Since Last Time

An update on our recent activities:

The Friday before last, I participated, on Catriona’s invitation, in the World Day of Prayer. Catriona had been asked to bring a couple students who could read during the service. So she, Colleen (a student) and I dutifully participated, representing Catholics and youth (we were by far the youngest participants!) The event was held at St. Ninian’s Free United Church, about a half hour walk from our house. I had never been to the church, and inevitably got lost on the way there. I had the good fortune, however, of stopping a lady on the street who was actually headed to the same event! When I asked her for directions, she said I could just follow her to the door. The service went well and Liam behaved perfectly (if only he would stay so quiet at Mass on Sundays – we are told every week that he should join the choir!). He was doted over afterwards by many an admiring lady, and lapped up the attention with characteristic charm.

Once all the admirers had cleared out, Catriona, Colleen, Liam and I pilled into the car and went to lunch, stopping to pick up Christy on the way. We had a lovely time at The River House, a new discovery for me – I hope to return with Brendan one of these days.

The next evening we went to a birthday party for Paola, German’s girlfriend (German is in Brendan’s program and was his roommate before I came to Stirling). They made traditional Columbian food: arrepas and chicharrones and other things of which I now forget the names – all delicious! We also made some new friends – a Venezuelan couple living in Glasgow. The three South American women at the party terrorized me by telling stories of all the crazy things that bad guys on motorcycles do in their countries. My desire to see that part of the world wavered slightly, but they did assure me that if we ever wanted to visit, they would be more than happy to look after us. German also offered a word of comfort, saying that he has lived in Columbia his whole life and never once been killed! Paola then showed me all kinds of photos of a beautiful national park in Columbia she and Germane had recently visited. We may make it there yet…

Sunday, March 6^th was Liam’s half birthday. I really can’t believe our little guy is already half a year old! It sounds cliché to say that (people are always not-believing-how-quickly-time-flies) but it’s true: I just can’t believe it! My newborn can play with toys and eat vegetables and sit on his own… how is this possible?! A few days after Liam was born, Patrick (my 6-year-old brother) asked Brendan if Liam could “go on his bum” (i.e. sit). Brendan said no. “Well, does he play?” No. “Does he talk?” No. “Then… what does he do?” “He does lots of things!” replied Brendan. “He can sleep or not sleep; he can poop or not poop; he can cry or not cry. And he can do combinations too. He can sleep and not cry, or he can not sleep and cry, or he can not sleep and not cry.” Patrick seemed only mildly impressed. But things have changed, Uncle P! Now Liam has nailed playing and going on his bum. Not quite at the talking stage yet, but that will come (although he does try – I think he’ll take after his dad in that department)!

My dad's reaction to this photo: "Look at those skinny legs!"

Liam on his bum!

We attended Mass on Ash Wednesday at the university chaplaincy, as we do every Wednesday (the Catholic Society meets there weekly for Mass and lunch).

The next day, we went with a few members of the Catholic Society to Durham, a small city in Northern England. Peter Cardinal Turkson (President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace) was giving a talk there on the social doctrine of the Church, and Fr. Kenneth had gotten tickets for a group of 10 to attend. The drive to Durham and back was long, but I think we all enjoyed the day. Durham is a lovely city, similar to Stirling. It boasts a beautiful cathedral, a castle, and a university. It also has quite a nice downtown area, which we enjoyed walking through before dinner. The talk was at 7:30pm, so we didn’t make it home until very late.

Friday was a quiet day. In the evening we shared dinner with our friends Johanna & Alex, and their little girl, Zoia.

On Saturday we had an Italian night at the presbytery. On Brendan’s request, Fr. Kenneth taught us how to make supplì and a couple other Italian dishes. Brendan was pumped about the supplì. He had eaten loads of it when he lived in Rome but had not tasted it since. “I’ve been trying to learn how to make supplì for eight years!” he said with classic Brendan enthusiasm – as though his chief concern for the past eight years has been to learn to make deep fried risotto balls stuffed with mozzarella! The quest is over: Brendan now knows how to make supplì. After gorging ourselves with these little handfuls of deliciousness, we enjoyed pasta and wine and a good old fashioned dance party (Fr. Kenneth kicking off the latter part of the evening with We Will Rock You – of course).

Carlos polishing off the Penne alla Vodka

Brendan insisted I put this picture in the blog:
The First Miracle, Cana Wedding Wine
(with a cheesy picture of Jesus on it - apparently it actually came from Cana!)

