Joy: Rest & Relaxation!

I forgot to mention that a few weeks ago, we had our site evaluations for CMC. They consist of an evaluation of each missioner and his/her growth in ministry. :) Sr. Antonia Plata, MSC (a.k.a. Sr. Toni), who works with Crystal and I in Campus Ministry did ours. Nothing surprised me, other than I only got a 4 out of 5 for my sense of humor... ;) Well, that's true: sometimes I take myself too seriously and rush around on Liturgy days. 

One of the great things Sr. Toni said was in response to the question: "In what areas can the Missioner look to grow going forward?"  She wrote, "Michelle needs to rest and relax. She needs to say no to many things and take for herself time to enjoy and relax."

Mother Cabrini also had words of wisdom to share about this. She wrote to her sisters in 1907: "Be mindful always that we cannot give what we do not possess, and a missionary must supply herself abundantly with the oil of charity if she is to dispense it daily to those in need."  This can be interpreted in many ways: I need to accept receive love from God and others if I want to also love myself and those around me. I need to take time to "recharge my battery" and have "me time" if I am to balance ministry, community, solitude, and prayer.  Slowly, I am getting better at sticking to my needs and boundaries with my time.

So, the past two weeks, I have done the following to ensure that I am taking time for myself:

1) Cleared off the comfy chair in my room and will henceforth only use it for sitting in.  Up until now, it has been a coat rack, dresser, file cabinet, and an all-around place to dump things. Clutter does not make me relax, so if I can manage to keep my room a tad bit more tidy, I think it will help me relax.

2) Bubble baths. I'm so grateful to have a tub in my bathroom, and with some lilac bubble bath from CVS, what's not to love? 

3) Bike riding: I am taking full advantage of the bikepath on the East side that overlooks the East River. Today I even biked across the Brooklyn Bridge: so windy, but I did it!
 

4) I'm going to try and take time during the school day to visit the Shrine. Most of the time, I'll be in the Shrine when the Liturgy class meets for practice, or during the Liturgies themselves. But I would like to take more time to just "drop by" and say hello to Jesus and Mother Cabrini. We'll call it HTMC: "Hang Time with Mother C." 

5) Quality time with friends: It seems like the past few weeks have been so busy not only with mission @ the school and classes at St. Francis, but also with invites to different events, get-togethers, and send-offs. Enjoying the company of both friends, MSC sisters, and complete strangers has given me time to just BE. After all, as the adage goes: "We are human beings, not human doings."

6) Spent time walking around the street fairs with Mary and bought a Thai Iced Tea... one of my favorite things! I also brought home this: make your own Thai Iced Tea!... made some this past week and now there is a pitcher in the kitchen. It isn't the same as getting it at the street fair, but hopefully the community will take some from the fridge. (And thank you to Mary, who let me borrow her camera!)

 

7) Sleep! I wake up around 5:45 during the weekdays.  Last week, I enthusiastically proclaimed to Mary and Crystal that my goal for the week was to be in bed by 10pm on school nights. . . . Well, I miserably failed at that one.   However, with so much going on this next week (Confirmation Liturgy on Tuesday, Mid-Quarter grades due Tuesday, Trip to Philly because no school on Ascension Thursday), Fridays for Life Mass, and then parents and two siblings coming next weekend)... I decided that on Saturday night (last night), I'd go to bed at 9pm and not set an alarm. The result: I slept for 11 hours straight. Let's see if I can get some much needed REM cycles this week! 

In addition, I've also tried to tone down my need to always be the "do-er" or the "helper." As a "2," I take pride in always being prepared, in having more than my share of the work, and for lack of a better term-- being the "busy beaver" in the crowd.  Even when we were up visiting the Cap Corp Volunteers in April, I made an effort to not jump up and help with every little thing. And it was difficult! Yesterday I went to a Birthday BBQ celebration up in the BX and also tried to not be the "helper." Wow, it's hard to go against that instinct to clean and DO and change it into remaining seated and visiting-- to choose to be the Mary, and not the Martha for once. But I LOVED IT! :) I think Sr. Angie has really helped me see that this year. Many times after our community would finish eating, Sr. Angie would motion with her hand for me to stay seated. She'd say, "What's the rush? Sit down and enjoy your dessert. Don't rush." More often than not, she'd also do the familiar Italian hand motion and laughingly joke, "What's the matter for you?"

So here's to more balance and self-care for the remaining month and a half: Refilling the cup, as Mother C suggests. :)

And as for laughing at myself... Last week we had the Junior Ring Liturgy. I was so worried about one of the students missing her cue, that I ended up missing mine and so the program was out of sync with the actual course of events. Strike one. Tonight I lectored @ St. Francis, and I thought I was in the clear after pronouncing Silas, Cilicia, and all the challenging ones correctly. However, nearing the end of the passage, I definitely botched "strangled animals."Strike two. I laughed at myself on both these occasions.... NOT laughing would have been Strike three.