"You do a lot of nothing much"

We're deep into the first week of 2024. I hope your New Year is going well so far. It's funny, as I grow older, a lot of things lose their luster, especially holidays. Well into my 50s, my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I like it because it is quiet and low-key, a little respite before the onslaught of commercial Kwazhaunakahmas.

This year, New Year's Day was a nice and quiet affair. My wife had to leave on New Year's Eve to be with he Dad in Ohio. So, my three teen boys and I had a nice, home-based New Year holiday together. Given how busy we are typically, we all really had a nice time playing games, talking, and doing some cooking. I hadn't had such a nice day for a long time. I am grateful for it.

Until my wife returned (with her Dad in tow) on Thursday, I was a bit busy single-parenting. I'd be lying to say anything other than I kind of enjoyed it. My Dad was a very home-focused and domestic man. These past few years, I have found myself enjoying that too. Left on my own, I tend towards a very monastic way of life.

Speaking of my Dad, it's always difficult this time of year because it was 19 December 2010 when my parents called to tell me my Dad had been diagnosed with late-stage cancer of the esophagus. He died on 17 January 2011. I will always remember staying the nights with him. sitting by his bed, praying, reading, thinking about the great mystery of life, of human existence. Of course, have some really great conversations with him, which will remain some of the most cherished moments of my life.

I don't mind saying that the transition into 2024 has been a little less smooth than I hoped. I am doing a 30-day course in spiritual resiliency. Today is day four. When I decide to do something like that I always wonder if it's right. It was validated today not once but twice. Once when I ran across verses from John's Gospel that is the focus of the first phase, "I am the vine; you are the branches" (John 15:5).

What I was struggling with became clear during the morning session of the resiliency course. In the same source that validated my doing the course (a book of Jesuit reflections), I ran across something that helped me with what I identified in the morning. Saint Ignatius was insistent that to desire something, like being more hospitable, is a start to becoming more hospitable. In other words, I recognize something, like a lack of hospitality, and desire to be more hospitable, and start there. It's a good desire but one that won't likely be realized in a single flash. Hey, you gotta start somewhere.

Anyway, it's time for the first Friday traditio of 2024. It's "Cloud 8" by Frazier Chorus: