7 Quick Takes Friday #16

I write to you from balmy Anchorage. Yes, I made it here although not without a what is common for me now incident. The plane did not fly to San Francisco (45 minutes north), so I had to head to LA (90 minutes south) to catch an Alaskan Airlines flight. It did not make much sense to fly south in order to go to Alaska, but many things don't make sense nowadays. Upon arrival it also did not make sense not to need my winter coat; it is 35 degrees Fahrenheit here with only a couple of feet of snow. I guess winter this year moved to Washington DC. That does not make sense, either. Well, perhaps this week's contribution to the Quick Takes meme hosted by Jennifer Futwiler at Conversion Diary will make a little more sense than my flight plan and the flight of the snow to DC.

1. On Saturday, Donnie and I attended the wedding of Roger (and his now-wife Cass). Roger co-leads our prayer group, which turned out in full force and became the rowdy table at the reception. Fun stuff! Roger works at the local Franciscan retreat center and friary, and the friars turned out in full force. A former elderly resident, Fr. Gavin, drove all the way down from San Francisco to be there for Roger, and a musician from the center provided the music at the wedding. It was like a large family event. Really fun stuff!

2. On Sunday, Valentine's Day, a friend and I attended the monthly Contemplation for Busy People seminar that Fr. Kevin Joyce leads in Campbell. It's a bit of a drive but is very much worth it. I have learned much from Fr. Kevin, and I recommend this seminar (and any other one he does) to anyone who lives within driving distance of San Jose, California. Since Doah lives in nearby Santa Clara, Donnie drove us, and while Silvia and I were at the seminar, he and Doah went out for a Valentine's dinner. Hm... Does anyone see anything odd about this picture?

3. Monday was a holiday! Yay! I was able to catch up on a number of things at home -- except taxes, which was what I had planned to do, but, as we all know, thanks to Robert Browning, "the best-laid plans of mice and men aft gang aglay." I did go to noon Mass, after which a friend, Marie (who helps out with RCIA and did so when I was in RCIA), and I stopped by the local bakery for a drink. She had coffee; I had milk. Our usual! (My milk-drinking addiction is a source of quite some amusement on business trips. Others drink martinis; I drink milk. We all have our little quirks and addictions, don't we?)

4. Monday evening, mu husband Donnie, a friend from Jordan, Fr. Ed, and I had dinner at Petra, a restaurant in a nearby town on the eve of my birthday. We were going to talk about how to drag Fr. Ed to Jordan with us in April. As for my birthday, I had planned to give up aging for Lent, i.e. wait to celebrate it until after Lent. Fr. Ed had other ideas. He showed up with a gift and had talked the restaurant owners, who are friends of his (from Jordan, ironically), into putting a candle into my dessert baklava. So much for giving up aging for Lent!

5. Tuesday, off I went to work. It was going to be my only day in the office this week because of coming here to Alaska, but I also ended up going in on Wednesday, a rough day that I posted about yesterday. I was surprised by two of my employees dragging me out for a birthday lunch at a Texan BBQ. Sheesh! Two days in a row! While I enjoyed it, my diet suffered by a positive three pounds (i.e. gain). I am supposed to be working on negative numbers. Fortunately, it was only a blip; two of the pounds disappeared as of this morning. Yes!

6. On Tuesday, my birthday, Lizzie posted on her face book page a list of "Lessons from Mom." It was a surprise and a wonderful birthday present. Hearing what one's children really think about you is always quite interesting. I copied Lizzie's post onto the Clan of Mahlou blog. If you would like to read Lizzie's lessons from Mom, some of which are serious and others of which are humorous, click here.

7. The season of Lent arrived this week (image from St. Boniface Church). I guess that is not news to anyone. Given my strict diet, which I have followed scrupulously except for the two birthday exceptions, there is nothing I can give up of food items for Lent. I am eating only required and healthy food and fewer than 1000 calories a day. Nope, nothing there to give up. However, I did find something I would like to give up: frustration. After the difficulties earlier this week at work, accompanied by mounting frustration, I realize that I need to eliminate the frustration, just like I eliminated worry a long time ago (with rare exception do I ever worry about anything once it is in God's hands). I am truly serious about this. I have told fellow Catholics at work so that they can help by pointing out when it seems that I am becoming frustrated, and I will pray about it until the non-frustration habit is established as strongly as the non-worry habit. Indeed, since I cannot give up aging, I think giving up frustration is the next best thing for a Lenten commitment this year.

And now the week is about to end. If you live in the South, keep warm. If you live in the North, pray for snow. (Ma tells me that there is too little snow in Maine; this is a problem because snow protects the roots of berry bushes and trees, which can be killed off by the cold without insulation.) And to all everywhere, my best wishes for a great weekend!