ACE Phoenix (partial) reunion!

One (4 day) week down for grad school this summer.

With a 3 day weekend, it did leave some time for relaxation today (after working pretty diligently on Friday and Saturday).

What did I do?

I'm so glad you asked! It turned out to be an amazing day - one of my ACE housemates from Phoenix is in the leadership cohort below me, so he and I went to the dunes to meet up with two other ACE housemates from Phoenix who were on their way back from a family vacation in Michigan with their two kids. REUNION!

(Yes, I definitely repped the ACE shirt.)

Such fun. Laughs and updates, sunshine and splashes in the lake. Feeling rejuvenated. Here we go for week 2...

Unwrapping a Gift

Every day is a gift.

When we get out of bed (and throughout the entire day), we have a choice - do we unwrap it and smile, thinking 'How can I best make use of this today?',

or...

do we unwrap it and toss it to the side, thinking 'This is NOT what I wanted!'...?


I don't know about you, but I want to be the former. God has given us this beautiful world, and even in tough circumstances - because we know everyone is fighting his/her own battles and demons - He wants us to enjoy it and share His love with everyone with whom we interact.

Happy (daily) unwrapping...

Unexpected Graces

I had my plan made up in my head - I would go for a run, shower, go to daily Mass, head to the coffee shop to finish my book, and then come home. And all went according to plan...until the end of Mass. A friend from Bible study started talking to me and invited me to join the weekly prayer group that meets to talk about the upcoming Sunday's Readings. She had asked me once before, and I had said no, but I had no real excuse today so I figured, why not?

And I am so glad I went. First of all, I met some lovely older parishioners whom I had seen around the church before but whose names I didn't know. Second of all, a few people in the group were women with whom I visited the Holy Land three years ago. They are such wonderful people, so it is always a pleasure to spend extra time with them. 😀 To top it off, at the end of our time together, we celebrated one woman's 83rd birthday with cake, song, and conversation. Such joy!

Our discussion centered around the nature of hospitality and also Jesus' oft-considered harsh command that if we love our mother, father, sister, or brother more than Him that we are not worthy to follow Him. I shared a brief overview of the homily I had recently heard from Fr. Mike's podcast, where he said we need to ask ourselves two questions each day, one at the beginning when we first wake up and one at the end as we prepare to go to sleep: 1) Who do I want to live for today? & 2) Who did I live for today? Inevitably, we start our day with our eyes set on Christ, but decisions and actions (no matter how seemingly small or insignificant) lead us away from that goal. But we should keep striving each day to live for Christ. (I recommend you listen to his full homily here: 6/25/17.) I definitely need to put up post-its to remind myself about asking those questions (until it becomes a habit).

I like to make plans and to follow them. But I also like the flexibility to adjust my own schedule when opportunities arise. By saying yes, I felt that, in a small way, I was aligning myself more to God's will for my day by spending time in fellowship and Scripture reflection. Yes, I left church about 2 hours after I originally intended, but God is so good like that. And I still had plenty of time for a last-minute Target stop as well as time to finish my (for fun!) book. (I did regrettably discover that the book is part of a 4-part series, so the rest of the books have to wait till after grad school; though, I am eager to know what happens!)

Please keep me and my classmates in your prayers these upcoming weeks as we take our grad school classes. Happy summer!

The Art of Getting Rid of Junk

It all started when I decided to take a walk by the lakefront this morning. With coffee in hand, I more or less walked at a brisk pace, stopping now and then to admire the ducks, sunshine, and solitude.

When I got back to my apartment, I got the "cleaning bug." I attacked the bathroom first - lots of scrubbing, one sponge, 1/2 a bottle of Drano, and 3 kinds of shower spray (couldn't figure out which kind worked best) later, our shower was mostly mold- and mildew-free.

