Author Archives: Kim Halloran-Fry
wash day
Does anyone else immediately break into song when they see wash on the line? Perhaps I have lived with tiny people so long I can't help myself. Perhaps during particularly busy seasons it is the simple daily routines I long to return to and treasure most especially. In the midst of an ever changing world there is comfort in the reliability of a sudsy sink at day's end and wash drying in the afternoon. When I start to resent those basic homey, solid, and centering tasks it is always a signal that I am moving faster than I am meant to move and it is time to regroup.
in pace
One of the most moving visits we made in Rome was to a portion of the Vatican museum which held the earliest Christian artifacts. The sarcophagi were decorated with biblical symbols from the Old and New Testaments and engraved with prayers beseeching God for the eternal rest of the Christians buried within. Often these were inscribed by visitors to the catacombs as they offered their prayers for the deceased.
It's a powerful thing to run your fingers over those crude inscriptions knowing that nearly 2000yrs ago other hands touch that same scold stone, hastily engraving blessings in a world hostile to faith. In November we carry on with these ancient prayers, remembering our own, now gone.
of saints and stories
There is a child in every one of us who is still a trick-or-treater looking for a brightly-lit front porch.
~Robert Brault
It has been a delightful, if incredibly full several days preparing for and celebrating All Hallow's Eve. We read stories from Carolyn Haywood's Halloween Treats at lunchtime over several days. The boys and Dad carved pumpkins one evening while I was able to sit in the relative quiet of the living room having a heart to heart with a military mom friend who dropped by.
The little girls and I tackled pumpkin painting this year as well. In typical me fashion we tackled this for the first time on Halloween day itself. Seat of my pants sort of girl <g> We struck out with the stencilled pumpkin but Minnie was a great success. While we had pumpkins on the brain I brought out Thomas Locker's Family Farm.
Then we finished our costumes and took the children to the local military base for treat or trick. (I have shared before that trick or treat is a highly personal and highly controversial topic, one I have waffled on over the course of 28yrs of parenting. This article best describes where we are with it these days.) We are so grateful to have a huge, safe community celebration to attend. There was music and hot cocoa and crafts and neighbors. It makes for a very Peanut's Great Pumpkin sort of holiday. This definitely isn't an option everyplace so our plans adapt as we move around.
and since I am not above making a fool of myself to make my children laugh….
Pumpkins from the Farm
Visiting the pumpkin patch was a regular occurence this fall since the farm rotated the fields making pumpkins very accessible to us. There were some varieties we have never seen before which were rather wart-y. A couple weeks ago they began to harvest. The crates came in and every evening there were fewer pumpkins as they were trucked off to the seasonal sale patch. They saved us several so tomorrow is the big day finally to decorate.
and looking the other direction….
Of altitude and attitudes
Postcards from the Devon coast line. While we are at it, I thought it might be good to share some insider info about traveling the world with children just to dispel some myths. Despite the awe-inspiring views and fresh air and majestic surroundings, well traveled kids may not always be as impressed as you are nor as you hope they would be. My friend Jen gave me that head's up when we moved to Germany as her clan was leaving. She said they do get cathedral'd out. Sometimes we let them pass. I was shocked. HOW could they miss this??
But she was right. It happens. Especially after a long stretch of intense travel. Even good natured, home educated kids who have been steeped in history and geography. They may or may not say things like, how long do you think this is this gonna take? Will we get to do anything fun after? Can I bring food? I got some puddle inside my boot. Is there a bathroom out here? He's stepping on the back of my shoes. NETTLES! When are we gonna actually DO something? (besides walk and look at places…)
This isn't a sign of failure. Just par for the course. And once they get out there they are usually drawn in to the surroundings and forget their complaints. But not always. Sometimes they really ARE sure they'd rather play angry birds or go get gelato or any number of things. That's when you pull out "You'll thank me someday." And really mean it. Because someday they will.
