Day 51--Theology Class

I am deep into the readings for my theology class at the Angelicum. One of the ideas that has completely transformed me is presented by Fr. Roch Kereszty in his book, Wedding Feast of the Lamb. He refers to the Last Supper, when Christ establishes a new Covenant, replacing the Old Covenant of Mt. Sinai. In so doing, it would have been appropriate for Jesus to have sprinkled the apostles with the blood, as Moses sprinkled the Israelites with the blood of the bull of that sacrifice. But instead, Jesus tells the apostles to drink it. Fr., Roch writes:

"In this way, Jesus does not only make us beneficiaries of his atoning death; in a Jewish context sprinkling blood would have expressed this purpose more appropriately. Rather, he shares with us his blood, his life, indeed the very source of atonement; he wants to let his blood speak in us "more eloquently than the blood of Abel" (Hebrews 12:24) and thus atone for sins within us and through us. In other words, it seems that, by giving us what is most exclusively his own, Jesus calls us to join him in his atoning work" (p. 42). 

That is such a huge idea, that Jesus not only atones for our sins, but invites us to share in his atoning work. We are to share in this mission with him. My head spins at this new way of seeing the Last Supper. I think it was worth moving to Italy just to read this passage.

Day 50--Fresh Circumstances as Gifts from God

"There is not a moment in which God does not present Himself under the cover of some pain to be endured, of some consolation to be enjoyed, or of some duty to be performed. All that takes place within us, around us, or through us, contains and conceals His divine action. It is really and truly there present, but invisibly present, so that we are always surprised and do not recognize His operation until it has ceased. If we could lift the veil, and if we were attentive and watchful God would continually reveal Himself to us, and we should see His divine action in everything that happened to us, and rejoice in it. At each successive occurrence we should exclaim: 'It is the Lord' and we should accept every fresh circumstance as a gift from God. We should look upon creatures as feeble tools in the hands of an able workman, and should discover easily that nothing was wanting in us, and that the constant providence of God disposed Him to bestow upon us at every moment whatever we required."
     --Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade

Day 49--Amatriciana

Amatriciana con Bucatini is one of those meals that it took moving to Italy to get on my radar and fall in love with. This typical Roman dish served with Italian bread and red table wine: It's among my favorite meals of all time. The pasta sauce is not your typical red sauce with oregano or basil; it has a distinctive taste all its own. The white wine, red pepper flakes, guanciale and parmesan are a special combination. The Bucatini is hollow in the middle like a straw, and a bit fat. So, it is the quintessential "slurping" pasta that is enjoyably messy to eat.
   
Amatriciana: (10 people)
~diced pancetta or guanciale, as much as you want :) I used 360 grams
~garlic powder, a healthy sprinkle to cover the guanciale
~white wine, about 1 cup
~pureed tomatoes, 700 g jar x3
~ salt and red pepper flakes to taste
~Bucatini Pasta, 1000 g
~Parmesan or pecorino cheese

This is "peasant food" that is very, very simple to make. Brown the meat (guanciale or pancetta) in a little olive oil for 5 minutes. Then sprinkle with garlic powder and let brown for about 2 more minutes. Then pour the white wine over it and cook for 5 more minutes. Then add the tomato sauce, salt (maybe 1-2 tsp) and red pepper flakes (maybe 1 tsp) and cook for 20 or 30 more minutes. That's it. Taste and adjust seasonings. It should not be bland (if it is, add more salt) nor intensely hot/spicy. But it should have enough "kick" from the red pepper flakes to be different from regular red sauce (such as marinara) and have a zing to it.

Meanwhile, cook the Bucatini in salted water with a little oil for 9 minutes (do not overcook). Then strain, and place in a large bowl. Pour the sauce in the bowl as well. I reserve a little of the pasta in its pot and a little of the sauce in its pot so that when I am mixing the sauce with the pasta, if I need to add a little more sauce or a little more pasta, I have enough to get the right ratio. It is important to toss the pasta and sauce together--an Italian would never spoon the sauce on top of a mound of pasta. It must be tossed first. And then add a bit of parmesan and toss that as well.

