Gentle reader. It's been far too long, hasn't it? That's pretty much because, as of late, my life can be represented accurately by this stunning photograph.
And, even as I type these words, the baby wakes from his nap, so lemme run to pop the nimmy back in his mouth so I can have 15 more minutes to tik-tak away in the glorious silence whilst the snow falls gently out my picture window. #momlife
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So, while my life has been a mell of a hess lately, it's also looked a lot like this:
...and this...
...also some of this...
...rounded out by this...
...with a little of this thrown in.
Why yes, that is a hobbit clock. This is a Bag-End basket that I arranged and donated for the annual Chesterton Academy gala. The clock is a project that I've had in my head for a long time, and I'm happy with the results so far. It'll soon be available in my etsy shop once I'm satisfied with a final version of it.
Now. Where to begin. Not sure if you're aware that I'm on goodreads, but there you have it. And every year, they have a reading challenge. In 2018, my goal was 40 books, and I barely made it. I made a huge push at the end of the year. I set my sights high for 50 in 2019, and had 1.5-2 hours every day of quiet during the toddler's nap time. Figured it'd be no problem since I used to read 50 books during the summer way the heck back when. '19 started strong, and I was half-way done by April. Amazing! Astounding! Awesome-sauce! But then, I quickly lost steam and didn't touch a book until June-ish. Because Baby. I rounded out the year with 9 more books, and took it down a notch for my 2020 goal.
This got me to thinking: mom life is hard. It is hard to get outside the realm of the babies (which I love) to have my own time to read or knit or sew or ink or have a beer or have an intellectual conversation not substantiated on the hows and whys of table manners or to sit with my feet up for 5 silent minutes in a coffee shop with NO ONE TOUCHING ME. Because people tend to have a healthy acknowledgement of personal space in public.
Speaking of coffee. I used to be a fan of mochas, but that's coffee and milk and chocolate, and I'd throw in like six packs of sugar. When I was in college, I was addicted to Mt. Dew. Since quitting the sauce, I've rarely had caffeine. And I haven't wanted coffee because of the bitterness. Being on keto means sugar is a no no, and when you add artificial flavors, it just gives a weird aftertaste.
Also, I was quite smug when my first kid came along and I could do this whole mom thing au natural.
Welp, that was just not the case when the second arrived. I found out about the miracle of cold brew, how it makes the coffee far less bitter, and I was intrigued. So I started cold brewing at home with this trusty droid that I got for my birthday.
Now, I don't drink a ton of it. It's usually a 1:1 with heavy cream and a sugar free flavor shot. But man, does it help. get. me. through. I'm not at the point where I really even look forward to it, but I just kind of keep in mind that I need a bit of a jump start in the morning and a little zap around 230pm or I'll be falling asleep during story time around 315.
I love it. I love my vocation. I really do. But it is diff.i.cult. It's the easiest and most difficult thing I've ever done in my life. And even when I want 7.3 minutes to myself during the day, it doesn't happen, because the naps aren't overlapping anymore. But the baby is 9 months almost, so SOON. SOON MY DEAR READER I shall have at least 1 hour of my own time during the day.
Back to the thought process. My booklists of late have been heavy. And I thought, why the hell am I doing that to myself? One of the things I struggle with so much in my vocation is being scattered. (UM, hello, spiritual attack? Diabolos? One who scatters?) It's difficult to give enough attention to each kid and my husband that paying attention to me usually gets thrown into the wash (and not while I'm doing it either, as the toddler wants to help, and I usually have the baby strapped to my back hah). So I looked around our beautiful custom made bookshelves and noticed something. We have a TINY-BOOK shelf. One dedicated to pint-sized pages. It is so adorable.
Dawww. Da widdle baby books.
I've always had an affinity for tiny objects. They're just so darn cute. The reason I play the flute is because it's small. This grew into somewhat of an emotional obsession during my pregnancy with JP, a little less with Dominic. Anyways, a spark ignited and made me pay attention. I wandered on over to see what was there, and two gorgeous little books jumped out at me:
So I thought to myself: "Self, you do need to read more. But why are you reading books that are just so. darn. big? It's not like a book is any better or worse because it is tiny or gargantuan." So then the wheels turned about all these other bloggers who are making their book lists and being clever and my brain said:
"2020....2020.... what's clever about 2020 and books. Tiny books. We have many tiny books. Tiny in 2020. That sounds a little......odd. 20 books in 2020. No someone else is doing that. Tiny books in 2020. Oooh yeah keep going.
TWENTY TINY BOOKS in 2020.
TWENTY TINY TITLES IN 2020. Perfection."
All alliteration aside, I had to have a standard. Some book that would be the benchmark for the others. I quickly found my favorite encyclical:
Reader, I was excited, I tell you. Euphoric. I dashed around our apartment scouring the rest of the shelves for adorably tiny books that were about the size of The Splendor of Truth. I had to pare it down slightly, but this is what I came up with.
I AM OVERJOYED.
Now, my book goal for the year IS 40. But 40 doesn't really lend it self to tiny-ness. So the rest of the books will most likely be normal (like Poems Every Catholic Should Know, my obsessive re-reading of The Awakening of Miss Prim, various titles by GK Chesterton, and Memento Mori during Lent), but for now, I'll start with these wee works:
Ball, Ann. Blessed Miguel Pro. TAN, 2011.
Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage. Barnes & Noble, 2004.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem. Lectures on the Christian Sacraments. St. Vladimir's Seminary, 1995.
Dickens, Charles, The Cricket on the Hearth. Henry Altemus, 1899.
St. Francis De Sales. Introduction to the Devout Life. Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1946.
Franklin, Benjamin. Poor Richard's Almanack. Hallmark, 1967.
Gasnier, Michael. Joseph the Silent. Scepter, 2009.
Gilsdorf, Fr. Richard W. Go to Joseph. Star of the Bay Press, 2009.
Housman, A.E. A Shropshire Lad. Avon, 1932.
St. John Paul II. Dives in Misericordia: The Mercy of God. Pauline Press.St. John Paul II. Veritatis Splendor: The Splendor of Truth. Pauline Press.
St. John Paul II. Centesimus Annus: 100th Anniversary of Rerum Novarum. Pauline Press.
LaPierre, Wayne. The Essential Second Amendment Guide. Boru, 2007
Lyman, Dr. Abbott, et al. The Guide to Reading. The Pocket University. vol xxiii. Doubelday, 1924.
Martin, Celine. The Father of the Little Flower. TAN, 2015.
Martin, Celine. The Father of the Little Flower. TAN, 2015.
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. American Book Company, 1910.
Siocardo, Fr. Joseph. St. Rita of Cascia. TAN, 1990.
St. Thomas Aquinas. My Way of Life: The Summa Simplified for Everyone. Confraternity of the Precious Blood, 1950.
St. Thomas More. Utopia. Washington Square Press, 1965.
Verne, Jules. Around the World in 80 Days (complete and unabridged).Barnes & Noble, 2004.
That's it, fellow Word Nerd. I hope your 2020 brings you great books. I've already let the baby sleep 15 mins past wake up time, so I need to go. I'd rather sit and stare at the snow, though. Ah well. #VocationSanctification #DeathToSelf #MomLife
PS. Just what in the flipping heck DOES one do when one receives a gift card to Macy's- an establishment filled with overheated puffery and ridiculous things I would never buy?
PS. Just what in the flipping heck DOES one do when one receives a gift card to Macy's- an establishment filled with overheated puffery and ridiculous things I would never buy?
Buy coffee. A metric shit-ton of coffee.
Cheers
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