Meantime, enjoy the view. It's fleeting. All of it. : )
fall on the fens
“I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house." Nathaniel Hawthorne here
The quote caught my eye but now I want the journals. Speaking of which I am going back through this one and finishing up this. Years and years and years that last one has taken me but I feel like I have digested it in chunks and each next section hits me at a certain point in life, no doubt the very right point at which to read it. I was drawn to finish this last section after recent discussions about end of life laws and suffering in general. The accounts of Louis Martin's last years came to mind during these talks and I am revisiting his final trials now.
Anyway, today found us discussing Ghandi and hence, Tolstoy, Thoreau, and Martin Luther King. (maybe tomorrow we will just discuss fashion or latte or something but you know, probably not) Can you guess why? The increasing inability to disagree with others and the tendency towards coercion that seems to be rampant everywhere I turn lately. Lawsuits, slander. Gah. After reading a comment on an article that insisted, "It's ok to hate a bigot," I realized our current teens missed the first round discussion years ago about how to oppose civilly. That it is ok and sometimes necessary to challenge a wrong position but it is never ok to hate anyone, no matter how terrible their actions may be. Digging up some examples of what that looks like in history. Much of this they smile and nod over and it no doubt goes over their heads but I pray they leave our home with this message firmly planted in their hearts. We hate the sin, and we oppose wrong always, but we love the sinner – because we are that too. Respect is not just for the few.
What else? I read part of Beowulf aloud to Moira for her lit class and became fascinated and inspired. Tutored some Spanish, which is funny because I don't actually speak Spanish. What they say about the Romance languages seems to be true though. Somehow it's clicking after dabbling in French and latin.
We made birthday cupcakes. That was enough though since Moira and I are catching a cold so husband brought home pizza. Abbie practiced a song she wrote for the piano. Moira put the letters on the keys with washi tape so now Abbie is bent on writing songs as a series of letters and then replaying them.
And the Aga is on. ahhhhhhhh. It is so very nice to be warm at night. I will never again read Dickens nor any other British author describe the cold months without a slight shiver. There is something especially chilly about an English autumn and winter though the thermometer teases and assures that it isn't as cold as many other places. Damp I guess.
Daytimes are still lovely and crisp though. These are from a walk on a new trail locally.
nasoni di Roma
So what's a boy to do when it's 80something in Rome and the water's run out? Well one's mind immediately turns to these….
and these….
What are they? They are nasoni, a slang word for the public fountains all over Rome, which turned out to be more than decorative.
Yes I see that green stuff. But for realz, we saw a lot of people doing this….
Even the dogs were in on it. The dog on the right was playing with his owner at the dog park which is off left and down two stories. The guy sent him up for a drink and he knew just where to go.
So yeah, I caved which is really huge for me. I can handle a lot of mess in my own home but get REALLY weirded out by other people's germs as a rule. It turns out though that the water is safe, potable and just a courtesy of the city for the past 2000 yrs. You can even pick up a map plotting out all the nasoni in the city center. Which is way better than paying four euro for a bottle of water. Kid you not.
When in Rome….
walking through Rome and other miscellany
This is the self-guided tour since it's super late here. After nearly two months of away from the house activities we are bringing our focus back to home. We have one child who recently arrived on the continent and another who recently left for a short time. Homecoming weekend took all our energy for the past week and now we are winding up the fall sports season. Home stretch!
Home. It's definition is ever expanding and contracting. : )
While my energy is there right now I am stealing a few moments to walk through Rome before hitting the hay. Hoping to just keep bringing bits of my random comings and goings to this space as I can for whomever may be out there wandering along.
an immense weight of glory
The more painful the cross, the greater our advantage. The more contradictory creatures are with us, the dearer we will be to our Creator. A single moment of tribulation assures an immense weight of glory. Never to suffer would be the greatest danger for us.
— ST. PAUL OF THE CROSS
Starry Sky Journal 