A Harry Potter Catholic

I will gladly admit:  I am a Catholic.  And I love Harry Potter.  I love the books.  I love the movies.  And I don't feel one bit guilty.

I just got back from seeing the last (sob! sob!) Harry Potter movie.  What an empire.  What an amazing, truly gifted woman you have to be to create these tales that millions of us have enjoyed for so long.  I am aware of the conservative rumblings against the Harry Potter phenomenon.  And I don't begrudge anyone who decides the books are not appropriate for their kids.  I know my own girls will not start reading them for quite some time.  They are just too scary (and progressively mature) for my little princesses.  I also want to be able to talk at a higher level about some of the themes the books raise.  Every parent knows what is best for his or her family, and this post is not an attempt in any way to suggest that it's wrong to shield your kids from the HP phenomenon.  I also won't get into all the arguments for and against the movies from the Catholic perspective.  There are so many books and websites out there about it, and to say that it's a heated debate is putting it mildly!

Here are just some of my very disjointed thoughts on the whole thing:

One of the biggest arguments against the HP empire is that J.K blurs the lines between good and evil.  I have been thinking about this a lot lately, especially as it relates to the sacrament of reconciliation.  Caeley and I recently had another lovely visit to the confessional.  And I don't say that sarcastically.  It is a truly wonderful feeling to speak out loud the ways that you are failing and to know that God sees you, hears you, loves you in spite of this, and is helping you to pick yourself up by your bootstraps and begin again.  (Not just that, but His love and grace are poured out on you to strengthen you in that journey!)   And if Catholics truly believe that we need this sacrament, isn't it because we acknowledge that we are all a blur of good and evil?  Original sin and all that stuff, right?  It seems unfair to demand that a movie hero or heroine be a perfect example of holiness to our children, when we teach them from a very young age that NO ONE but God is perfect.  We instill in them that we are all capable of sin.  Sometimes big sins.  Sometimes little sins.  But not one of us is exempt from it.  Heck, even the saints had honest to goodness struggles, and were usually quite aware of them!

The fact that Harry struggles so much with his own temptation towards evil, literally because he has a part of Voldemort inside him (what a peachy piece of original sin, huh?) and the fact that he OVERCOMES this temptation seems to mirror beautifully the plight that Catholics (and all people) face in this world.  Do we not all struggle against our own little Voldemorts inside us?  And when we struggle, is it not LOVE that helps us to overcome this?  Not just love from our friends and family, which is portrayed so beautifully and poignantly throughout all the movies and books, but also the love of God?

But it isn't just Harry that we see facing this struggle---so many of the characters deal with the draw from goodness towards evil, or as is the case with the Malfoy family, the eventual turning from evil towards good.  (The scene when they choose not to fight with Voldemort is SUCH a great moment in the movie!  Maybe one of my favorite scenes.  I know some could say it is sheer cowardice, and not noble at all, but I think that it was actually valor.  They knew what turning from him could mean and they did it anyway!)  The characters are constantly making truly difficult choices, sometimes choosing the high road (Harry SAVES Draco for PETE'S SAKE!) and sometimes not.  The realism of this struggle speaks to all of us.  

I think it's also worthwhile that J.K. seems to be reminding us not to judge the heart of another.  We can't assume one person is wholly evil and another wholly good.  Snape's death in this movie, when he tells Harry to collect his tears for the Pensieve, speaks volumes about his own heart, and how appearances mean nothing.  (Not to get all religious about it, but I think I've heard that same theme in another really awesome book.)  There are many times when a "good" character shocks us by choosing poorly and vice versa.  But I don't think we are shocked.  I think part of the reason these books and movies have been so wildly popular, and NOT just with kids, is that each one of us can probably identify closely with at least one character in the movie.  (Are you a Hermione or a Luna?  A Neville or a Ron?  A cross between them?)   J.K.'s characters are nothing if not rich and complex, believable yet culpable, and refreshingly imperfect.  They are striving for the most part towards goodness and trying to love and seek love in spite of their shortcomings.  I can think of a no more perfect description of my own life as a Catholic wife and mother.  "Imperfect but striving towards good and trying to love others and God in spite of my shortcomings."  I truly look forward to experiencing this journey all over again with my children.
 

We Interrupt This Program...

 I feel like I haven't had a moment to come up for air since I last blogged.  I knew after vacation that I would be hurtling myself into the world of "getting ready for next school year," but I didn't know just what that would look like.  I was in denial about how much work I had to do, and it has suddenly, and quite painfully, become my daily reality.  (Should mention that this is all self-inflicted work, since I freely choose to design my own curriculum, rather than use something made easy for me.  But I already wrote about that sometime when I was more sane.)  Consider this a "whopper post"--a catch up on a bunch of random stuff.

