"Everybody's Working For The Weekend"

Credit to the 80s group "Lover Boy" for this post's title.

This past weekend was one for the books. It was full, but surprisingly relaxing. Friday night, Carrie (my fellow Benedicta Riepp buddy, and best friend) and I went down the road a little bit to Shades Beach to watch the sunset. We arrived a little too late to actually see the sun setting, but we were able to look out into a sky full of the most beautiful colors. I haven't done that in a long time. It hasn't ever been as easy as walking across the road for me. We were there for a good 45 minutes, and the weather was perfect, making it a great start to the weekend.

Saturday I was very much looking forward to a little visit from my grandparents. They were bringing my bicycle down from my hometown of Newfane, NY here to Erie. A 2-hour drive just for that! I was so grateful to them. They were able to meet a couple of the sisters, but man, does this place clear out on the weekends. It must have been partly because of the Polish Festival downtown. Speaking of which, that is the most fun I've had in a long time. We hung out with four sisters, eating pierogi and potato pancakes, and drinking a Polish beer or two. We ran into a few more sisters and oblates along the way, and against the wishes of the sisters, simply watched them polka instead of dancing ourselves, but promised if they taught us how to polka, we would dance with them next year...

Sunday afternoon, Carrie and I loaded our bikes into my car and off to the peninsula we went. A six-mile round-trip ride later, during which we ran into another sister who had biked there from her home in town, and we were set for the day. I'm falling in love with what Erie has to offer already. And with the help of several of the sisters, we are finding our way around this place, and learning quite a bit in such a short amount of time.

Tonight we are off to the Erie SeaWolves game, the farm team for the Detroit Tigers (baseball), with a few of the sisters.

In short, these nuns are cool.

Sunset Friday night

A Familiar Rhythm

After getting back into the all-too-familiar rhythm of the Mount and visiting a good handful of the ministries again, this has been one packed, eventful, and enjoyable week. Each day has brought new and wonderful experiences, and although I know I shouldn't wish away the days, I can't wait for what the next day will bring.

This week I spent time at both the food pantry and the soup kitchen, both part of Emmaus Ministries. I had volunteered multiple times in each before, but as always, no day is the same as the previous. It is always a bit overwhelming to spend a few hours in either place and see the number of individuals and families that come in for assistance or to eat a meal. But still, you are cheerful and inviting to each guest, and you just hope and pray that your smile and well wishes helped even a little that day. One guest at the soup kitchen left a particular mark on me this week. I was pouring drinks at the end of the food line when a man leaned over to me and said, "God will bless you for doing this, for helping poor people. It goes on your record, and God knows. Thank you so much for thinking of us." To keep my composure right after that was tough, but I just smiled, handed him a drink, and replied, "You're most welcome, and thank you for your kind words." I haven't been able to keep that off my mind since.

I also spent a few hours with the toddlers at the day care. Talk about an absolute blast! I don't have much experience with children this age. We don't have many young ones in our family right now, and the ones that are that age I never get to see, so this was a real treat. They are so innocent at that stage in their life. Everything is funny and an adventure to them, and they are just full of life. Yes, there is the occasional temper tantrum, but it last for all of a minute and then life is just fine and dandy after that. And one of the boys is a little flirt, as I found out rather quickly. Shy at first, hiding his face in his hands against the wall, then hiding his face against my stomach, and finally sticking his face in mine and busting a gut laughing. Too cute. I really hope I get to go back to that classroom.

For some entertainment and recreation this week, a few trips to the peninsula and out into the Mount parking lot to skate proved to be a lot of fun and a good way to relax and let out a little stress. Carrie and I skated a few laps around the circle just in front of the entrance way to the monastery, and gave the sister at the front desk that night some laughs as she suddenly saw two girls "whizzing" by rather effortlessly! We also *sort of* "learned" how to play hand and foot, a card game. If you were to put me into the game right now, I'd fall flat on my face. I need a few more lessons, I think.

Now, as I come to my first full weekend here, I find myself wondering what to do. EXPLORE! That is the only answer.

I caught the deer!

And So it Begins

After about a day and a half, I can finally say I am all settled into my new home for the year. Bags are unpacked and pictures are up in my room. I've spent two nights here, and explored the city on my own with my friend, and I have already caught glimpse of the deer I've heard so much about over the years, but have never had a chance to see. And I've experienced nothing but warm welcomes and hugs from many of the sisters. All in all, I can say this has been a great couple of days.