Yesterday was quite ordinary (except that I went to bed at 7:30pm, which I consider an extraordinary accomplishment!). And that brings us to today. Which is also quite ordinary. Update complete!

Spring

Spring has come to Stirling. It made its first appearance a couple weeks ago, but I was incredulous. This can’t really be Spring, I thought. Must just be a few nice days.  But day after day of blue skies, warm air, and birds chirping their little hearts out is not a coincidence. It’s Spring. Of course, this being Scotland, we’ve also had rain, but I don’t feel I have the right to complain about a bit of rain when my loved ones are still buried under 10 feet of snow!

Liam is feeling better now and we are both enjoying our daily walks in this new and most welcome season. Yesterday in particular. He was complaining about anything and everything yesterday – filling my ears with his infant ennui. On the brink of insanity, I packed him into his pram and headed out for a stroll and a latte. Much better to be outside than in on a day like that. As I walked, I remembered a conversation Brendan and I had a few days earlier. We dipped in and out of various topics, as we often do, but one theme stood out to me: gratitude. At one point, Brendan said in a celebratory tone, “You’re living the life you want to live!” And it’s true – I am. I thought of that as I pushed a stroller through the streets of Stirling yesterday. A stroller holding a nearly six-month-old. My nearly six-month-old. Admittedly, his whining drives me nuts sometimes. And I’m exhausted. But I’m a mom! This is what I always wanted to be! I am a wife and a mother, I’m working at a new job I enjoy, I have a loving family, good friends and fun hobbies. And I’m happy.

I know life will not always be this easy. There are times when peace can only be scraped from the very depths of sorrow and gratitude feels thin and strained. These times will inevitably come. But for now peace is abundant and gratitude flows fast. My foolish little ego sometimes feels guilty for being so happy, as though I should have done more to deserve this blessing. I’m sure St. Therese would just nestle into the Father’s lap and relish his sweet attentions, knowing she could not have earned them had she been the most perfect soul alive. So I’ll try to follow her example by joyfully accepting the gifts I have not earned but which enrich my life inestimably. And the next time Liam catches the whine bug, I won’t hesitate to pack him up and head out – it did wonders yesterday!

Sick Day

Liam is suffering from his first bad cold. He hasn’t been sleeping well for the past week, which we attributed to teething or growing or both. Then yesterday he started to sound congested. Today his sweet little coos sound like a garburator and he’s hacking like an old man. Poor monkey. I’m not feeling the greatest myself – bit of cold and a lot of missed sleep. Such is life… I dream of the day when I’ll catch up on my rest. My dad tells me not to hold my breath. Twenty seven years later, he’s still waiting for the day!

Despite slightly compromised nighttime sleep (trying to stay positive about it!), the past couple weeks have been good. On Monday the 7^th, I went to my first Ceroc dance class with Elanor (the neighbour who also introduced me to Zumba). Ceroc is a mix of modern swing and Latin; a group meets in Stirling on Mondays for classes and social dancing. I had a blast! Brendan says I have a dance persona – an alter ego he affectionately calls “Smokin’ Sally”.  She was out in full force on Monday and is looking forward to her next chance to dance (if only the regular me weren’t sick today!).

On Thursday the 10^th, Brendan got word that his Master’s thesis on Hegel and Henry George has been accepted for publication! He had secretly submitted it to an academic publishing house (didn’t even tell me!) and was very excited to receive their favourable response. I’m really happy for him. He worked extremely hard on that paper – it will be very gratifying for him to see it bound and published. Joel (my brother-in-law) suggested that he give it a catchy title like “Political Theory and You”, or “Eat, Shrink, and Be Philosophical” (after all, that cookbook must have sold over a million copies!) – we had a good laugh about that! (B actually doesn’t remember the title of his paper – that’s how catchy it is!)

That same day, I got my first editing job. I had just started to get the wheels in motion on the home business B and I have been talking about, when my first job landed in my lap! CCO (the university campus ministry I worked for a couple years ago) was looking to get their faith study material edited for a reprint, but had not found anyone for the job – until they found me! I finished my first assignment last week. B and I had to do some schedule shuffling to allow me time to work, but we managed well. I think this business is going to work out for us.

Sunday the 13^th, Brendan planned a special Valentine’s Day date. He arranged for friends to look after Liam and took me out for dinner and a movie. It was so nice to go on a date again! We had been out once before he left for Scotland, but I consider this our first real date since Liam’s birth. I felt almost giddy as I sat across from Brendan at dinner – as though time had spun back a couple years and we were two strangers on our second date… It’s nice to remember how much fun we had together back then – and wonderful to recognize that life is even better now! It’s amazing how love grows…

After dinner we walked over to the theatre to see “The King’s Speech”. Excellent movie – one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. If you haven’t seen it yet, go!

