Just Finished: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

I am just a simple reader. I don't have the beautiful words to describe a book, and I don't seem to be a sophisticated reader. I can't analyze the prose, compare it to any other American author, delve into the language like so many of the reviews I read at Goodreads. When I read, I either like the book or I don't. And every now and then there are books which I can't sort out in my neat piles of liking or disliking. This is one of these.

There is much to dislike about the book, I think. For starters, it is a bleak topic: the survival of a few in an post-apocalyptic world. The dialogue is scarce, simple and repetitive, almost mundane. Except that sometimes in those mundane words there are pearls hidden. The story is vague. We never now what really happened, how they survived, where are they headed to,what are their plans. Heck! We don't ever know even their names!The main characters are simply referred throughout the story as the man and they boy. It drove me crazy at times! I wanted details. I wanted to know. I wanted to get more glimpses at their pre-disaster lives. Who were they before? How come the man knew so much about survival? And there were other questions in my mind: How long have they lived like this? How old was the boy?

I have the hunch that the vagueness was on purpose. I think the author was tapping into some kind of universality. Fears are universal. Relationships are universal.Death is present to us all, disasters can happen and how we react and what kind of person will they make us, is a question that we all could face. In the book the survivors were of two kinds, the "good guys" or the "bad guys". The man and the boy belonged to the "good guys". I think the boy is a prototype of all that is innocent and good, the goodness that we struggle to hold on to when corruption is all around us. He has the black and white way of children, in whose views the world is easily classified and things fall into neat categories. You are either good or bad, coward or brave. He was my favorite character in the book. I picture him like my son N. He had that same ability to think and question, to take things in and when you least expect it, come out with some profound observation. The boy, in my view, kept the man being a man of integrity and honesty. He kept him from sinking into that sub-human state that so many of the survivors have fallen into.

I was touched by their relationship. The man loved his son. The son loved his father. Why was the boy good? I think he was father because the father managed to do, in more than bleak circumstances, what fathers do:direct, guide and instill morals in his son. He managed to nurture in the boy that goodness that comes from the imprint of the Creator.

This book is about love, the love between father and son. It is also a book about hope in the midst of despair; goodness in the midst of evil; courage in the midst of constant fear. It is the triumph of the human spirit in the midst of death.

Just Finished: Horses of Heaven by Gillian Bradshaw

I love to discovered new authors! Gillian Bradshaw is a writer of historical fiction and as the search on Google yielded, she has also written some children books and some science fiction and fantasy. Horses of Heaven takes place in the region between the Middle East and India: The kingdoms of Saka and Bactria. Apparently these kingdoms are real. I have to say that I have never heard of them. The time of the story is after Alexander the Great but before the rise of Rome as a world power.It is the story of the Bactrian king's sister who has been given in marriage as a way to seal an alliance between two neighboring kingdoms that are facing a common enemy. She is a Buddhist who has trained herself in the ways of duty and detachment. Her training doesn't serve her well when she is faced with the repulsion she feels towards her husband. She is determined to do her duty but the more she tries, the more her efforts make the king mad because he demands, and wants to obtain, something she can't give: love. She, who thought love to be impossible finds herself falling in love with the king's son, Izaz. He, who also loves her, is determined not to betray his father. Events get in the way and they are finally thrown together.

The book is interesting and the story is well told. At first I had trouble getting into the book, the descriptions were detailed and, as much as I like historical fiction, I don't like detailed descriptions of things that I find difficult to picture in my mind. Once the story picked up it was hard to stop reading. That said, there were some things I did not like about the book. First, I did not like the mix between historical fiction and fantasy. Personally I think the book would have been better without that horse (or god)that kept appearing. It seemed as an added element-like the author didn't know how to solve the problems and needed some "supernatural" intervention. Also, the story was told as an account written by one of the queen's attendants.But the story goes into great details, like the persons thoughts and inner feelings and emotions, that another person can't possible know. That really bothered me. It took credibility away. I kept asking "how would you know that?". In sum, I liked the book well enough, enough to search for other books by the same author but, it is definitely not one of my favorites.

