Halloween

My weekend at the monastery was a time of quiet, meditation, prayer, and study. It was a beautiful place, up on a hill in the Fraser Valley, surrounded by golden woods and near a high bluff with a spectacular view. I loved awakening before dawn to boisterously ringing church bells. The first morning I stole away to a lookout room to pray before breakfast, watching the sun rise behind black mountains, gradually lightening the river down in the valley below. We were hearily served delicious meals of fruit and vegatables grown by the monks, and beef from their own cattle. Our professor, a benignant and gentle old man, had a manner very conducive to learning about spirituality. And in between the trenchant lectures on integrating spirituality with ministry, we had plenty of time for assimilating and prayerful introspection in the quiet of the woods or our own room. One afternoon, one of the brothers spoke to us about Benedictine spirituality. Afterward, we joined he and the other monks for their sung evening vespers, their deep and reverent voices filling the high vaulted ceilings of the cathedral with worship. Sunday morning, we went to mass, after which the 20 of us (Protestants) celebrated our own little private communion table, praying for each other before each one took the elements. That was a special time, as we had quickly grown to know and care for each other in the course of the two days.

I was happy to return to my family, although they had had a really bad night. A teething Cora had kept her daddy up most of it, and they were both exhausted and ill feeling, while I contrastly was physically relaxed and spiritually invigorated. Poor things.

Since then, the pace of life has been pretty furious, hence the reason I am only just now writing. But I have been diligent to not lose hold of some of the gleanings over the weekend. They are still fresh, and God just as present, even in the hectic busyness as they were in the still places.

Tuesday, we went to the doctor for both Cora and I to have our checkup (same doctor!). Cora got 4(!) vaccinations, a tramatic event which she took like the super tough girl she is. Only a couple minutes of frantic crying after the four consecutive and increasingly painful shots were given. She cuddled close to me and watched the doctor after that like a hawk. She is not quite even 21 pounds. Her little buddy who's a month younger than her is 26 pounds!

Halloween was a new experience. On Wednesday mornings I always go to a playgroup at our church, a leisurely time chatting with other moms while the kids run around. Cora usually falls asleep on the way home, and I gently transfer her to her crib. But this time she woke up from the catnap wired and their was no getting her back to sleep that afternoon. Early in the evening, we joined our pastor's family for a bit of trick-or-treating along their street before heading back to the church for a fall festival. We have quickly become good friends with Barton and Heather. They have a 3 yr old (Cora and I will be going to her birthday party tomorrow) and a 9 mo old, and we share a lot of things in common. For her costume, I had gotten Cora an adorable little monkey suit (what else could she be?) from Baby Gap, and boy, she was a hit! She was so cute following Emily (the 3 yr old) around. At the doorstep, people would hold out their basket of candy for her to choose a piece, but instead of taking one, she would put the piece she was holding (and had been gnawing on) into their basket. What a good sharer! Then we were off to the festival, where there were games and snacks. On our way back home, we discovered a huge crowd of people outside a church near our house, and we were drawn into it by the yummy smells and loud music. They were waiting for a fireworks display (fireworks are a big part of Halloween here), and so we stayed for the show, eating hot soup and a hotdog while we watched. Cora put her head on my shoulder and watched with eyes glazed over. By the time we got our monkey home to bed, she was exhausted, but so happy. She just loves being out and about so much. Hmm. Wonder where she gets that from.