Last Saturday we met up with Lorraine and her partner Graeme for dinner (Lorraine is the friend who showed us around Glasgow in December). They have a friend who owns an Italian restaurant in Stirling, so they come up every once in a while to enjoy a meal at his place. They invited us to join them this time – we had a lovely evening.

Liam has been sitting on my lap making pterodactyl sounds for the past little while. He is also covering my arm and the desk in drool. His tolerance for my divided attention seems to be waning though, so I should probably wrap this up.  Time for a cuddle and a nap!

(Since no post is complete without photos, here are a couple from a recent bath time. More coming soon!)

Island off an Island off an Island

After breakfast at the hotel, we drove down to the harbor to take in a bit more of our surroundings. Having arrived in the dark the night before, we had not gotten the full effect of Tobermory’s charming waterfront. It was nice to see it again in the sunlight (which we were very glad to see peeking through the clouds – promising a day of decent weather).

The drive from Tobermory to Iona, our next destination, took about and hour and a half, with a few stops along the way to take photos of the landscape (and the sheep!). Similarly to Skye, Mull is a place of rugged island beauty. The hills were not as green at this time of year, but they were still impressive – shrouded in mist, silent, haunting, proud.

We stopped in the middle of the road to look at these sheep - they seemed just as interested in us as we were in
them! They kept getting closer and closer until they were right up against the car. Some of them even ran down from the hills to join the party!

We reached the ferry to Iona just in time to cross. We thought it ran every ten minutes but discovered that this schedule only applies in the summer. At this time of year, the crossing is hourly. We were fortunate to arrive when we did, as our time on Iona would have otherwise been cut significantly short.

Iona seen from the ferry

Liam enjoying the ferry ride!

Iona is primarily a place of pilgrimage. Its resident population is only about 125, but it sees over 140, 000 tourists a year. Fortunately, we were the only visitors on February 5^th! I’m glad for that, as I think something of the island’s spirit would be stifled by hoards of tourists milling about.

Iona’s Christian story begins in the year 563, when St. Columba (an Irish monk) founded a monastery there. Tradition has it that Columba is responsible for the conversion of much of Scotland to Christianity. With the founding of the monastery, Iona was to become the spiritual hub of Scotland, and a renowned centre for learning and artistic excellence. The art of stone carving was perfected here, many examples of which can still be admired in the abbey and museum.

Iona Abbey

Detail of St. Martin's Cross (this cross has been standing for over a thousand years)

After the Scottish Reformation of 1560, the abbey and nunnery gradually fell into ruin. It was not until the 20^th century that the abbey was reconstructed (the nunnery remains in ruin). Today the abbey is used as an ecumenical place of worship, and is home to the Iona Community.

Nunnery

Brendan and I both took the opportunity to spend a moment in prayer during our visit to the abbey. The word that impressed itself upon me at that time was “purpose”. The history of Iona is steeped in a sense of purpose. Whether or not all the stories of St. Columba are completely accurate, he did play an important role in the spreading of Christian faith in this country. God assigned Columba a task, and set a purpose for this tiny isle. We too are assigned a task – our lives also have purpose. As I prayed in the abbey, I was moved by the fact that the same God who gave Iona its place in history ordains the purpose of my own life. Brendan and I don’t know what is in store for us and for our family, but we do know that our lives have meaning, and that God has a purpose for us. Our task is not of the same magnitude as Columba’s but it is still important – our faithfulness still counts. I felt inspired by this reflection to remain as open as I can to God’s guidance and to the opportunities he sets before me. This inspiration was later confirmed when B and I talked about our time of reflection and realized that our thoughts had overlapped.

We left the abbey to find that it had started raining again. Not much was open in the way of shelter, so we ate our lunch in the entrance of a closed gift shop. By the time we finished eating the rain had stopped (Scottish weather at its finest!), so we climbed part way up the island’s highest dun (hill) to enjoy the view.