Clearing Spaces Mission # 3

The temperatures have been warming up here. This forced me to tackle the boys' dressers. Poor A! Nothing from last summer fits him now. We cleared his drawers, packed up the clothes that could be of use for N. in the future and then sat down at the computer to order him some clothes. It is a lot easier than taking him out shopping. I had to do the same thing for N. except that for him we go shopping in our attic. Unfortunately this time the attic shop proved not too adequate since there was hardly any clothing that will fit him. As a bonus, I got to do the same thing for my clothes. I switched the winter clothes for the summer ones and try to purge some in the process. (Note to self: I need to remember to take pictures again- a blog without pictures is kind of boring)

Just finished reading:

Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett: Enjoyable little book. While taking her dogs for a walk the Queen of England stumbles upon the Bookmobile. After all the racket her dogs caused she felt compelled to check out a book. Poor Queen! She didn't know what ride she was about to begin. One thing leads to another and the Queen learns to enjoy reading more and more. Totally fictional but really enjoyable. I appreciated following the development of the Queen as a reader. First the light, indiscriminate reading; then learning to be more careful, reading more serious authors and starting the dialogue with the authors. I love the passage when she realizes that for all her pomp and position, she has no voice and she decides to do something about it.

Hershey Herself by Cecilia Galante: This is one is a young adult fiction title. Hershey is a twelve or thirteen years old girl living with her mom, baby sister and her mom's abusive boyfriend. She has taken upon herself the responsibilities of the well being of her family. She seems to know better than her mom what is good for their family.

With the help of her friend Phoebe, Hershey devices a plan to drive Slade, the cruel boyfriend, crazy hoping that the mother will have the sense to leave him. This plan proofs more disastrous that she ever imagined. They left but instead of a rosy life without Slade, they end up living in a battered women's shelter. There unexpected things happen and Hershey discovers a gift that will get her a chance to do something to repair the damage and alleviate her guilt.
I can't say I liked the book. Maybe I should say that I liked it but didn't love it. The writing was OK. The characters were likable if not always believable. I liked Hershey. She has a problem. She lives in a crappy family. She has a crappy life. She stuffs herself with junk food. She is bullied by Andrea. But she has been loved. Her mother loves her and people in the shelter like her. She is honest, frank and stronger that people might think. She has a rich interior life. She has courage. All in all it was an entertaining reading but not my favorite.

From My File Cabinet

I found some jewels in my drawers. Here is one:

"Motherhood is unique as a spiritual discipline because its practice requires neither ascetic withdrawal nor contemplative silence nor the acquisition of esoteric knowledge. You cannot mother from afar, only from the very center of daily life. It is the little choices that I make everyday as I practice my mothering - to be harsh or kind, giving or withholding, critical or affirming- which shape me and define me more clearly than any degree program or professional affiliation."
Cornelia Odom (CCL newsletter, 1993)

Clearing Spaces Mission #2 ( a little late)

The second mission has been accomplished! The file cabinet drawers have been de-cluttered, the two that belong to me that is. I don't dare de-clutter M's. I don't think he will appreciate my throwing out any of his precious papers.

It took me two days, mostly because there was a lot of articles that I wanted to thin out. Actually, it was like taking a walk through the things that have interested or preoccupied me in the last 10 years or so.:

• There were the articles on motherhood. The ones that I read to convince myself that I was doing the right thing staying at home. The ones that I could throw away. They have accomplish their purpose. I no longer feel ambivalent about my vocation. I no longer need to convince myself of the worth of what I am doing.
  
• There were articles from when I was trying to get a degree on Pastoral Ministry from a too-liberal-for-me program. Those I threw out without thinking much about it, maybe just a slight surprise at why I have ditched them earlier.
• There were copies of homilies I had requested from a former pastor because at the time they touched me, taught me or meant something to me. They also have fulfilled their purpose because as I read through some of them, I couldn't figure out what was it that they meant to me.
• There were the myriad of homeschooling articles that I don't longer need because I am set in how I home school and don't need more articles about methods or techniques.
• And then there was all the articles that have been made obsolete by Google. I don't need to keep hard copies when on the Internet they are just a click away.

Of course, there were also those that I couldn't part with. There are Fr. Alonso's lectures. There were those articles on faith issues that I want to someday share with my children. There are those old photocopied things from when I was a psychologist. Things that, maybe, one day I'll re-read to rekindle the love for my profession (just maybe). There are a small number of People of Praise articles that chronicle some aspect of our community's history. And there are the numerous reading list that I have managed to collect, that are probably on the obsolete category, but since I love lists, I couldn't throw them away.

This mission had an unexpected benefit: a walk into my past and an opportunity for some "philosophizing" (which I like ) :-)

Done!!