Serve a portion of the tossed pasta on a plate and then add a little more parmesan on top (optional). The Amatriciana with some crusty bread and cheap red wine--it really doesn't get any better than that.

Day 48--Hamlet

   Sebastian and I watched Lawrence Olivier's Hamlet yesterday, and I narrated what was happening throughout. Sebastian clenched my arm, buried his face in a pillow, and at other times could not unglue his eyes from the screen. The whole rest of the day, he asked me questions like, "Why would Claudius have killed Hamlet's father in the first place?" and "Did Hamlet and Ophelia both go mad for the same reason?" Astute little fellow.
   Then, he, Annie and Leigh put on a tremendous re-enactment of the tragic story. The murder through the curtain was the most scintillating part, and poor Polonius died over and over in our version of the play. Sebastian loved the fact that in the final fight scene, Sir Lawrence Olivier had a dagger in one hand with a sword in the other. That, I predict, will be the new normal for Sebastian's Nerf sword fights. Why have one weapon when you could have two?
   Lesson learned: Don't murder anyone. It goes really badly.

Day 47--The Big Push

    The kids are undertaking a BIG PUSH for the end of the school year. The tests and interrogations are relentless! The kids are studying so hard. I am truly in awe that Clare and Leigh are learning Spanish--taught in Italian--as well as Italian. Golly! What intensity!
    Annie's school just started online streamed class time--very funny that they are changing platforms now. And how it happened is even more hilarious (and totally typical): the first hour was supposed to be taught by the IT director who set up the platform; he lost connection 10 minutes into the hour and could not get back on! The kids all chatted for the remaining 50 minutes! So funny.
    I am homeschooling Sebastian: we are doing entomology (bug science!) and reading. Today we are taking up Shakespeare--we'll see how that goes!
   

Day 46--Divine Mercy

     Words cannot express how much I loved this Divine Mercy Sunday. Our family had prayed the novena since Good Friday, and we really prioritized it and sought as many of the graces as possible. I spent a long time in the afternoon doing an examination of conscience and seeking a purified heart and life. The bottom line: where would we be without a merciful God?!? I am brimming with awe and gratitude.

Day 45--Pizza and Gaga

  Having a blast! Ron got TAKE OUT PIZZA from Frascati tonight! Oh my goodness, its the first pre-prepared food we've had in 44 days! Oh it was so good. Cant believe things are opening up! It's been a long 44 days!
   We're watching Lady Gaga's COVID 19 show. Ron and I don't really know any of these people. :)
   But it was a memorable moment watching Jack Johnson sing "Better Together." Ron had bought all Jack Johnson's albums when we were engaged and first married and we listened to them all the time long before any of our kids were alive. And now, here we are quarantined in Italy, watching Jack Johnson sing from his front porch in Hawaii, and our kids are singing along and know every word. It's a strange life. All things come together.
   Crying here watching the health care workers give their lives fighting this virus.  Mothers not being able to see their children at home, working around the clock. Where the virus goes berserk, it is really lethal and unbelievably contagious. So hard to predict where it will go over the top as it has in Lombardy and New York. But it does not do this everywhere or all the time. It's a squirrely, nasty thing!

