Under the Mistletoe with You!

Oh Whew! Here we are! Merry Christmas (season) and a Joyous New Year! Before we know it the Wise (if you insist) Men will arrive and you can finally take the tree down. Then you can clean up errant pine needles until Easter.

And after that you can clean up stray Easter grass until Christmas.

I've missed you!

Our lives have been in upheaval since the passing of Sister Mary Fiacre. We weren't sure we would continue living here and we struggled to find our way. I'm sure many of you have had the experience of having all your time and energy taken up by one thing and when that thing is gone it can really take some time to fill the void.

Now our void is filled and here we are! Did we ever discuss how nuns really don't have convents so much any more. Sometimes when nuns are ancient it can be a challenge to find a suitable place to care for them in their dotage.

Or dottering, as the case may be. We are experts at dottering! Dotter away!

So after much consternation  we have welcomed Sister Mary Denise.  I can't help but think of St. Denis, who, legend has it, was beheaded in an unpleasant part of town. Not happy with this turn of event, the saint picked up his head and strolled to a better part of town where he expired.

I think Sister Mary Denise has done just that, but has not yet expired. Certainly, her head may as well be in her lap for all the good it does her. I'm fairly certain St. Denis is her patron saint.We love having her!

We knew Sister Mary Fiacre as a person, before she slowly lost marble after marble. So we knew what amused her and what foods she liked.  Now we find ourselves in the guessing game a new mother must find herself in with a fussy infant who has no language with which to communicate simple thoughts, such as, "Never feed me peas again as long as I live!"

Soup has been a winner, if not messy.

Also, Sister Mary Fiacre loved having certain sports on TV. Basketball and hockey and sometimes tennis. Not baseball. Not football with it's constant stops and starts. Sister Mary Denise seems to respond to music, which means we can also turn on the radio.

Day and night.  A new meaning to "Rock Around the Clock".

And although she is not coherent, she does talk to us and so we have been able to piece some events in her life together. For example, she must have broken her ankle, because she asks almost everyone she meets if they have broken their ankle and no matter what their answer responds with, "Well, I have."

And she sings.

She is not a singer.

So here we are! I'll try to answer lingering questions and visit with you more often.