Mission number one: accomplished. The magazine baskets are clear. I tossed almost all the past magazines and only kept the ones for this year, some of which I have not read yet.

In Two Days

We went from this
















to this:

Clearing Spaces: Mission 1

I did the first Monday Mission but, it is going to take more than 30 minutes to finish my first spot: the magazines. I have accumulated a couple of years worth of magazines and I can't bear to just throw them away without looking at the recipes and clipping the ones I want to try. You have to look at the stack of pages I ripped off! I got a lot done but I think this is going to be an ongoing project for this week. I am sure I can finish,if not tomorrow the next day. I just have to remember not to do this mission just before supper. It was torture to look at Every Day with RR and Southern Living with an empty stomach!

Clearing Spaces

Sarah over at Plainsong is hosting Clearing Spaces 2009 I am going to join in because there are some spots in our house I would like to declutter:

1-Magazine baskets
2-File cabinet
3-Homeschooling shelf (N)
4-Boy's dressers
5-Boy's closet
6-School supplies shelf and cabinet
7-Recipe files

I will probably have to make it a Tuesday Mission though because we are usually out on Mondays.

Lenten Plans

I have been working on our plans for Lent. As with Christmas, I want this season to be prayer filled but simple. I want to be realistic in what we can accomplish and not get over ambitious. I don't want to fill my eyes with what others,more organized and more crafty that I, are doing but find a source of inspiration and adapt it to our needs. I don't want to reinvent the wheel year after year so I made sure I looked in our shelves and in the faith binder I have been trying to keep up-to-date.

After some at-home and internet searching this is what I have come up with:

From Charlotte I got the idea of tracking our journey to the cross Inspired by Inos Biffi's book The Liturgical Year we are going to focus on an encounter with Jesus each week. Inos Biffi says:

"The path that takes us to Easter is marked by encounters with Jesus."

We are going to take a break from the conversion stories we have been reading. Instead we will focus on one of these encounters by reading and discussing the appropriate Gospel passage

-Week 1: Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman (Jesus as living water)
-Week 2: Jesus' encounter with the man born blind (Jesus as light who illumines the crevices of our hearts and brings our sins and vices to light)
-Week 3: Jesus encounter with Lazarus (Jesus as new life-reconcilation)
-Week 4: Jesus encounter with Peter, who try to discourage him from the path that was set for him (Jesus recommits himself to his mission so we must recommit ourselves to be his disciples)

I will try to depict these in our Lenten journey poster. I will also mark the weekend as oasis in the dessert. Those days were we will take a respite from the Lenten sacrifices

For prayer time, we will use the Divine Mercy Chaplet (also a Charlotte idea) every day except on Fridays when we will do the Stations of the Cross using this book

On Thursdays we will begin to use the subscription to Magnifikids that N. received for Christmas. This promises to be a great resource to prepare for Sunday mass.

There are still some loose ends especially when it comes to the penance and abstinence part. I also need a focus scripture for the fifth week of Lent. I'll give this some more thought and post later.

Picture Book

There is no more simple, uncomplicated pleasure in my life right now than reading picture books. It is simple, just go to the library, pick up a stack, come home, grab a child, sit on the couch with a mug to tea and dive in. Some picture books are fun but forgettable, others are not easily forgotten. They touch you deeply. With their text and illustrations, picture books can state truth, take you on a journey, teach you about far away times or make you laugh. They are also a quick way to mend a little one that is out of sorts.

Yesterday was one of those such days when my little one just seem to be amiss. Nothing settled well with him. He was just dragging. School work was not even in his horizon. I suggested to fix a cup of tea and seat down and just read. It was wonderful! We discovered a new author: Allen Say. My favorite was Grandfather's Journey It made me cry. I could so much identify with the Grandfather. I too know what is like to miss the land you were born in just to go back and find out that you don't quite fit there anymore. Then you come back to the land you now call home and face the reality that you will probably never be a perfect fit. And you reconcile yourself with the idea of permanently living straddle between two worlds.

Other Allen Say picture books we have enjoyed:

Kamishibai Man
Tree of Cranes
Tea with Milk
The Bicycle Man

Classical Conversations

Every now and then I get asked about Classical Conversations. I am trying to put my thoughts together so I can just direct people here.

