Eucharistic Motherhood: The Ozarks

Monday, January 23, 2012

The Ozarks

We went camping in the Ozarks. Spur of the moment decision, instigated by, of course, Ron. It was pure delight: R and R at its best!
Leigh was my "Buddy": we were inseparable. She said, "I have four buddies: Mom, Dad, God the Father, and Jesus." By the end of the trip, Annie was hugging Leigh constantly. So Leigh declared: "Now I have 5 buddies!" Truly, it was a time of great love.

Ron said, "The nice thing about camping in the winter is that no one else goes then. So you have the area all to yourself." Hmmmmmmmm. . . . . . .
It was COLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At least we had a nice little cabin: our "castle in the cloud." We are now all sold in the idea of cabin vacationing.

Lots of games, watching the fire, and napping.

The cabin was at the top of White Rock Mountain in Arkansas. When I say "The top," I mean that there was a hundred (AT LEAST) foot drop all the way around the rim, and that is just the peak of the mountain--we were truly in the clouds.

We took a hike around the rim: there was a trail, but it was only about 2 feet wide. At one point, the kids were joking around a little bit. Ron said, "Kids, you don't understand: the woman said to me, 'I would never take kids on that trail--they might fall off!'" That was when I realized that we were going against ALL conventional wisdom and truly risking our lives--tripping on a tree root, and down you go! WOW!! (The picture does not even begin to reflect the dramatic quality of much of the trail.)

But the kids were amazingly obedient, self-controlled, and loved the views and the fresh air. They had a blast! Even Annie enjoyed the ride!

Although at one point, Leigh (whose hand I held every step of the way) said to me, "I think I am too young to be here. I could get killed." I said, "Oh sweetheart, I've got your hand. Nothing's going to happen to you!" But five minutes later she piped up, "I think I'd rather be playing Uno. I'm good at Uno!" So, so sweet (and smart)! I love that girl!!

The best things to me besides the time with Ron and the kids were the sunsets and the stars.

And knitting, which I did almost constantly.
I really needed the rest, and our entire family got a wonderful chance to restore, body and spirit.

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About Me

Born in Texas, raised in NYC, I earned my Ph.D. in philosophy and married a gorgeous theology student who rides a motorcycle and looks like James Dean. We now have six kids, are based in Irving near the University of Dallas where my husband teaches theology and where I sometimes teach philosophy. We currently live in the Castelli Romani, just outside of Rome, Italy. In addition to teaching some semesters and raising our 6 wonderful children, I am studying theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas. Passionate about the vocation of motherhood, I founded a Catholic mother's ministry, Mighty Is Her Call. Our retreats and blog can be explored here: https://mightyishercall.com.

My book, Motherhood: An Extraordinary Vocation was released August 2021.

What's Special about Motherhood?

Motherhood is patterned on the life of Christ, particularly the Eucharist, in a way that no other vocation is. Some mothers shed blood for their children in childbirth--just as Christ shed his blood for us, a gift we celebrate in the Eucharist. Some mothers nourish children with their own bodies--just as Christ nourishes us with his body in the Eucharist. Mothers give themselves up in countless ways for their children--just as Christ gave himself up for us: "This is my body, given up for you." Every aspect of our day, from feeding our children, to cleaning up their messes, to disciplining them, to listening attentively to them, to hugging them, to laughing with them, to cherishing them, reflects the ways Christ gives himself to us. Motherhood is a role fashioned in the image of Christ, more so than perhaps any other vocation. It is singularly close to and reflective of the Heart of Christ.