lost job, or even a screaming backache, can transform us.  And, just when you think you have nothing more to give, something else happens.  Perhaps it is a broken down car, a sick relative, or an unanticipated expense.  We feel even more crushed. 

But, if we allow God to work through our pain and trials, we just may end up sweet and saucy and transformed into something much better than we otherwise would have been.  I'm certainly praying that's the case.

AMDG