Maundy Thursday

Today starts the serious Holy Week events.

Tonight is the Maundy Thursday service. This is one of the most powerful (to me) services of the year. The part of the service that resonates with me is stripping the altar. There is something very powerful about taking every bit of celebratory material off of the altar and leaving the church in darkness and silence. Unfortunately, the two boys are not really able to sit through the service yet so I won't get to go this year.

Tomorrow is Good Friday. B has a mass of the pre-sanctified at 12:10 and then we are sharing a Good Friday service with the Lutherans.

Saturday is the Great Vigil of Easter. That service is starting at 11:00 pm and won't be over until 1:00 am.

Sunday will be the three usual services, but much more celebratory!

Anyway, the above is a short explanation of why we are going to be extremely busy for the next few days.

In other news,

M's last soccer game was a great success. He played goalie for three quarters and did very well. No one scored on him (or the other goalie, for that matter). He is certain he is going to be a fullback/backup goalie when he starts playing in middle school (which is still 2 years away, thank goodness). I'm really quite proud of him. He has improved so much every season.

L had a hematology appointment on Tuesday. He is doing okay--he seems to have gained about a pound since January (so maybe 6.5 ounces a month). Of course, hematology's scales don't count (according to the GI), so next month we will really see how he is growing. He has been sick too often this winter (last year was a fluke) and so we are investigating giving him IVIG or SCIG next winter. Right now, he has another cold, and he's complaining that his face, eyes, and head hurts. I think that he has a sinus infection. Poor kid.

He and I also were able to see some of B's relatives or as L likes to say "Cousins!" It was nice to see Aunt B and Uncle T, J & K and their 4 boys, and K and J and their four children, none of whom we are able to see very often. Grandma and Grandpa were also there and L loves to see them. After the appointment, we met all of the cousins and Grandpa at the zoo (the best bribe ever) and had a lot of fun with them.

I have tomorrow off from school--convenient, that. Today, I was able to ride again. (It's amazing how much it helps me cope.) I was much faster today. I went 12.54 miles, in 53 minutes 13 seconds, and at a speed of 14.1 mph. Much better than last week's ride. I also didn't spend another hour wheezing.

L will be home very soon from preschool, so I must go. I hope that the sun is shining for you!