Today begins the work, and this morning I will be going to the food pantry. I am quite eager to get my feet wet, and I can't wait for what the week has in store. Stay tuned, I'm sure I'll have many updates for you soon!

"The Future Belongs to the Few of Us Still Willing to Get Our Hands Dirty"

**This will be my last random-day post. From here on out I will be updating every Monday.**


The day is almost here. Move-in day. Now for this question: am I ready? Well, I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Have I packed? Yup! Well, I'm almost all packed. I just have some clothes left, but that's all. It's a nice feeling, not to be rushing the day before or the morning of. Relaxing and deep breaths are key right now.

It's been such a strange idea, moving again. It really shouldn't be, since this exact time the past four years has been the same thing: packing up and moving out of the house at the end of the Summer. I dormed all four years of college, so leaving home is not new, nor does it scare me or make me nervous. And I'm moving out only one week before I would be leaving to go back to school anyway, so it isn't any earlier than usual. However, this move is quite different than it has been these four years. For one, I'm not leaving to go back to school, so wrapping my head around the fact that I can no longer say my occupation is being a student is a little difficult to get used to. Second, I'm also moving out of state. Granted it's just from New York to Pennsylvania, one state away and only two hours from my parents, but still. The longest I've ever lived out of state was two years ago when I spent a Summer in Tennessee. This will be for one year, and who knows, possibly longer depending on where this year takes me. And third, I am moving into a monastery, which still boggles the minds of everyone I tell this to, and to be honest, it's a strange notion to me sometimes. And to hear myself say it aloud is surprising at times.

With just over 48 hours before I'll be moving in, all kinds of thoughts, nerves, and emotions are running EVERYWHERE! I'm excited, but nervous. Happy to be moving out of the house, but sad to leave my family. Ready to take this on, but finding myself ever wishing for one more day to be "more ready". I guess it's just this entire lifestyle change that I will be entering into. I am fairly familiar with it, but not entirely, and I am still asking myself, what am I doing?

I guess the bottom line is, I need to take a cue from Father Bucki at Canisius and just "RELAX", allow myself to just be me, and trust in God that this is the right thing for me at this time in my life, everything will be OK, and I will be just fine. I keep remembering what I said to my small group during Senior Retreat just before graduation: I have become really good in the last 2 years or so at putting myself in different, unsure, out there, and sometimes uncomfortable positions, and gaining so much from them in ways I never would have imagined. So bring it on. I am ready, and I know I will grow.



This week has been full of family dinners and chances to spend with my parents and brother. Last night we went to Joe's Crab Shack, a chain restaurant that recently opened its first New York State location just outside of Buffalo. 

My bucket full of 1 1/4 lbs of steamed crab, potatoes and corn

Yumm!

The Blessing of Family

Tonight wraps up a weekend full of visits with out-of-town and local family, some that I only get to see once a year, or once every 3 years or so. Yesterday was our annual Boyd Family Picnic, a family reunion on my Mother's side of the family that is always held the first Saturday of August. There is always a lot to catch up on with everyone, and this year was no exception. And today, my Grandmother's cousin and her husband celebrated 50 years of marriage with a wonderful party at Salvatore's Italian Gardens, an upscale restaurant in the Buffalo, NY area.

After a year of hard loss with the death of my great-grandfather in February, a rock in our family, I really began to realize the important role several members of my family have played, and continue to play in my life. Not to say that I haven't known that all along, but there are moments and events that bring that realization to the front of the line. As I am gearing up for the Benedicta Riepp program and getting ready to begin the next stage in my life, I felt blessed to be surrounded by family that has been able to stand the test of time, and have faith through all of life's challenges.

After countless questions about what my next step in life will be after graduation, and explaining what this next year will involve, I feel ready to take on life knowing I have the support of all of my family members, immediate and extended, near and far away, those I have known my entire life and some that have recently joined our family. As the challenges surface throughout this next year, I'll carry in my heart the love, well wishes, and the advice of all of my family members.

In other news, 13 days until Erie! As of right now, I am excited and ready to begin. A change of scenery is needed. Have I packed? Of course not. As the saying goes: "Procrastinators of the world, UNITE!...Tomorrow."