Dearest Family,

I’m apologizing in advance… I’ve been really busy lately, so I haven’t really had any time for organized thought. However, whenever I have a minute I make sure to log what’s going on so that you, dear family, can see what’s going on… just know that this is a random, incoherent account of my last few weeks, which is pretty appropriate as I’m too busy to think anything but random and incoherent thoughts.
Coworking life: On the whole, I’m doing really well- it’s becoming a little easier and a lot more fun than the first few months. It’s still hard and there are still times I have to push through, but I really do love it and I love my team and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’ve learned so much and I know this is where I am supposed to be.
Visiting home last weekend was FANTASTIC. My freshman sister is the best cross country runner in the entire world and my youngest sister is the best movie-watching partner in the entire world. I can’t even express how simply magical it was to come home late at night after a big, happy Pinecrest event, put on some fuzzy socks, and collapse into my parents’ room to talk about what we were doing the next day… it was like I was a senior all over again. Other events that brought me back to high school life: I got to wake up at 6am and meet my mama downstairs for some Cuban Coffee before school, brunch with the best friends in the entire world (though we never brunched together in years past, we were just talking and laughing like old times and I couldn’t stop smiling), be a part of our famed student section, chant “We are PA!” and “RED HOT!” at the top of my lungs, and rush the field, walk into Mrs. Garcia’s Spanish room (and I really felt like I needed to go sit down in my seat behind where Julia Love should have been), go to Taco Mac and drive home with David, steal my sisters’ clothes (with permission, of course), go to the Carlisles for a party, participate in all 3 fire-drills on campus Friday because, like always, I just happened to be in each building at the right (or wrong, really) time, and sing “American Pie” with the alumni and seniors at the nonfire (because underclassmen are generally too engrossed in their conversations to sing along). I was even reprimanded by Dr. M like old times: he asked me to find an iPhone to look up “Hey There, Delilah” lyrics for the band… I didn’t feel comfortable asking people I don’t know very well to let Dr. Mulholland use their iPhone, so I started asking people for lyrics to the songs. He looks at me seriously and says “Yeah, that might be it… or you could just do what I asked and find me the iPhone.” In that moment I realized that nothing has changed with my graduation- he still has authority over my life even without 15 page papers, but now I just find it endearing instead of scary. I have no desire to relinquish that control- It’s nice to still have a Dr. M. keeping me in line. In fact, it’s nice that everyone still cares and keeps us in line. It was even great to be asked to leave the girls school on Thursday because we were disrupting classes… which has become sort of a rite of passage into alumni-hood. At the girls school fire drill, Kayce and I didn’t talk in the hallways or outside when everyone was standing in line… who were we kidding? We’re really still students, and I don’t think we’ll ever really graduate. I think we were subconsciously still worried we’d get slapped with a FISH.
I still teach my fifth graders CCE on Wednesdays. I was really confused with how to prepare a CCE meeting for 5th graders. I feel like they’re not little kids anymore, but they’re not exactly middle school. I could remember very clearly being in elementary school pre-5th grade and middle school, but couldn’t remember what it was like to be a fifth grader beyond 3 events- We painted inside our silhouette all the things we did and liked for an art project while we listened to “Testify to Love” over and over and over again (I think Mommy still has mine). I also remember working really hard to do well on Spelling because you could get bonus points for getting everything right. Finally, I remember meeting Molly Shinners. That’s it. That’s my recollection of the 5th grade. None of these things, however wonderful they were, helped me AT ALL to see how to teach 5th graders the faith. So what did I do my first class? I taught what I know and think on the topic we had (“Great is the Lord Our God”), let them share, and had them do skits with a bunch of CRAZY costumes I brought from home… SUCCESS!! The costumes made the class- they went WILD. The skits were “silly” to say the least and they didn’t make a ton of sense, but we had “Cineforums” afterward (discussions about what the skit was saying in relation to the topic and Gospel Passage) and they all found something that was really deep in their skits. It was AWESOME. SO good.
My kids are pretty average CCE kids- don’t know nearly anything about the Catholic Church beyond the names Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and that you should go to church every Sunday. The class is also split pretty much in half between kids who really want to learn and kids who come either because mom makes them or their friends go. The attentive kids surprised me- I wasn’t expecting to get a lot of them. One little boy came in looking like he didn’t care and thought himself FAR too cool for CCE class, but ended up being the most eager, excited, curious, prayerful 5th grade boy I’ve ever met in my entire life. He doesn’t know very much about his faith at all, but he wants to learn so badly I’m sorry that I only have an hour and a half a week telling him about it. Another boy is totally up to date and knowledgeable about his faith and couldn’t care less… I decided after meeting them both I’d much rather teach the first boy, even though he’s behind. I spent a few minutes a few classes ago telling them that God, the Creator of the Universe, REALLY IS in that little tabernacle in the Church next door, which is something absolutely breathtaking when it hits home, and his eyes just got wider and wider and his smile bigger and bigger. He was amazed that God was really there, even though he knew it in his head. It was a really great moment.
