Best Come-Back

  Our kids tend to have great comebacks. Clare in particular is especially strong in this department. This week, however, it was Annie who really came out on top. 

  One of the boys in Annie's class is particularly annoying. He is often picking on her. She has long suspected that he has a crush on her, but it is hard to get firm confirmation of such hunches. Regardless, his teasing and constant pestering of her is unwelcome. 

   This week, he said to her, "Annie, why do you speak if you know no one likes you?"

   She replied, "Says the guy who likes me." 

   The class loved it, the boy blushed, and the crush was confirmed beyond a shadow of a doubt. Now THAT'S a come-back. 

Our New Life in Marino

We have moved into our dorm rooms on the campus of the University of Dallas and are grateful for the people who are making this transition a good one, including Peter Hatlie, Vasile and Alina Chiriac, and J.J. Sanford. 

Leigh and I now commute on a regional train into Rome. We love our station, Pantanella. It is clean, quaint and has free parking. Our train leaves at 7.21am at arrives at Termini at 7.55, just in time to get to our respective schools before they begin at 8.15/8.30. 

Our family now attends church in Castel Gandolfo--such a pretty town!

We are excited to embark on our new life here on the UD campus! May the summer students arrive (which they do tomorrow)!

Last Day in Frascati

Any move can be emotional. Our move away from our home of three years in Frascati was no exception. It was a cozy little nest where our family retreated and many good things happened here. 

• We decompressed from a fast-paced, hectic life in Dallas
• We learned to accept living in tiny quarters and not "need" nearly so much of anything
• We learned how to cook for 8 in a kitchen made for 2
• We learned to be together in a whole new way 

In this house:

• Our family survived an international move and got acclimated to Italian schools, civic life and culture
• I wrote my book, got it published, and began promoting it
• I started a theology program at the Angelicum
• I learned how to live peaceably with neighbors and just let go of almost everything I did not like about the arrangement

On our last night, Ron and I went on a date to one of our favorite restaurants associated with a vineyard. We celebrated all the things that have gone well, and how blessed our time in Frascati has been. These are quick photos I snapped as we returned home. Oh, how I will miss this little place!

 

A Mother's Pilgrimage

I had a wonderful day on Sunday. Ron suggested that we go to the church where St. Monica is buried as a pilgrimage. Then he realized that one of our favorite restaurants from many years ago in Rome is just around the corner. 

As a family, we journeyed into Rome (braving a city-wide shut-down of traffic) and made our way to St. Monica's tomb. I got a pile of prayer cards and wrote intentions on about 20. I unloaded my heart and placed my worries and hopes into a basket placed by the tomb. I asked Monica to pray for me and with me for each of my cares. 

Then we had a wonderful meal! 

I love my family! 

Lillian--A Life of Love

 Lillian--my amazing cousin--came to Rome with her fantastic husband and 5 gorgeous children. We spent  several days together. It has been an unusually long time since we have seen each other (pandemics definitely get in the way of good family time) and it was a balm for my soul to be with her! I cherish her so much. She is definitely one of my all-time favorite people! I think of holding her as a little baby, and I marvel at the self-possessed, compassionate, articulate person she is today. She is one of the most thoughtful, loving mothers I have ever seen. She has completely given herself to a life of love, a life of family, and a life of making the world a better place through one act of kindness at a time. The world IS a better place because of her. May more people be like Lillian Helen! 

Here is a little gift in honor of you, Lil! 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_uTrPLQfWGWnegMoHebPgGdDjtll3tye/view?usp=sharing