Happy Easter! Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

Prints of Grace © 2016 Trisha Niermeyer Potter

I must stay I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing all of the adorable family and Easter egg hunt photos with the kids that everyone has posted on Instagram, Facebook, and their blogs.  Since my husband and I don't have any cute kids dressed in their Easter best, I figured I would attempt to create something prettier to look at than either of us did this past weekend.

Kevin went to the Easter Vigil and brought me Communion, because I'm still sick, then we both spent all day Sunday at home in our pajamas (which also aren't cute, festive, or anything like that, so there will be no photos).   

I did all of the readings for the lengthy Mass at home by myself while he was gone.  I had a decent time of prayer and reflection, but I missed being present in the flesh with the St. Michael congregation for the celebration of God’s love, the Scriptural summary of salvation history, and the rejoicing over new members coming into the Church and the renewal of our own Baptismal promises.  Kevin said that the music ministry was amazing, as always.  Deacon Andy’s homily was one of the best he had heard. 

After spending the past several years espousing the benefits of observing the Easter Triduum by participating at church in the three-part over three days observation of the holiest days of the year, I missed the Triduum plus at both parishes Kevin and I have been attending for Mass.  At least, Kevin made it to two out of three nights. 

Upon rereading entries from past Holy Weeks, I realized Kevin was sick and missed everything church-related last year.  Apparently, the holiday tradition we most need to break is the Potter Paschal Plague.  Eventually, we will make it back to Mass together and will rejoice that Christ has indeed risen from the dead, and we have both risen from the bed.

May you and your loved ones have a glorious Easter season filled with abundant reminders of God's unconditional love!  
        Blessings, Trisha & Kevin

A Note on the Artwork: I created the above graphic using three of the coloring pages from:

Coloring Art Therapy Magazine 48 Prints Jenean Morrison Wanderlust

I colored these this week while home resting and trying to get over being sick with a pretty nasty upper respiratory infection.  I used Sharpie markers to color each design, altered the colors slightly to make them look a little brighter and more like Spring in a Word .doc, cropped images closely, and made them oval-shaped to look like Easter eggs, then added text and popped the whole thing into Paint to save it.

Not Our Normal Lent

Not Our Normal Lent

Prints of Grace © 2016 Trisha Niermeyer Potter
Media: watercolor paints & colored pencil

I never once got to the Stations of the Cross and only made it to Reconciliation once during Lent.  Sickness, injury, stress, exhaustion, and being in survival mode in some ways brought me closer to Christ’s suffering.  I had ample time and occasion to consider how circumstances outside of His choosing and mine would affect the choices I made, how I responded to different situations, and how I would treat people, particularly those who were also struggling. 

My meditation on God’s mercy and Christ’s sacrifice led me to thoughts of reconciling with my father and being one of his main caregivers during the last few years of his life.  I also thought about my Godfather’s life and prayerful legacy, which I am certain greatly influenced my healed relationship with my dad.

I never once made it over to the abortion clinic to join my mom and other prayer warriors as part of 40 Days for Life this spring.  I prayed from home for them and had it on my heart quite often to pray for a couple I know and love facing an unplanned pregnancy.

Some years I have created homemade Easter cards to give and send out.  That didn’t happen this year.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching the kids where I worked make brightly colored Easter eggs with the materials I brought in from home.  They had fun hiding them in different places and getting their friends and me to find them.  My favorite was the Easter egg with a little Easter bunny popping out of the top that a clever elementary school girl taped so it was hanging upside down under one of the lunch tables.    

When I mentioned being bummed that I have been too sick to participate in the Easter Triduum this year, my mom responded that I’m living it.  I hadn’t really thought about it that way.  This Lent has certainly been a time of trial.  Though I didn’t give up desserts (my diet is already pretty strict) or commit to an additional l daily prayer practice, I kept in mind that the things I was doing to take care of and/or be present to others counted as my Lenten observance, especially when it took every last ounce of energy I had remaining. 

Much of my "community outreach" and “volunteering” has been chosen for me lately.  When I have seen a need that others aren’t meeting, I try to step in particularly when children, the elderly, and/or those in fragile health are concerned.  

I've always been a stickler for safety as my parents and employers will attest.  I try to be proactive in addressing safety and health issues.  I'm a firm believer that children shouldn't be crash test dummies, but sometimes there are just too many for me to do anything about without some significant assistance and cooperation.  More on that later.  

Throughout the Christmas and Lenten seasons, I was beating myself up over not visiting our neighbor more often when she was in rehab after breaking her hip, but then it dawned on me that I was there for her when she really needed me. She and the EMTs didn't think she'd broken anything when she fell a couple days before Christmas, so they offered to put her in her bed and leave.  She is already disabled, lives alone, and they'd had to break into her apartment to get to her, because the door had been locked, so I voted against that option.  I insisted she go to the hospital and said I'd go with her.  It turns out she did break her hip and needed emergency surgery.      

Kevin and I both made it to Mass on Palm Sunday, but I haven't been back to church since then. I was determined to make it through my last week at a particular job without calling in.  Fortunately, during Holy Week, they were kind enough where I worked to let me have a bit longer breaks during my split shift so I could go home nap/rest and eat before working the rest of the day.  I know I couldn’t have made it through otherwise.  Having to be at work at by 6:45am and not off until between 5-6:30pm, I would have collapsed without that extended mid-day reprieve. 

Lord, thank You for opportunities to serve you, occasions to pray, and sacrifices to offer beyond what I felt up to committing to at the beginning of Lent.  Please help me continue to be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit this Easter season.

Laughing Together Series (Vol. 10) What Not to Wear to Church or When Offering to Help Others Get Dressed

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted one of these as part of my Laughing Together Series.  My husband Kevin and I have continued LAUGHING TOGETHER in the midst of our busy lives.  Having a sense of humor we can share is part of what keeps us relatively sane in trying times. 

Though my first nine posts in the series focus on the early years of our dating relationship, I figured it would be entertaining and appropriate to mix in some of our latest adventures, notable quotes, and funny occurrences for this and future posts. 

Kevin usually has to work both Saturday and Sunday at the retail store in Short Pump where he is employed as a member of the inventory team.  He tends to walk between 6-11 miles on the days he’s scheduled, so he typically comes home feeling pretty exhausted.  Lately, due to a severe case of tendonitis, he has also been in pain.  It’s been particularly difficult for him to grasp things in his left hand.  (Fortunately, although he’s left-handed, he still did awesome on all of his final exams and the courses for his last semester drafting and design degree.  I'll include more about that in another post).

It has posed a painful challenge for him to dress and undress, tie his shoes, etc. due to the tendonitis.  He also is so worn out by the time he gets home from work on Saturday or Sunday that he eats, collapses on the couch to rest for a bit, then he joins me for Mass, rarely having changed out of his work uniform when it's time to leave.  I’m not sure why it bothers me that he wears this outfit to Mass, but it does.

Trying to be both compassionate and proactive, I offered to help.  “I’ll help you get dressed for church when I get back.”

He gave me a sideways glance with raised eyebrows.  It was then I realized my offer might not seem quite as thoughtful considering this is what I had on at that moment:

The peach and white paisley long underwear type top is meant to be worn what looks like inside out
and is only one size too big for me.  The pajama pants are three or four sizes too big,
but so comfy I still wear them at home. Yes, my just-chilling-at-home attire
is often this clashing, tacky, and entertaining.

For obvious reasons, we both burst out laughing. 

True to my word, I came home in enough time to assist Kevin in changing out of his uniform before church.  I found him hurriedly getting dressed. 

This sort of begs the question: can I dress him up or should I just take him out? (pun intended)