End of the Year

It was with great hope and some enthusiasm that I sat down last Saturday (the 18th) and conceived of offering a blow-by-blow account of my family's Christmas. In years past, both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day have been occasions of much frivolity and tended to instance at least several noteworthy events.

This year, however, I fell sick with the flu last Wednesday morning and it took longer than I'd have expected to recover. Hence Christmas this year was a more...sober affair than usual.

A few fun happenings over my break:

• Getting sick at Panera (last Wednesday) and then apologizing to the manager for the state I left the bathroom. The look of relief on her face was astonishing: "Well, as long as you're not blaming the food, that's okay."
• Netflix is the greatest invention. Ever. I watched all of the available Charlie Chan movies while sick in bed. I then went on to watch a bunch of documentaries and even managed to get in a screening of The Bells of Saint Mary. All of this right from my laptop!
• My niece (Emma) and nephew (Quinn) are endlessly entertaining. Quinn does fascinating tricks like putting socks and pens into the toilet and Emma talks nonstop (without subtitles).
• My least favorite thing to do is getting the oil changed on the car I drive. I get so nervous when I have to drive it into the changing bay at the Valvoline: what would happen if I didn't turn the wheel the right way? The workers yell out commands to one another so quickly and they try to get me to buy things I neither want nor (think) I need. 

As you can see, a pretty uneventful break. 

I go to the Colombiere Center today in Clarkston, Michigan with almost 100 Jesuits in Formation for our annual Formation Gathering (AKA: Kiddie Conference). I'll be back on January 1st with a novice who will be living in our community and teaching at the school this semester.

As we close out the 2010 year, I cannot help but be grateful. It has been a remarkable year capped, in my own mind, by the tremendous success of our first U of D Jesuit Pledge Detroit! initiative. Right now, I feel as though I am exactly where I need to be doing precisely what I am called to do. This is a great grace, one for which I am heartily grateful. 

Please be assured of my prayers as we enter into the new year. Let's hope that a slightly less demanding second semester might occasion more opportunities to write and to share with the world further stories from this Jesuit's Journey!

God Bless and Happy New Year!