Smorgasbord #18
Birthdays, valentines, podcasts, and Lent
Hello friends! Welcome to Smorgasbord, a self-service buffet of ideas.
Aperitif
My son Oliver turned 8 last week, which I’m still processing. He wanted to go to Dave & Buster’s for his birthday, and we did, but since my parents were visiting, we had to get creative and find other activities.
Oliver loves dragons, and we found a free Lunar New Year festival in Mesa with food trucks and live entertainment. It was a lot of fun to witness the Chinese Lion dance, eat dumplings, and get a red envelope—Oliver’s had a two-dollar bill!
We also went to the aquarium, and I realized Lucia is braver than I am. She loves the tide pools and touching the animals in them. Oliver and Emilio spent a lot of time trying to high-five a stingray, and the water in the penguin's section must have been freezing because they were all hanging out on “dry land,” or maybe they were plotting their escape.
It was a good weekend, but it was also very tiring. Going anywhere with four little kids can feel like a challenge every time, but I think we’re moving into a very fun stage where we need one stroller, a couple of diapers, and wipes, and we can make things work. We even ate at a restaurant! I also think I’ve become more confident and relaxed in my parenting style in that 1. I don’t care what other people think about me or my kids when they’re being crazy/loud. 2. I’m better at gauging when it’s time to go before we enter meltdown city. Growth!
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Soup du jour
I gave Lucia a Valentine’s Day card, and I could see the love in her eyes. I wrote a silly little poem inside, and it meant the world to her. For a moment, she became the human version of the heart-eye emoji.
Yesterday morning she asked me if we could dance in the living room. She loves to twirl and extend her little arm out in order to roll herself against me so I can extend her again and again.
She's a daddy's girl for sure, and I love that. It makes me happy when she gets ready for Mass and comes over to show me her outfit and ask if I like it. Being her father fills my heart with much joy and it challenges me every day to polish off my rough edges.
Hors d’oeuvre
I was on
podcast talking to about Five Things For Faith Survival. We discussed five items (not books!) that we would use to help sustain our faith.- framed Lent as the cultivation of our virtue by way of penance, and that stuck with me. I would also suggest listening to her podcast episode on Flourishing & Acedia if you want to understand the good ol’ noonday devil.
I think I’m part of
‘s Blackwater Project now. This was my contribution to it.
Digestif
This week’s Spanish lesson is “Más larga que la Cuaresma.”
Literal translation: Longer than Lent.
Meaning: This phrase is used to express something that takes too long.
Example: The Lord of the Rings es más larga que la Cuaresma.