The Saints Cry Over Lost Time

We began the week celebrating Lydia’s second birthday and the parties kept rolling along all week. Jude had a special Halloween party at preschool. Lucy had a HALLoween parade in the halls of her school plus a classroom party. Then there was neighborhood trick or treating. In all, a full week capped with Daylight Saving Time, which of course means the kids were up by 5AM today.

Sugar overload + a week full of activity + DST = a crazy outing at Mass 

It’s a good thing today is All Saints Day, because we all needed each one of those saints to help us get through Mass without any major meltdowns.

Speaking of saints, I want to share a great thought with you in honor of this most special day. One of my favorite ways to “waste time” with my kids is to read with them. During a read-aloud of the book Josefina Learns a Lesson from The American Girls Collection, the kids and I learned that dichos is the Spanish word for proverbs or wise sayings used in Mexican culture. One dicho shared in the story is, “The saints cry over lost time.” It was once a popular expression often said by parents to help keep their kids on task.

When I first read the quote, I immediately thought not so much about keeping my kids on task, but keeping myself on task! One thought in particular came in mind, an idea that had rolled around in my heart for some time, yet I hadn’t mustered the courage to share it publicly. I also hadn’t taken any steps to turn my dreams into action. Had I given the saints reason to cry by not giving a voice to that potentially inspired idea?

Cry no longer, saints! Over the past months, I have started sharing my thoughts and ideas with others and together we are working on a very special project that I’ll soon detail. It feels great to give those inner thoughts a voice, and I sure hope the saints are smiling and blessing this project.

So how about you? Have you been ruminating on an idea for some time but haven’t mustered the courage to tell anyone? In honor of All Saints, maybe it’s time to get busy and stop giving the saints a reason to cry!

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Finally, I can’t resist sharing the kids’ 2015 Halloween photo. Here’s St. Kateri Tekakwitha (read more about her here), a chef, and a brave fire fighter.