While I felt accomplished, it wasn't enough. I had the time, I decided, so my room would be next. Out came all of the tubs under my bed and the boxes in my closet, out and into either a trash bag or a bag for donations. What an accumulation of junk! (Well, it wasn't all junk, but I certainly wasn't going to look at some of that stuff again...) I think I went through 5 trash bags and filled 2 bags for donations. Phew.

I did feel a lot better after that. A purge of stuff is good and makes one think about becoming less dependent on material things. (Though, it's probably better to purge more often and in smaller amounts.) After that I went to the donation center and then ran a few errands before coming back home, talking to a dear friend on the phone, making dinner (oh, the ease of frozen pizza), and reading my (for fun!) book.

I'm not sure what's on the docket for tomorrow - let the "chronicles of Kelly's boredom before grad school starts up" continue!

Alone Time

It's been a fun couple of days around here. Last night was a free concert in Millennium Park, which I attended as a birthday celebration for a friend, and then today a little further north was a music festival at which one of my all-time favorite artists, Brendan James (!), performed. Music is wonderful for the soul, and it's even better with friends.

It's weird to actually be alone right now. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I didn't have much alone time. Now, I find an abundance of it, and I know I should soak it in while I can because starting next Friday my life is going to get a whole lot busier once grad school summer starts up. But it's so different - the people who used to fill my time (students & co-workers, ex-boyfriend, roommates, etc.) are not around, and my routines are completely thrown off...

But mostly I just don't like the waiting phase. I know I've talked about this before - at least to people through conversation if not on this blog - the waiting phase is like that time in the airport from where you get dropped off and through security to when the plane actually takes off. Let's just go already! It drives me nuts. And I know that's where I metaphorically am right now - the in-between of I just ended school and am back from road trip but not quite ready to start grad school yet. I'm ready for the change of scenery...now.

The (Quiet) Beauty of Daily Mass

As I look ahead to grad school, one of the things I am actually most looking forward to (aside from seeing all of my classmates) is the opportunity for daily Mass. Heck, twice a week it's scheduled into the mid-morning for us as part of our course-load, which is pretty amazing if you ask me.

Here in Chicago there are a LOT of opportunities for daily Mass - one only needs to seek out an appropriate time and location. And so, I did. As I entered into the church (a mere 1-2 minutes early), I felt an overwhelming sense of peace and calm. It was silent and cool. It was perfect.

One of the feasts we celebrated today was that of Thomas More (love that saint!), and the Gospel was the one where Jesus taught his disciples to pray using the "Our Father." I've been trying to pray a lot more recently (though, admittedly, I am trying to pray through the intercession of Mary), so today's Mass was right up my alley. And then, after Mass, I was ready to go on my merry way (after speaking with the priest briefly). I finally tried a new coffee spot right near church, and I nearly finished that second book I am working on for grad school. (Spoiler: It actually got more interesting!)

Later it will be time for a haircut and then who knows... I still have some grad work to do before next week, but I think I'll tackle that tomorrow before a friend's birthday get-together in the evening. After all, in building up mental stamina to prepare for this summer's workload I can only handle so much a day...

The Ho Hum of Summer

Not much happened around here today... I went for a run - well, truth be told, it was more like a jog...with breaks - for the first time in over a week, which was due to my road trip; sat sipping an iced Jasmine tea in Argo Tea while reading The Power of Habit (for grad school); read some more at home; started putting things in piles for grad school; started reading another book for grad school (which is far less interesting and not nearly as well-written as the previously mentioned text); and met up with a friend for dessert at a local establishment.

It's that in-between time for me - just got back from my road trip and not quite leaving for ND. I like not having a lot to do, but I seriously get restless. (Maybe it would help if I was reading a book for fun...)

Tomorrow I am going to try to go to morning Mass, check out the new coffee shop (conveniently located by the church), and get my hair cut. I will also try to finish that second (boring) book.

Man, it's hard being a teacher - many of my teacher friends are out of town (or working a summer job) and the rest of my friends work during regular hours...

Well, happy official start to summer!