7 Quick Takes

1. 

I ordered a new veil for Easter (which I ordered during the Easter season obviously...not at all in time for Easter Sunday), and it's here! I love the weight and feel of it, and am excited to not always look like I'm in mourning (since my other one is black). I know there are no rules for veiling really, but any other fellow veilers out there wanna weigh in on how you choose which color to where when? 

2. 

I have completely given in and serve Zuzu ketchup with everything. Well, not entirely true - sometimes I serve her mustard, olive oil, or pasta sauce - but she HAS to have "dippy" for every meal. I'm glad I didn't promise out loud that I'd never do that. 

3.

I want to know how it is that a random collection of items always ends up on my floors.  Nothing that makes sense, mind you! Just random items from around my home collect in odd places. As I type at the kitchen table, there sits around my feet: a 3-hole punch, a baby spoon, one orange crock, a silicon pastry brush, a pasta spoon, a pair of broken headphones, and a kitchen towel. On the other side, is a used cloth napkin and a fold-up yard stick. By my door is a bib, a book, a hair tie, and some exercise shorts. 

To be clear, I have used precisely none of these items today. I am interested in mounting secret cameras in my house and watching the tapes in fast forward so I can see how it is those items get picked up and then dropped there, all together. This could be a breakthrough in documentary film making. 

4. 

Which segways nicely to my next point: I AM A HORRIBLE HOUSECLEANER. I was going to write an entire post and ask for your help, but it was too humiliating to be honest about my struggles keeping (a very small house) for all of three people. 

You excellent housekeepers out there, share with me your wisdom! Do you have a cleaning schedule? How do you achieve it with littles running about? Do you give up nap time blog reading for productivity? And if so, how can I not do that and still have a clean house?

I'm dying to know.

5. 

My husband is gone all day today with the car (we're a one car family) and so I was automatically in a huffy mood to start my day. I kept trying to hit my mental reset button, but it just wasn't working. All this to say, those of you whose husbands are usually gone all day, I have nothing but respect. I fled to my neighbor's house for reprieve because for some reason, doing nothing at another person's house is pleasant for Zuzu, but hanging around our house induces wails and whines of unprecedented proportions. 

6. 

Did you husband ever tell you "you're not my mother, why should I get you a Mother's Day present"?  Mine did - the Mother's Day I was pregnant with Zuz. I was furious - but apparently, not alone. My neighbor reports her husband did the same thing. In retaliation, she hasn't bought him a Father's Day present since - and I think that was twelve years ago. (Hell hath no fury ecetera)

So Mother's Day is decidedly low-key around here. What does it usually look like in your house - or do you scorn it with the same fire that Valentine's gets these days? 

7. 

Update: There is now a robe sash and two mismatched socks added to the random pile by my bedroom door since I started writing this. The exercise shorts are gone.

Headcoverings, Latin Mass, and All that Jazz

Here's my confession: I love headcoverings. Love 'em. It's really what makes Orthodox Judaism tempting to me (and the fact that they speak another language and seem to be secluded from the world), but of course I resist because of that whole Jesus issue. A while ago, I made a friend who makes headcoverings - and I thought, yeah I like those. So I started wearing them. Then I started wearing them more. Then I started not leaving the house without them. Then my neighbors started staring.

To be fair, my neighbors do not include 1950s housewives. 

I liked wearing them. They're comfortable, they protect my hair from dust, dirt, and pollen - which gets all over me when I am working out in the yard and digging through my garage. I have a ton of hair, which takes a lot of time to wash and dry, so I don't like unnecessary hair washing. To Mass, though, I like to wear a chapel veil. 

Something like this, although I think mine is even smaller. 

My friends here in Naples took this all in stride. They know that I am a little peculiar anyway, so a few of them made some polite inquiries when I brought it up and then just went on. I joked about looking Amish, which seemed to break the ice, and everyone moved on. I got a couple of compliments on the snoods from some guys in my parish, including an older gentleman who said "Very granola, I like it!" His sentiments are shared by those at my grocery store. I shop at Whole Foods, so lets be honest, nobody even bats an eye - they're all crazy hippies there who wear long skirts and funky scarves. I haven't really gotten more than a few negative reactions and I know that doing this attracts attention, so I am prepared. Also, to be fair, I wear headcoverings with some rather unusual outfits: with jeans, tank tops, etc. I'm not exactly walking around looking Amish...that only happens on baking days. 

I may look something like this on baking days. 

This all doesn't bother me. And I have met other Catholic women that cover, although most of them don't do it full time. I get excited - I want to chat with them about it. Who do they like the best? A Snood for All Seasons? Liturgical Time? Garlands of Grace?? So many great stores to choose from! What always makes me laugh, though, is that as soon as they know I cover they say something along the lines of, "I've never seen you at Latin Mass!" In our area, there aren't a lot of Latin Masses, so they probably know everyone who goes to them. I smile and share that I sing at the 5pm Mass with my husband. Their brows wrinkle in confusion while they try to smile, and it's understandable: for Catholics, we connect head covering to the Latin Mass, not the Novus Ordo. 

I have no problem with the Latin Mass. I enjoyed a few in Virginia and Alabama, when I lived in those places. I'm all for freedom to worship in whatever tongue you like - Latin, Spanish, English, French! Long live variété, mes amis. Yet I do have a teeney, tiny problem: the idea that Latin Mass is better. I've met a few folks now who say they're reverts or converts, really getting into their faith, talk about going to confession every week, adoration, and...Latin Mass. Like it's a natural progression: the holier you get, the more you want to go to Latin Mass. This really bugs me. If you just prefer it, great! Have at it. But there's no value judgment to be put on it, and to say that there is, is to be borderline schismatic and also theologically incorrect. The Mass is always awe-inspiring, a miracle, the "source and summit of our faith" - always! Whether it's celebrated with guitars or chant, in English or Latin, reverently or irreverently. The Mass remains the same. 

Am I being overly sensitive? I hope not. I know in religious circles, people are especially sensitive about others being "holier than thou," even though it's usually just everyone trying to be the best servant of God they can. I don't think these people are trying to put me down so I don't take it personally. But I take it personally for Jesus, who is truly present at my 5pm praise and worship Mass just like He is at their noon Latin Mass. He would meet them in any Mass, no matter how much they disliked the music or their fellow Catholics manner of comportment and dress. As much as they are free to prefer that Mass, I hope they would also extend respect for those who prefer a different kind of worship. 

Deal? Deal.