After our first few classes, I’m starting to remember what it’s like to be a 5th grader, which is helping me immeasurably. I know that when so-and-so won’t stop talking to her friend, she really thinks that what she’s saying is more important than what I’m saying, and no matter how many times I ask her to be quiet, she’ll never be attentive or internally quiet until she tells her friend. I know that that boy is only acting so distinctly silly because he wants attention and is insecure. I’m starting to know each kid, too, a little more personally. Who knows? I might be the only person in this girl’s entire life who talks to her about God right now, and she might remember one thing I said later in life that keeps her in the life of grace.
And it went especially well last Wednesday. It was on the Paschal Mystery with relation to the Exodus story. It went so well, in fact, that we ended up discussing everything from the human condition to the end of the world to purgatory to the value of suffering… with 5th graders. They now know why the Hypostatic Union was necessary for our salvation and the meaning of the term “concupiscence.” For kids who barely know the ‘Our Father,’ they’re incredibly fast learners. I mean, I have a tendency to expect too much out of other people, but these kids REALLY get it. One little girl summarized why God had to come down to save us and, yet, still retain his total humanity and I couldn’t believe how deep her understanding was. They all got it. Next week I had to get a sub for them, though, because we’re going to an integration event with the Prince of Peace team. This is probably good because I think I need to reevaluate the 5th grade CCE curriculum they’ve given me- somehow I think these kids are beyond “Noah’s Arc and the Rainbow Promise”.
But as far as the Northwoods retreat today, we’re doing a WORLD YOUTH DAY theme because the retreat is on Love for the Church. I brought a bunch of pictures from Australia back from home and made some slideshows to flip up throughout the day, and it made me miss it so much. That was, really, the best trip ever. I can never miss a World Youth Day again- it’s too powerful and amazing to miss. I’m still functioning off the apostolic encouragement I received two summers ago. One of our relays is REDICULOUS- they’re running through a day at WYD in 30 minutes. For example, they start by unpacking their stuff at the Church where they’re staying. They have a trivia question which can earn them points, and a challenge that has to do with the location they’re at. For this location, they have a sleeping bag race. Next is missions. They have another trivia question, and then they have a relay putting together lunches for the pilgrims (for example, the first girl in the relay has to balance a sandwich on her head and run it to the girl with the lunchbag at the end of the line, who has an apple she takes a bite of and throws into the bag. Then the girl with the juicebox has to shoot the juice out from a foot away into a cup, and throw the empty juicebox into the lunchbag… she then takes it to the girl with the bag of raisins, who is turned around. Raisin girl throws the raisins over her shoulder and juicebox girl has to catch them… etc. First team done with packing a lunch wins a certain number of points.) From there they go to the Pope’s Arrival, Opening Mass, Catechism, Stations of the Cross, and the final Rally and Mass. It’s gonna be INTENSE!! I’ll try to take some pictures.
Ok, it’s now two days later, and that relay failed MISERABLY. People always use the term “epic failure” to describe something that really wasn’t that epic of a failure, but this really was an epic failure. It had such potential for greatness… such a grand reproduction of World Youth Day… and everything failed spectacularly. We only got through 1½ stations before they just couldn’t concentrate anymore and we all gave up. We didn’t even try it on the second retreat- we just let it go. Note to self: never plan your really good activities right after the girls have a candy-bar/hot chocolate snack break. But it’s ok- the girls had a great retreat without the activity.
So it’s been a pretty good/average week. Yesterday I decided to drive to Sugarland without directions (ok… it was kind of decided for me. I realized when I got on 45 south that I didn’t have them.) So I made it there with VERY LITTLE trouble (made ONE wrong turn, figured it out within 5 minutes, and turned around.) but on the way back I wasn’t thinking and I took 59 South instead of 59 North. Basically, I was headed for Corpus Christi. We figured THAT out within 15 minutes… but it still was not that bad considering how lost we’ve gotten in the past. Lindsey gave me a GPS today and I almost cried with joy.
Speaking of Texas highways… here’s a joke Fr. Hugh told in Mass this morning (it’s funnier if you drive here.)
There was a van full of nuns driving down 45 really slowly. A policeman pulled them over and said to the nun driving, “Sister, you’re going too slow. That’s really dangerous and you need to get up to the speed of traffic.” The sister turned to him and said, “Officer, I’m driving the speed limit” and points to the sign that says “45”. He laughs and answers, “No, that’s the highway you’re on. The speed limit is 65.” Then, he noticed the sisters crammed in the back were white and shaking. “What’s wrong, sisters?” he asked them. One of them answered, shaking, “We just got off of 610.”
Anyway, Tonight Prince of Peace is having an integration/apostolic project we get to go to! We’re watching Juno, carving pumpkins, and making homemade pizzas… and I’m really excited. Sounds like something we would do back home. Lindsey and Angie left again this morning- Lindsey for Dallas and Angie to visit her family in RI… so it’s just the coworkers!
I LOVE YOU AND CANT WAIT FOR DECEMBER 18th!

Love,
Sarah