What a long, crazy weekend. It wasn’t just the Patriots winning the Super Bowl (I have some more to say about that now that I’m well rested.), but the whole thing. You might find some of it interesting, so here goes.
On Saturday, Melanie and I decided to drive up to Freeport, Maine, to L.L. Bean. I gave her a pair of winter boots for Christmas, but they didn’t fit exactly. The Bean store is only a couple of hours away, so we decided to go in person rather than make the exchange by mail. Off we went at 8 am, arriving before 10. It was a beautiful, sunny day with temperatures that are warm for early February in New England, upper 40s or lower 50s. Melanie quickly found her new boots and as we were walking around, I decided to find out if I could get a replacement button formy Field Coat, which I was wearing. As I asked, the lady at the counter took my coat and, to my surprise, offered to attach a new button or three new ones if they didn’t have a match. An hour later, and my coat was ready. There was a matching button, but they also re-sewed the rest of the buttons to make sure they stayed on. The best part of all was that they didn’t charge me a cent. You may pay a little more for Bean, but the service is worth it.
After, we decided to stop at my sister’s house in nearby Windham and visit her and my Mom. We stayed for dinner and I didn’t get to bed until late. A long day. Yesterday was longer.
I had to be up at 6:45 am to get to the church and get the religious education classrooms ready before the 8:30 Mass. The Mass was extra-special yesterday because my nephew Joshua was being baptized during it. Of course, the Mass went on a little long, and I was dismayed when I came out after to see all the parents and children standing outside the school, waiting for the door to be unlocked. Excuse me, but if you were at Mass, you wouldn’t have had to wait until the Mass was finished to get in. Sure, a few of them go to the 10:30 Mass after classes, but not all of them by any means. What kind of Catholics do they think their kids are going to be if they don’t take them to Mass? Just after class, the 2nd-grade catechist told me that as she was telling the kids that missing Mass is a mortal sin, some of the kids were worried because they don’t go and their parents don’t take them. She told them that they are not culpable if it’s not their fault, that if they have no control over it. Hopefully they won’t think of the further implications. I don’t need the headache of parents complaining that I’m teaching their kids to tell them they’re in mortal sin. Maybe it would help some of them, but it would still be a headache.
Image Credit
- patsdynasty.jpg: Unknown | Copyright by owner. Used under Fair Use doctrine
