Peace Be With You

Written Sunday 10/12

It’s amazing having an entire weekend to relax. For the first time in a very long time, I did not have to work on Saturday night at Trat V. We didn’t have any fancy plans. We literally did our groceries on Saturday night. I had to laugh about it… it was a Saturday night and we were getting our kicks pushing a grocery cart around and reading the circular for deals on our favorite things. After filling our reusable shopping bags with goodies, we loaded the car and headed home.
We opened a bottle of Cab Franc from the wine store across the street. I cooked pan seared chicken with sautéed mushrooms and asparagus. It was very simple but so, so good. We ended up watching “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.” I have to say, it was a great movie. Most of the filming was done in Hawaii. We spent most of the time graveling about how much we would love to live there. That is definitely one of the places that we would like to travel to next.

Today we did a few things in the apartment. A sink full of dishes, a body bag of laundry, went to the gym and caught the five o’clock mass.

We’ve decided that we are going to make a habit of going to church every week. We had been going to church every week leading up to our wedding. But then, like most people, we got caught up in our busy scheduling and stopped going.

The past few weeks we have been talking about doing some good with our free time. The top of the list was going back to church. I can openly admit that I am not the best Catholic. I disagree with a lot of beliefs that the church has. I do like what the religion stands for. I justify my going to church every week because of how I feel when I am there. I find it comforting because I think of growing up being there with my Mom and my Grandmother. I like to think I am carrying on tradition in a way.

I like to believe that there is something else, something good after this life. When I sit and listen to the readings and the priest speak, I really do try and listen to the stories. I try to apply the analogies to my life and find a way to feel inspired by what I hear. I always feel calmer than when I walked in. And that is why I will continue to go. Why we will continue to go and share that feeling.

My favorite part of mass is when the priest says, “Let us offer one another a sign of peace.” The music will play and people share smiles and touch hands. “Peace be with you” we say to each other. If you really think of the intention of those words, it is a really beautiful thing. To realize that we are all there for the same reasons… in one way or another we are there to find our peace in this life.