WHAT'S NEW

I have decided that for a month, we are kickin' it legit "Little House on the Prairie" with respect to food.  I don't know whether it's my own guilt about being such a foodie, or my utter distaste for cleaning out the pantry and chest freezer (both of which are full of who-knows-what), but either way, I am spending one whole month (July 15th to August 15th) trying to eat just what we have in the pantry,  freezers and of course the garden, which is really coming into full swing now.  I am going to try at all costs to avoid huge grocery store trips.  So far, it has been the most awesome experiment because it has taught me that I don't have to "meal plan" around these beautiful recipes I find online (you know, the ones that have tons of ingredients that you don't have...)  What I should really be doing is learning to cook healthy, simple meals with the tons of cr*p I have stuffing my cupboards!  It has also taught me that I complain way to much that "I need to go grocery shopping" when the reality is that I'm just too lazy to be creative with what is sitting under my nose.  Take today's lunch for example.  I had a bunch of shredded zucchini left from the chocolate chip cookies and coffee cake I made.  Enter leftover polenta cakes, bacon grease, a couple eggs, some bread crumbs, a frying pan, and Wa-la!---Zucchini cakes, cottage cheese and a mini polenta cake.  Healthy, filling, and economical.  Tonight's dinner:  marinated pork chops, tomato, basil and mozzarella salad (I did have to buy the moz this morning), and green beans.  This is a fun game.  But this is day 5.  Stay tuned for updates on how we survive...

WHAT'S GETTING OLD

Toddler poos.  Three a day.  In cloth diapers.  While I certainly don't claim to have the most diapering years of anyone I know under my belt (that award would go to Ellie), nor would I win an award even for the most diapers changed in the past year (Ellie and Alexis, you have to duke that one out!) but it is my solid belief that one poopy diaper rinsed with the stupid sprayer into the toilet is worth about 15 disposable poo diapers changed.  So, if we look at it that way, I darn well expect an award to show up in my mailbox soon.  Three a day!  Really?  (And ironically, the only child to be really not interested in sitting on the potty by this age...Sigh.)

(Sorry, no pictures for this one!)

WHAT'S DONE 

Finally finished both the big picture of Caeley's third grade schedule as well as the weekly plan.  This is a huge relief to me!  I can't get at the nitty gritty stuff until I see the whole year at a glance.  I also know that realistically, I won't get to all the nitty gritty (planning out the US History schedule, Spanish schedule, etc.) but that stuff can also be done during my weekly planning times during the year.  It's a luxury to have it done now, and it does save so much stress during the year, but if I don't get to it, at least I have the big stuff done.  Also got my personalized planning books done for both girls.  That's another ginormous project that saves me so much time and organization during the year, so I'm super happy it's out of the way!  (I make my own planners because I can never find one that allows me the freedom to write in my own dates,  that also has boxes for checking off work, NO subject headings, etc.  I also embed in the background of each box the subject that fits in that time slot for the day.  Since we don't do traditional scheduling, it's virtually impossible to find a planner that works for me....)

Couldn't get the picture to flip, it even imported wrong from iPhoto.  Oh Well.

WHAT'S NOT DONE

Still working on Meara's schedule.  And the fact that I've devoted every free moment to school planning means my house looks like something out of an episode of Hoarders.  Okay, maybe not that bad, but bad by my standards.  And the kitchen just piles up during the day.  Sorry Ken.

CAUSE TO CELEBRATE

I'm still on a roll with morning prayer.  I still have my interruptions, but A is sleeping so much better in the mornings and so I'm getting back to being spoiled with quiet time.  (There was a time, long long ago, that I woke up at 5am, prayed, went to the gym, and was all chipper and ready for the day.  I hope to get back to that sometime in the next 2 years!)  But now that I said that,  I'm sure I'll have to miss prayer time all next week because my life will implode.  Speaking of working out, I have starting trying to work out again.  It is a double- edged sword for me---it makes me feel so good mentally and physically, but it makes me so darn tired when I'm still nursing that I either have to compensate with caffeine in the afternoon or a nap. Usually caffeine, but that can turn quickly into the ugly cycle of caffeine dependency.  I'm really trying to avoid that to find the balance between how often I can work out without becoming angry zombie mom.  

