As you've noticed, I am not a very regular blogger. Maybe that's because so many of the blessings of the Religious life are so routine that I don't stop to reflect on them. And, admittedly, some of them may become visible only in Heaven. Such is the routine of daily life!
However, when that Obedience requires a transition, I become more reflective. That has been especially true for me this spring (2017), when I have been asked to return to our Motherhouse in Wisconsin to work in our community archives. Although I am excited about being closer to family and about the new work I am desperately sad to leave Casa Grande, Arizona.The people I've come to know through my volunteer work in St. Anthony of Padua Parish, and in my many walks through our neighborhood are people I will always remember with affection. That's for another blog post.
What has really struck me this time, as I prepare to move is how many wonderful people have touched my life over the years. The thought of how much I would have missed if at any point I would have refused a new assignment! I did tell our Community Contact Person that I had never refused an assignment yet, and I was too old to start now. So I'm leaving another set of people I have come to love.
But I've gone over and over many happy memories of past mission assignments as I've worked through that "yes." Many people will be remembered in future blogs. Today, I'll just dwell on one from my immediate past at Silver Lake College of the Holy Family. The family in this picture is in my mind today because, as I write, they are in the air, headed from Germany to St. Anthony Convent here in Casa Grande to visit. The little sweetheart is my patenkind (godchild) and I was also her mother's baptism sponsor at Silver Lake College. They have become dear friends and they'll help me celebrate my birthday next week!
P.S. Last year (2018) I was able to celebrate Papa's birthday and mine as well with them in Germany.
Remember what I said about the joys of obedience. Had I not been willing to move from Xavier High School in Appleton, I would probably not be renewing my Passport this year. There's a First Communion coming up in Germany!
As I reread this 2017 post, I am hoping that I can turn the blog into a Community Memories sharing rather than just my own, If readers are lucky I will be able to entice more Sisters to tell their stories and memories. With the number of retirement age Sisters who live and work here in the Motherhouse there must be several thousand years of memories walking around here every day! Don't hold me to the math of that; it's quite a few years since I have been the math teacher I started out as! -- more to come!
