Winter Break

The University of Detroit Jesuit High School & Academy has the nickname (whether duly earned or not) of "Holiday High." I don't know the history of the name and, frankly, I don't much care: all I know is that classes don't resume again until Ash Wednesday. Winter Break was made all the sweeter when school was canceled yesterday due to the snow, giving us a full week of vacation.

These last few weeks have been very busy. I'm teaching three different courses and one of those courses is brand new to me. I'm on several different committees and I'm working with various candidates interested in a vocation to the Society of Jesus. There are also basketball games, swim meets, wrestling matches, hockey and, if I can make it some afternoon, bowling matches that I'd like to attend. After school, I usually have a few kids lingering in the room, some who just want to talk about life, some who have questions about faith, some who just need someplace to go.

This semester, one of my "Prefect Assignments" is to sit at the guard's post in the school's Atrium from 7:30-7:50 each morning. This is the main gathering area for the students before school begins (Atrium or the cafeteria) and the first school official they see when they stagger in each morning is...me! I sort of feel sorry for them, because I'm a morning person and most of the guys are not. Nevertheless, each morning I try to greet the guys as they walk in, answer questions about last night's homework, answer the philosophical queries of the sophomores, spar with the atheists, and try to figure out why a room full of well-dressed young men smells like a barn. It's never dull.

I'm glad to have a week away from school, to have time to read and pray unhurriedly, to have a chance to go to Cleveland to see my family. It's so easy to get caught up in the unending rhythm of the school's life that I find I need to remind myself to be intentional about getting out and about. Maybe, if the weather in Cleveland holds, I can take my niece out sledding....

I hope everyone is staying warm and dry. I'll try to update the blog from Cleveland. Maybe I'll get some good sledding pictures!