Day 44--Bug Hunt

    I'm not sure where I got the energy or drive to do this. The entire time I thought to myself, "In 20 years of being a mother, I have not had the energy or attention for something like this. What is wrong with me?"
    Wherever the inspiration came from, I suggested I take Sebastian and Annie on a bug hunt. Sebastian has been "bugging me" to read him his book on bugs every day. It is almost 50 pages long. I get the full creep-out experience every single time we read about cockroaches, bed mites and jungle scorpions. I hate that book. But it is our daily routine.
    Yet as we read, he astounds me. He tells me verbatim what various sections say, even though he cannot read. He has memorized a large percentage of this book. He even knows what pages the various descriptions are. At one point he told me there was a bug that was a machine. I said there were no bugs that were machines. He said, "Look!" and he turned right to the picture of a queen termite, under which it is written, "The queen termite is an egg-laying machine."
     Today I had been getting nervous that some of our kids are not getting a good education. I remembered homeschooling Jacob and Mary long before the others were even alive. The whole idea was to light their imagination, get them truly interested in something. Today as I was washing dishes and thinking about buying "The Well-Trained Mind" online, Sebastian asked me to read him his bug book again. I realized, "This is it! This is what he is interested in!" And so we went out, including Annie since she is not able to be left out of anything interesting. She recorded all our data. We captured 4 black ants, one red-and-black bug (a real name!), an arachnid or some sort, and a white moth. We almost got a fuzzy brown spider but it got away. A little "Jacob" and "Mary" coming down the pike!

Day 43--Homemade Pizza

  Making homemade pizza is no small thing. I have made it twice in a row now--still learning. Yeast is just plain different over here, and we have a poor-quality oven. So the second time I made it, Ron worked up the grill and we put a pizza stone on it. The I made about 8 pizzas. The ones at the end, cooked when the stone had gotten very hot, were incredible. It turns out, the way to make pizza crunchy/crispy on the bottom but not just a crisp cracker all the way through is a pizza stone--that is the trick to making pizza! The other trick is letting dough rise for long enough. One recipe didn't even suggest letting it rise; a second one suggest a 30 minute rise time.  But the best one said at least three hours and let the dough triple in size. Now we're getting somewhere! This dough, when rolled out very thin, and cooked on a very hot stone is the real deal.

Day 42--Little House on the Italian Prairie

     Strange days. . . it is beyond weird to be secluded from the world for this long! The kids are starting back up with school work after Easter and doing a big push to get their grades up and finish strong for the end of the year. So, everywhere you turn, you see a Rombs kid at a computer or iPad focused on something in Italian. Ron and I have taken to grilling each night, since the weather is nice and we just have to get outside more often. Watching the sunset each evening and having time to talk and be together is so pleasant. We are talking a lot about theology and philosophy, as I am taking a course on the Eucharist and am embarking through territory I have never imagined before, and as Ron is reading for his own research and publications. There is so much to discuss! It is really a wonderful time for us.
    That said, it is surreal because the health of the world, the healthcare system, and the economy are in such an intense crisis right now. I cannot see the extent of it yet, and have no sense of whether this is a "we'll bounce back" kind of thing or a "our culture will forever change" type of event. And where all 8 of us will land seems entirely in question. I grieve for the people around the world who are hurting, both physically and in terms of economics, job instability and lifestyle upheaval. Lord, help us, teach us, cure us, enlighten us, show us the way!

Day 41--Cheers

We have heard the quarantine will be partially lifted beginning May 3rd--20 days. Meanwhile, the state of Texas is already about the lift their shelter-in-place order. . . how is that possible? This is all so surreal. My mind spins with where we will be next year, what schools will be open with classrooms filled versus which ones will not.
    And then I let it go, take a big breath, and enjoy the present moment. I love the sound of rain on the roof, the birds and little footsteps all over our house. Our family just started watching Cheers together--brings back memories of high school! Cheers almost single-handedly got me through senior-itis! I love having Jacob here before he leaves, and Mary will be right behind him. How I cherish these days of everyone being home.
    Cheers to all the people surviving a quarantine and a global catastrophe right now!

Day 40--Police

   Ron went out to the grocery store this morning and was stopped by the police. He had to hand over his self-certification form, carta d'identita, and answer 100 questions. The police released him and there was no penalty. But it is a reminder of the incredible burden of this state of emergency. I marvel that in the U.S., people are driving around free to go where they want.
   The stores throughout the region, it turns out, are all closed, even grocery stores and pharmacies. We are living in times of rationing, times where having a storehouse of food is critical. How can I ever go back to living where I take for granted being able to get food and other supplies whenever I want? I will never be the same.