This is a real glimpse of our new Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni. Wowzers. This video is from 3 years ago. But I will say, it gives a clear picture of who she is.
In our homeschool, Clare and I are working on an Italian newspaper article about Meloni. She is very controversial and we are gathering the facts to learn more. These are wild times!
A new school year brings a fresh opportunity to enjoy my children. Nothing beats just being together.
I spend all afternoon and evening with Sebastian, Annie, Leigh and sometimes Clare (she is in and out of guitar lessons, working out with a buddy, etc.). Sebastian is taking a giant step in reading and writing, now that he's in 3rd grade. I sit with him after school and work on each cursive letter, each sentence, each spelling word. It is really fun to see him learn. Yesterday he read the phrase, referring to a car, "it tooted its horn." He just laughed and laughed. That sounded like a potty joke to him and he had tears streaming down his face, he was laughing so hard. We all laughed for a good, long time.
Annie has just begun 7th grade the Swiss School of Rome. Like her sister Leigh before her, Annie is diving into the deep end of classes in German--pre-algebra, history, biology, geography etc. all in German. Then she has one or two classes in Italian (art, p.e., and of course, Italian), and her classmates speak Italian as their mother tongue so all the breaks are filled with middle-school-chit-chat in Italian--and Annie hangs in there and keeps up like a champ. Annie already has a "friend group" of half of the girls in the class, and they are sweet, sweet girls who have completely embraced Annie as their awesome new friend. She occasionally plays volleyball in school and just learned a song in German.
Each afternoon, I sit with my kids in our make-shift living room on campus. We laugh and joke around. We get through each homework assignment while I make dinner. We pat the dog and fold laundry and talk and talk and talk. Leigh is usually with us and she too lets her guard down and relaxes.
I'm in a new place which is really just my original place--wanting more than anything just to be together. Kindness, generosity, strength of character, personal fulfillment, and becoming a thriving person are forged in the crucible of loving, committed relationships. Each child needs to know more than anything that their parents know and love them. They need to internalize that their parents see them and like what they see. I see the long road ahead for Leigh, Annie and Sebastian, and the best way to help them in their future endeavors--as far as I can tell--is to spend each moment I can cherishing the little, often silly, seemingly insignificant moments with them as though they were priceless treasures. Because they are. This is my vocation which I cherish and adore: being together.
The University of Dallas Summer Program traveled to the Roman Catacombs where little Sebastian (behind the candle) served at Mass with Fr. Thomas Esposito. What a blessing!
I'm giving glory to God today for a beautiful, powerful retreat for mothers at St. Peter Parish in Covington, Louisiana. It was well worth flying in from Rome to be with--arguably--my favorite community in the world! I can't wait for the professional photos to come in so that I can post the gorgeous ladies that prayed and reflected with us yesterday!
This is the girl I am going to miss like crazy for the next 3 weeks! Clare had a birthday party extraordinaire for her seventeenth birthday. Cocktail-Party-Extravaganza!
Now she is in New Orleans with me. We spent a spectacular weekend with our friends and had a Mighty Is Her Call retreat. Now I am headed home to Rome while she remains here with our friends for 2 weeks. Then she goes to Alvin to be with her grandad and Gigi for a week. Reuniting after that will be SO GOOD!
I love you, sweet Clare!
Ron took me on the best date ever--he zipped me into Rome on his motorcycle and took me to the newly-renovated-and-re-opened Santa Maria Antica. It is in the Roman Forum. It is arguably the oldest church in Rome (but I will be asking my Christian Archaeology professor at the Angelicum about that). The frescoes lining the walls are detailed and emotionally powerful images of Mary. If this church dates to the 4th century (think Constantine--legalization of Christianity), then that says quite loudly that the early Church was a Marian Church. There was no such thing as Christianity without Mary for the first millennia or more of Christianity. Standing in that holy site (that none of us have ever seen since it has been under renovation for so long--decades?) says it louder than any book on apologetics ever could.
Mary Mother of God, pray for us!
Ron is honestly the coolest husband in THE WORLD.
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.
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)!
