Easter Traditions

As someone raised Catholic, I am no stranger to tradition and ceremony. Alas, as I grow older, I drift further away from the traditions that once were a given part of my life - lighting the Advent wreath, big Christmas dinners (divided amongst 2 households of parents often in one stressful day, but dinners nice nonetheless), morning Mass during Lent, the tradition of remembering it was Lent after blithely indulging in a ham sandwich on a Friday, and of course, my favorite religious holiday, Easter (sorry, couldn't compete with the heathen Halloween celebration as a child).

Today, a friend of mine took me to her church on the west side of Detroit. She grew up in Detroit, still lives here, and always patiently explains what this or that gutted building used to be whenever we tool around the area. Before heading to church today for Good Friday services, we went to Greektown and got Greek Easter bread, knotted and topped with sesame seeds and a colored hardboiled egg (mine was pink!). Then we drove back to her church and stopped off at the fish fry in the basement. I met some of her buddies, older women who filled me in on "pastor" Terry Jones' present plan to protest extremists ("hello Pot, I'm Kettle, pleased to meet!") at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn.

Then on to church, where I was not struck down by lightning...probably an act of Divine Grace. The outside structure of the church was beautiful and imposing, though surrounded by typical Detroit blight...the inside, though, was phenomenal. The church was established in 1893 and you could see that it was still deeply cared for, despite a roster of a mere 220 parishoner families. The service took me back to my childhood in Vegas, though I never experienced any service in such a beautiful setting. And lots and lots of icons! There was a life-size Jesus reclining in a glass tomb on one side, and statues, stained glass windows, and blue and gold everywhere. I loved it, and I enjoyed the service...but I felt like a tourist after having been gone so long from being a practicing Catholic. The Good Friday service includes a reading of the Passion, honoring the crucified Jesus (a.k.a. kissing Jesus' feet on a crucifix), Communion, then exiting without any music/pomp/circumstance. I don't know if I will go to Easter Mass. I always liked Easter Mass as a child, though I did not often go to Good Friday services. As an adult, I feel that maybe Good Friday is as important to attend as Easter is...there is no Easter without Good Friday!

Well, not very descriptive, more of a chronicle of my out-of-the-ordinary excursion today - wish I had pictures!

Floriday....a Florida Holiday

In the fine tradition of the more well-off residents of Michigan, I am heading to Florida for a few days to soak up some sun, so as to be able to make it through the rest of this snowy winter. My Seattle sister, her husband, and their two daughters will be travelling there for a conference for my brother-in-law's job, and I will be staying with them on the beach. I can't wait to see the girls. The last time I saw them was at our wedding in October, and at this age children develop so quickly. The 3 year old is already talking so much more than a few months ago, and I can't wait to talk about first grade with the oldest! I bought a swimsuit at Nordstrom, a store that caters to the snowbird. I hope to have some cute pictures to post next week! Bon voyage...

I'll take you, mock spring, you tease.

With the temperature a balmy 45 degrees today, I was able to downgrade my bundling and comfortably leave the house in pants, a short-sleeved t-shirt, and hooded sweatshirt (go Bears...). Seriously, if I was in Vegas I would be complaining about how cold it is and wearing more than a sweatshirt, but here I've come to understand and live and breathe the theory of weather relativity. It's amazing how quickly I got used to the cold...save for a year and a half in Oregon, everywhere else I've lived has been downright balmy at least seven months of the year. And now...flip the seven months to chilly and you're there. And I love it. I have been in Detroit for three winters now, and deep into the February month of the first two years I caught myself wistfully imagining the feel of the Vegas sun baking my skin (my freckled, skin cancer-prone skin). This year I didn't even think of the heat until writing this, and even then without an ounce of wist!

I love the weather, though it really does make for miserable driving. I love the snow. And I love snowshoeing, a hobby the Husband and I picked up after he gave us snowshoes for Christmas. Even the ice, though treacherous, is incredibly beautiful. Stalactites of ice decorate the eaves of our roof, with those hanging low breaking off with the sound of shattering glass when I forgetfully swing open an outside door.

Nothing more to say tonight. Just happy to be happy about the weather. And just hoping, as much as the winter is beautiful and welcome in its time, that spring brings its own happy stuff...though I can tell you I've lived here long enough to know when I am being teased by Mother Nature and her 45 degrees...

Just Checking In

...or really, just phonin' it in. As in, I am not putting any effort or forethought into this late night post. I did double duty today, working my two incredibly different jobs today. I'm tired. What's new? Snow, snow, snow.