Count Down to 40 - Day 5

Day 5

Today was my Kolbe's 1st Reconciliation, and he was wonderful. He came out of the confessional with a big smile on his face. He has been waiting for this day for a very long time. During Father's homily he mentioned that some of the children present might have a calling to the priesthood. Kolbe sat up a little straighter, a secret little smile on his face. I kind of think he just might grow up to be a priest. He has talked about it for so long, and has a strong devotion to St. Maximillian Kolbe, and Our Lady. He's just a little boy, so he certainly could change his mind. When I was his age I wanted to be an archeologist. Then a nun (briefly), then a dancer (ha!), and so many other things. He wants to be other things, too, but he always says he wants to be a priest. Only time will tell, but I do my part by praising him for the desire to be a priest, and praying for vocations.

As for my goal for the day, to not freak out over the little things, well, I mostly managed. I did not freak out over socks, or sweaters - most of them did not match (they matched themselves, just not each other). I did flip out a little over Luke's choice of footwear. He tried to wear a really old, gross pair of snow boots because he could not find his church shoes. I made everyone hunt until they found the church shoes. For some reason no one but me sees why decent shoes at church are a must. I think it has to do with my Grandma Karcher. She was always worried about what shoes we had on for Mass. I remember going with her to Saturday evening Mass and had forgotten my church shoes. She fretted the whole way through Mass over my shoes. That instilled in me a desire for my kids to always look good for Mass, though I have been letting go of 'perfect' just for the sake of survival. With nine kids and 1 bathroom, you gotta let some of that go, or you'll never get there!

My goal for Day 6? Well, Kenzie mentioned to me that I sounded kind of mean in my PSR class yesterday, so I am going to practice trying to be kind when speaking to children. Starting with my own. Apparently she felt they would all think I was 'so mean', and I was shocked. So I think since my house is a wreck, and we have to do school, I will practice being patient and kind while trying to get the kids to do what needs to be done. Hopefully I can perfect it in time for PSR with a dozen 13 and 14 year olds. Please pray for me - I'm gonna need it!