My favorite piece of Emma’s artwork from her painting session this afternoon. She was very specific about what colors of paint she wanted to use today.
Today, after I dropped off Emma, I decided to get a manicure and pedicure. I opted not to go to the place I usually go to; the MOMs Club Facebook group had been raving about this other salon, and it opened earlier than my usual joint. Going earlier meant I could get started on my writing and annotated bibliography sooner.
I had been reading (both before, during, and after the appointment) a book by Fr. James Martin, SJ, The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything. The book is part of the required reading in my Ignatian Faculty Scholars class at Regis, and thanks to years of being involved in and working at to SLU’s campus ministry department, having Fr. Cleary and Fr. Kavanaugh for class, and having good friends who were and are Jesuits, most of it has been a mere review. I’ve been reading it, however, looking for nuggets of information that I can use for the what-feels-like-a-thesis paper I’m writing on technology and Jesuit education. (My Ignatian Scholars class gives me three credits for each academic year, but it’s a pass/fail, so I’m writing this paper so that my advisor will count it toward my elective credit…long side story, I know.)
Anyway, I could tell the young woman doing my nails wanted to talk, so I put my book away. Her English was not super clear, and I hate that I don’t even know what Asian country or language she was speaking. Vietnamese? Something else? Anyway, she was asking questions about when the baby was due, if I had any other kids, what my husband did, why I was reading the book.
Shortly after learning about me, she said, “You’re lucky. You have a good life. Good husband, good kids, good education.”
I doubt she knew what an impact her words had on me; maybe she did.
I sat there for the rest of my manicure and pedicure thinking about how right she was. Lately, I have been obsessed and stressed. I’ve been trying to control every aspect of this upcoming move, which is pointless, as I have zero control over any of it. I have been just plowing through my courses, trying to get done, preparing for my job in DC. As awful as it was, I had the money and flexibility to get home to see my godmother Cookie before she died. Unlike my parents, I don’t have to worry about money…yeah, we have some credit card debt that I want gone, but I know it will be gone when I get to working full-time again. I thought about the sacrifices my parents made to make sure Colleen and I received the best education. I thought about how stressed I have been lately. All of the obstacles in my life are just that…mere bumps in the road. Even my fertility issues, which were more than little obstacles, turned out all right. I have Emma, and in June I’ll have this little kid who has been jumping around so much in my belly today that I can see my belly move.
I do have a good life. I am lucky. And I so often take this for granted.
Last night, I was skimming through some chapters of Fr. Martin’s book for my paper. They were all about prayer. Every type of “Ignatian” prayer he mentioned and story he shared was something I had experienced personally on retreat or knew about from my days working in SLU’s campus ministry. Fr. Martin recounts a story of someone who didn’t feel like God was very active in his prayer life, but then had an encounter with a person where it seemed as if God was talking through that person.
My prayer life hasn’t been great lately. It hasn’t been awful either. But I have no doubt that God was talking to me today through that young woman and reminding that despite the many obstacles I feel like I’ve had during the past few years, my life is still pretty darn good.