My morning exercise takes me past some inspiration that's just the perfect way to start the day:

CAUSE FOR FEELING CONFLICTED

I can't decide whether I'm looking forward to school starting or not.  Part of me is having a panic attack for the following reasons:  1.)  "school starting" means Ken goes back to work.  And all the lovely evenings on the back porch with my smiling, cheerful husband are out the window.  It's been so so so nice having him around more, not working any dances, functions, or other such craziness until 3am.  It's been even better watching him really reconnect with the girls, who relish the extra attention they get from him in June and July.  I am sad to see we have such little time left.  

2.) I feel like I've been "so busy" this summer, and still haven't had time to do all those little projects and things I wanted to do.  Forget about the fact that some days I feel like I've barely had time to cook a decent dinner.  AND I'M NOT EVEN HOMESCHOOLING RIGHT NOW!!!!  WHAT in the WORLD am I doing with my time?  How are the days slipping away so quickly?  I am totally stumped.

Enter my children.  Two girls who love to hate to love to play together.  All the "unstructured free time" these girls have is sometimes their worst enemy.  While I'm all about the lovely maidens twirling around in their fairy dresses in the garden all day, the lack of structure this summer has been torture for me, and I suspect it's been somewhat torturous for them, because they can not seem to get their acts together.  Lots of whining, bickering, and tattling going on here, and I'm just about ready to start school just to give everyone something productive and reasonable to do.  (I had high hopes of doing a very loose schedule with them this summer, but it just hasn't materialized.  At least not completely, and I don't like to do things halfway, so since I didn't feel committed to it, I just scrapped the idea.  Vacation happened.  Then camp happened.  And here we are.  All unstructured and crabby.  This is why I could never unschool.)

Hold on!  Lest I allow myself to become too downtrodden, I can walk down memory lane with my pictures ad prove to myself that our summer hasn't been a total wash.  (And what a blessing pictures are to a person like me, who remembers nothing!)

Visiting the raptor feeding!

Pa and 'Lita giving the new bike a ride!

My very first "CHEESE!!!"

CAUSE FOR LAUGHING

While there have been some funny moments around here the past month or so (Thomas' attempts to light the alter candles being one!) the funniest story happened a couple weeks ago.  Got all three girls ready and went to noon mass at the tiny, pin-drop-quiet chapel on campus.  Let me set the stage:  We get there with only 2 or 3 minutes until mass time.  There are about 3 other adults there at this time, one of whom is the husband of a friend.  We are sitting there and sitting there, but the priest is late. (I admit, it might've been only a short time, but due to the following story, it felt like a million years.)  As we are waiting, Ailin realizes that both her sisters are wearing their crocs, and she is stuck in her white sandals.  Now, unfortunately, she is just a wee babe of 18 months, and when she says "Croc" (or "truck") it sounds like a horrible F-word that happens to rhyme with "truck."  She notices her lack of crocs, and starts saying, softly at first, "Croc?  Croc?"  Caeley and Meara start "shhhh'ing" her, but this makes it worse and she gets louder.  "CROC!  CROC!"  (But remember, it sounds like, "F***!  F***!")  I am about to die!  I look over and my friends' husband's shoulders are moving up and down and he has his hands in his face.  Caeley and Meara start sputtering and blubbering as they see him trying not to laugh.  Out Ailin and I go, running into the priest in the vestibule.  Moral of the story: It's better to be late for mass, UNLESS you are the priest!

I hope this wasn't too long.  It might be the only update you get for a while....back to life.  Back to reality.

Taking For Granted

Our first morning here, I took a morning runalk (this is a "run-walk" for those that don't know, and is typically what unfit people like me do to try to pretend we are exercising!). I went to the lake near my in-laws' house, which ironically enough is called Drayton Point. It really makes me smile every time I see the sign! I have to tell you, this lake is a naturalist's paradise! If you go early enough, before the real heat of the day sets it, you can catch a glimpse of almost any type of living thing--birds, turtles, bugs, etc. I meant to get a "workout" but I think it was my camera that got the most exercise! It was especially fun for me, given my recent bird obsession, to spot some new or less-common birds that I don't get to see where we are: mockingbirds, thrashers, a swan, and an Eastern Kingbird. (Lex---totally missed you on this one!). As I walked around the lake I thought to myself, "Man, I bet the people who live around this lake really take it for granted!". And my next thought was, "I wonder if when people visit where I live, they think the same thing about the beautiful farms and mountains?". I wonder how much of my "everyday" I take for granted myself? Anyway, before I get all philosophical on you, I'll leave you with pictures from my lake visit.