"Love is the soul's true nourishment, yet this food which of all substances we most need is not something we can produce for ourselves. One must wait for it. The only way to make absolutely certain that one will not receive it is to insist on procuring it by oneself. To accept the pattern of love over the pattern of power . . . is the highest human activity of which we are capable."
(Ratzinger, Eschatology, p. 96 ff.)
Spring is here, the lockdown is easing, and people are out and about in the Castelli Romani.
A Vespa recently zipped past me--an antique yellow one. The rider was wearing a leather jacket and goggles like Snoopy.
Even cuter: Today I saw a guy riding one who was doing the sign of the cross with one hand! He must have passed a church. How absolutely-adorably-Italian!
Amazingly, Leigh has so enjoyed learning Italian by going to an Italian school for 2 years that now she has her sights set on starting high school at a German-speaking school! We found the Swiss School of Rome, and discovered that it is bi-lingual, Italian and German. We contacted them and they are interested in Leigh, so we set up a day for her to visit the school.
Friday was the big day. Leigh and I had been working through a German grammar book every night for weeks but we laughed on the metro on the way to the school--she does not know even basic expressions like "Nice to meet you!" She and I have laughed all the way through this experience because it is all so gutsy and absurd. But it is her real desire!
On Friday, she lost her sense of humor as she met the administrator in front of the school and he led her into the building. I stood there in awe with butterflies in my stomach.
At 3:30 I was sitting at a coffee bar ready to pick her up at 4pm. It was raining and I had time to reflect. What an amazing experience we are having here in Italy. What an amazing talent and intellect Leigh has. What an abundance of satisfaction and amazement I have in being her mother and participating in a little but mostly watching the flowering of this young woman.
I am so blessed to be a mother, and especially the mother of my six kids! They are my dream come true!
I have more movies to recommend! The first is on Netflix, and it is called Holiday in the Wild, with Rob Lowe. It is something of a chic flick. It is fairly appropriate for all ages.
Another one is Risen. It is about the right hand man of Pontus Pilate, and imagines the Roman perspective on the resurrection of Christ. I highly recommend it!
The Lost Husband is not terrible, but not great. It is a nice help if you are sick, quarantined, on an airplane, or home bound!
Lastly, not a movie but a TV series, When Calls the Heart was a big favorite. I just loved it. Not the highest quality, and a but saccharine, but a portrayal of virtue and what makes life worth living. It has a strong feminist streak which is a nice comfort.