View from the top of the dun

We had to catch the 2:30pm ferry off Iona in order to make it in time for the 5pm ferry from Mull to Oban. From our picturesque viewpoint we thought we had plenty of time – as it turned out, we had to make an epic sprint to catch the ferry! We started down the dun at a good pace, but when I saw how close the ferry was to shore and how far we were up the road, I decided to run. Chris followed suit. As we approached the ferry, we noted with dismay that it was already pulling away from the dock. Fortunately the crew spotted us and lowered the ramp so we could embark. We told them that B and Liam were not far behind (B couldn’t run as fast with the extra 18lbs strapped to his chest!), but the crew decided we would have to leave without them. Chris and I were just about to get off the boat when we caught sight of Brendan. We gestured wildly for him to run. The ramp was lowered again and he got on, flushed and winded, but glad to have made it! So it was that we left the Isle of Iona, off the Isle of Mull, of the Isle of Great Britain – an island off an island off an island!

That night we stayed at a hostel in Oban, a port city known as the gateway to the isles. We went to Mass at the Cathedral of St. Columba the next day, had a quick cup of coffee at a local pancake place (the menu featured Canadian pancakes with “maple flavoured syrup” – they don’t know what they’re missing!), and then headed towards home. On the way we stopped at a hiking trail to walk in the woods for a bit – it wasn’t raining and the walk was very enjoyable. I took advantage of the woodsy scenery to get some practice with the manual settings on the camera. As a result I trailed far behind the others, but they didn’t seem to mind. It’s nice not to be rushed.

Oban

Chris dropped us off at home early evening, in time to put Liam down (who, incidentally, rolled from his tummy to his back for the first time that evening!!!), eat dinner and watch a movie before calling it a night. Yet another great weekend in Scotland. 

Liam on his 5 month birthday

The Awesome Rock Fortress of Dunadd

I mentioned in an earlier post that the documentary series we watched on the history of Scotland had given us some ideas of places to visit. One of these places was, as our host Neil Oliver put it (with great exuberance and a most emphatic Scottish accent), “the Awesome Rock Fortress of Dunadd”. Dunadd is a hillfort which was occupied first in the Iron Age, and later by the kings of Dalriada, an ancient kingdom in what is now the west of Scotland. A footprint is carved out of the rock at the top of the fort – during an ancient coronation ceremony, the king would place his foot in the carved stone and so be joined with the land he was destined to rule.

We visited Dunadd on Friday morning, on our way to the Isle of Mull. We were joined on our weekend expedition by Brendan’s classmate Chris, who wanted to see more of Scotland and offered his vehicle for the trip. We left early and made it to Kilmartin Glen, where the hillfort is located, around noon. Before reaching Dunadd, we stopped at a museum about the area called Kilmartin House. It was closed, but the man working there graciously opened the place up for us so we could have a look. He then gave us directions to the “Awesome Rock Fortress,” which was not far from the museum. It was rainy that day and the wind was fierce, especially at the top of the hill. A couple times I felt that it might actually knock me down! But we survived the mighty elements and returned triumphant to the car to eat our salami sandwiches.

The stone footprint

Trying to withstand the wind!

Chris as King of Scotland!

Kilmartin Glen is one of the richest areas of archeological finds in Scotland, perhaps because of its proximity to the heart of the ancient kingdom. After our visit to Dunadd, we came across some standing stones in a field. It was still raining, so we didn’t stay long, but I managed to get a few pictures.

That night we stayed in Tobermory, on Mull. The ferry left at 5pm from Oban (on the mainland), and we made it to our hotel by about 6pm. We had dinner in a small pub, one of the few open on a Friday evening in the off-season. I imagine Tobermory sees much more activity in the summer, when most of the tourists are out. Apparently February is not the most popular month to travel – we were the only guests at the Park Lodge Hotel and seemed to be the only non-locals at the pub! 

I'm Back...

Though mostly spent at home, the past two weeks have been full. In the 16 days following my last post we’ve managed to have dinner company five times, be invited to dinner twice, and go away for a weekend. I also attended my first Zumba class with a new friend, and travelled to Glasgow all by myself to meet up with a few girls for dinner (mom’s first night out sans baby!). In addition to all this socializing, B managed to start working on his thesis and I enrolled in an online translation course. I am imagining more than a few heads shaking as this is read… don’t worry, we’re finding a few minutes here and there to rest! Honestly though, in the midst of all the activity we are happy. We’re busy but not stressed. We spend a lot of time playing. Here’s the evidence: 

Modelling a winter hat from Nana & Papa
(the hat isn't supposed to stick up like that -
 I stuffed a shirt inside it!)

All dressed up for a walk

New toy from a friend I met at Baby Sensory

He always wiggles his way down into the hole...

Another toy (both are borrowed)... this one makes noise!

Hanging out with Dad

And the pièce de résistance: The Russian Hat Series (hat courtesy of Chris Widmann)

Stay tuned for news of our weekend on the Isles of Mull and Iona…