Author: Maria

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ah…the olympics…always photo opportunities

My friend Jeff takes a special delight in pointing out that in spite of a rather illustrious past in sports, including being inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame for my high school (I’m listed for basketball in 1980), he only ever talks about the fact that I lettered in Badminton.

It’s not humiliating.

If I say it enough it will be true.

Well, take that, Jeffrey. I found something more humiliating than badminton.

Actually, I think I looked hot in my 1980’s style short shorts. More humiliating than the sport of curling is the attire that one must use to play. Really? Who thought this was a good idea?

Of course, the Norwegian Curling Team might be awful, but they’re snazzy dressers. Gotta give ’em credit for knowing how to play the media.

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what I’ve seen…redux

There are parts of my fair city that are…well…interesting. Lucky for me, I work in one of those quarters where there’s always entertainment going on. You know what I’m talking about as I talk around in delicate circles.

Let’s face it. It’s the bizarro world to my quiet, suburban/formerly rural homestead. The fact that we aren’t rural anymore should be an indication of the kind of gigantic growth experienced in Atlanta. As a side note, one of these days Birmingham is going to be part of metropolitan Atlanta due to the urban sprawl, but that’s not what I’m venting about today.

No. Today I saw an angelic vision. Or something.

Yes! Seen on my favorite corner (the one where I have been mooned and terrorized by bible thumping cultists) this morning was a gentlemen dressed in an alb.

I am certain that it was an alb because I was carefully looking at the hem and the pleats in the front. If that wasn’t enough, his fashion accessories were outright bizarre.

To his credit, his black and white motif was working, but still. Weird.

To compound things, the alb was hemmed a little too short, exposing his black dress socks accentuated by dazzling white plastic sneakers trimmed in black. It also exposed the fact that he was not wearing long pants (and it was like 22 degrees F). He didn’t strike me as a Scotsman, so I’d like to think he was wearing something else under there, but my mind refused to ponder that any further.

The ensemble was completed by a black hoodie and thick hockey gloves. And dark sunglasses.

I if was dressed like that I wouldn’t want to be recognized, either.

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I stink at Lent, so I suppose I need to embrace it

I’m enjoying a stay-at-home day, which essentially means nothing … same thing, different setting. But I had trouble sitting down at my desk to get some work done because the clutter in my home office is just, frankly, out of control. It’s the dumping ground for all papers and things of “value” that don’t get pitched when the house is straightened. You know, the items one looks at, thinks they’re important, but not important enough to address at the moment.

My desk is a depository for important stuff that is soooo important, the dates have expired, passed me by, and become irrelevent. Yeah, because that’s useful.

A couple of years ago I joined Fly Lady and decluttered my life. Satisfied that I had been effective, I slipped back into my careless ways, which of course brings me to today and a stack of, let’s be honest, crap that has settled into piles all around me.

Don’t get too judgmental, the living room looks nice.

But here’s the problem: that’s external. It’s what a casual guest would see. The truth of my existence lies behind closed doors.

A little like my spiritual life? Hmm. How about a lot like my spiritual life. Oh sure, I say the right things, go to church, give alms to the poor. In public. What am I doing in private? I’m afraid it looks like my office — dusty and not at all conducive to any kind of healthy prayer life. Gotta dust in there, too.

So here’s the plan. I’m going to declutter my body and soul. I’m going to do the 40 Trash Bag Challenge, renewed this year over at Faith & Family (read Danielle Bean’s post here) to declutter my house.

And then, I’m going to do that other challenge, you know, Lent. That one’s a little tougher. I’m usually better with a physical challenge, so I’m going to go on a spiritual diet. A change in my praying habits. If I can find 30 minutes a day to dump the clutter in my life, I need to find 30 minutes a day to fill that void with something healthy.

What that is yet, I don’t know, but I’m sure I’ll think of something. Rest assured it’s going to start with the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  The point is, I’m going to be exhaling the toxic waste, and inhaling the fresh air.

Join me?

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