We are on our second year with this program and it has been a good experience. I have always felt an attraction to classical education. I have seen the good results that a good Classical school produces. I have met countless articulate, thoughtful, smart kids that have come out from Trinity Schools. As good as Trinity is, it is not a possibility for us- geographically speaking. So through our 10 years of homeschooling I have dabbled in classical education on and off. I have read about it but never felt I could implement it at home successfully. I could somewhat handle the Latin (knowing Spanish helps), I could study the Logic,and I could even handle the memorization proper to the Grammatical stage, if I could only be consistent about it. But the discussions, the learning community, the Socratic discussions, that I couldn't provide at home. Classical Conversations have enabled us to give classical education a more consistent, serious try. So far it seems to be working.

Classical Conversations consists of two main programs: Foundations and Challenge. Foundations is subdivided in Foundations and Essentials of the English Language. Foundations is for students roughly 5 to 12 and Challenge includes what in traditional school would be Junior High and High School. Presently, I have two children enrolled in the Foundations program and one in the Challenge program. Leigh Bortins, the creator of the program encourages parents to think beyond the traditional view of grades. The important thing is that the student is prepared to handle the work, brain development and maturity wise.

One big question that we had to answer for ourselves before we decided to give this program a try, was the faith issue. As Catholics, we are always cautious about using non-Catholic curricula. I was concerned about the world view that was going to be presented or the use of material that could have any anti-Catholic bias. So far we haven't had many problems. The main issue has been the Veritas Press Timeline cards. A few of the cards have very blatantly anti Catholic remarks as well as incorrect information. The good news is that the only thing is required for the kids to do is memorize the name of the timeline cards. So we don't even bother in reading the back of the cards (of course I wish they didn't use that resource since the cards ARE spreading falsehood). The other resource we had an issue with was a book used in Challenge II art history seminar ( How Then Should We Live by Francis Schaeffer) but the tutor handle the issue very graciously making sure she pointed out the possible points of disagreement. This brings me to the next point: the group.

I think the CC experience have two essential components that can make or break the experience: the tutor and the group. We have been blessed with a great group of women both the ones that tutor and the moms who participate. This has been an added bonus I wasn't looking for. I wanted and needed a good social environment for my high schooler but I never thought of the support I would get. It has really been a good surprise.

The other big question we have to answer was the money issue. Is it worth the money? We are spending a lot more money that we have ever spent in homeschooling before.For us it has been worth it. When we started CC last year my daughter was beginning High School. She wanted to go to school, we weren't thrilled with the idea. We didn't want to send her to a public school and the local Catholic school was a big expense we weren't sure we wanted to make. CC allowed us to homeschool high school and provide the social contact my daughter wanted, at a fraction of the cost! So for us the money has been well spent. In all honesty, I am not sure I would've looked at the Foundation and Essentials programs if I didn't have the pressing high school issue. Now I am glad I did.

Another question I get asked is what else do I do with my kids, do I supplement? Last year I had to get used to the idea of having this program. I had to transition from wanting to do whatever I was doing before and adding CC to the mix. It was too much! This year I have taken a different approach. This year I have let CC be my guide... for real. I have taken the multum non multa approach of sorts. I have concentrated in the basics and have concentrated in doing those well. The basics for us are: CC memory work, reading, writing and math for my youngest; CC memory work, Essentials work and math for my 11 year old and religion for both. We add a history program because I like history but we take it slowly mainly reading living books.The same goes for science. For my oldest, the only thing we have added is Religious Education and we are working very slowly through an Ancient History Book.

So my advice to parents considering CC is this: read at least the basics regarding the Classical Method of education.These are some starting points: Memoria Press and Dorothy Sayers' essay The Lost Tool of Learning Then commit yourself to this method and do yourself a favor, don't try to do two programs at the same time. CC is not a co-op we tag along to every thing else you are already doing. You are paying for this service, make it work for you and don't try to re-invent the wheel.

Our Advent Mantel

Cool Creation

Alex's new Kapla Blocks creation... with youtube as a source of inspiration.

Could it Be?!

Could it be? Could it be? that we have finally found a good rhythm to our school day. Could it be? that the adjustment period has finished? Could it be that we are going to settle into a comfortable routine? Do I dare hope? Do I dare believe it? I am not sure, but we have had a good week; and without further analyzing, I am going to settle and enjoy it. Next week will let me now if this was just a fluke. In the mean time I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Almost Jealous

Last night we ate dinner around the computer listening to Sarah Palin's acceptance speech. We missed it the night before. It was an odd sight. We crowded around our Imac eating black bean quesadillas and listening to her. I have never payed much attention to politics. Heck!I can't even vote.But there is something in her that kept our attention. Even the kids sat there listening. I don't know what caught their attention. It could've been that she is a woman. It could've been that she is pretty. Maybe it was how natural and unaffected her delivery was. Maybe all of these but I think what really made them pay attention, I suspect, is their father's enthusiastic response.

Never,never ever, have I seen Mark being so excited about a politician. He is completely taken by her. I won't attempt here to go into why he likes her but let me say something, by the end of the speech, I was almost jealous!

I Was all Ready

I really was. Mostly. I was all set and ready to go with our school year. We had our firs day of Classical Conversations. We had one normal day of school after that and then Gustav started to loom in the horizon. I was asked to head the "Evacuee Relocation Committee" for our community and all normality went away. Time was spent with phone calls and emails. Then there was the Labor Day picnic and welcoming the family that was going to be with us. When things like this happen school takes a backseat. Thank the Lord nothing major happened and next week our lives should be back to normal. Then I will know if all the planning paid off and the rhythm of our school days will resume.

Cross-posted from Día a Día

Building Bridges of Love

I love that phrase. I actually read it in Spanish: Puentes de Amor.I love the imagery it evokes of connections, communication, friendship, company, togetherness.
Usually bridges are built to make access easier. They connect places that would otherwise be incommunicated, inaccesible, unapproachable. They overcome obstacles (rivers, lakes,etc). Bridges have to be strong, solid, well built.And they can be frightening: once you start on it, you can't go back.There is no other way but forward.The majority of us though, are not afraid because we trust that the bridges have been well built.

We are called to build strong, solid Bridges of Love with one another. We are called to approach the unapproachable, connect with the inaccessible, repair the broken, and give maintenance to those relationships we have already established.
Building Bridges of Love, is about taking risks. It is about forgetting ourselves and thinking of others. It is about "loving your neighbor as yourself" and "dying to self". It is a call to love radically and totally with no turning back.
How do we build bridges? The author the article I was reading in La Palabra Entre Nosotros reminds us that prayer is an indispensable building material. After all, he says, God is the architect and engineer of our lives.
It is impossible not to feel connected to those with whom we pray. When we pray together we share an awareness of God's presence ("where two or more...")and we realize, in a tangible way, that we are children of the same Father. It is also impossible to stay uninvolved in the lives of those for whom we pray. When we pray for others we share their hopes, fears, wishes,needs and their joy when their prayers are answered. Prayer unites us.Prayer build Bridges.
There are many other ways I can think of building those bridges:

-Make time for those we love: This is basic maintenance.If we want to stay connected we need to find the time to be with our spouse, children and friends.
-Give them our undivided attention.
-Establishing eye contact.
-Offering a smile.
-Anticipate needs.
-Little acts of love and service.
-Visits
-Hugs

All of these sound so simple.And they are. It is a matter of cultivating a deliberate attitude.This purposeful living and reaching out will be an antidote to the isolation and loneliness that we see all around us.After all that is what bridges are for.

What God is Telling me Today on the Feast of St. Thomas

He is addressing me directly: "Do not be unbelieving any more but believe."

It is a direct command to stop a behavior (unbelieving) and do something different (believe). Several days ago I was telling the Lord that I don't have what it takes to live the radical life he has called me to. "Look at my life Lord," I said, "I am overwhelmed. I feel paralyzed by what I have to do and can't do. I am plagued by doubts and indecisions. I can't even make my mind about how I want to educate my children! and you are asking me to live a radical live, a live of dedication and single mindedness? I am wishy-washy. I can't commit with all my heart to the work you have asked me to do. I am always questioning. I am so AFRAID. Yes, with capital letters. I don't even have the mind to know what I am afraid of. I CAN'T!"

But today, as He did with St. Thomas, He looks at me in the eye and tells me: "Do not be unbelieving any more but believe". He tells me to believe that what the did for St. Thomas, He can do for me. St. Thomas was transformed. I can also be transformed. St. Thomas was flooded with the gift of divine faith but, I believe that there was a moment, when he looked at Jesus' face, that he had to make a decision to accept the gift or not. In a split second, he had to make the decision to believe. And it is this decision Jesus is asking me to make today. He is asking me to stop the struggle and surrunder.

And he tells me more. In today's reading He is trying to build my confidence "You are built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, and Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone." And He tells me even more:" Every structure knit together in him grows into a holy temple in the Lord, and you too , in him, are being built into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit."

St. Thomas, pray for me!