The Mom Weekly Volume 20: December 12, 2023
Today is the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a favorite feast at our house. I hope you kids remember some of the great shows that we have watched for this.
Wishbone (“What’s the story, Wishbone? What’s this your dreamin’ up?”). I wish that Wishbone were available on a streaming service, but alas. Think of all the great episodes we have seen, from Faust to Pride & Prejudice to David & Goliath!!! Here is a YouTube version of the Our Lady of Guadalupe episode. (And wow! Check out this short video from the makers of Wishbone about the making of it.)
There was also the CCC version of “Juan Diego: Messenger of Guadalupe“. It looks like it’s available for streaming on Formed, which many parishes (including ours) offers, so you could watch it there for nostalgia’s sake.
From the Vault: True Confession to My Children, to be Read When You are Adults (November 2007)
[As I’ve said before, I don’t necessarily want so many to be “from the vault,” but this one is season-specific, so I am including here. And I keep thanking mid-aughts me for writing such fun posts, especially ones like this with an eye towards the future. I actually remember thinking back then, won’t this be fun for grown-up kids to read? I’m so glad I can share this now and laugh with all of you about it.]
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I have this blog as a journal for myself, a way to keep myself in practice writing (even quick little posts, not edited very well, help keep the words flowing). I also keep this as a kind of scrapbook to share with friends and family today, and also I think in some way to share with you, dear progeny, when you get older and are grown-ups yourself.
We can all look back through this and laugh over funny things you used to say, or places we all went, or books we read, etc., etc. But I have to confess I am laughing and cringing at the same time, but I feel compelled to record for you and for posterity the true reality of our “learning lifestyle.”
A week or so ago, Into Great Silence arrived from Netflix (2023 note: this was when Netflix came in the mail as DVDs), and I thought: what a great pre-Advent reflection for us as a family.
When we have a non-traditional movie (i.e., usually foreign language movie) to watch, I usually put it on the DVD player on a weekend afternoon when your Dad is in his library working on his dissertation, and he might get to see bits of it here and there. You kid, now 9, 7, and 4, go off and play with something else if you are not interested in the film, and sometimes I bring some filing or knitting to the couch so I can do two things at once.
In this fashion we have successfully watched very interesting and slow-moving movies. Most times you three get very engaged with a movie, with Ideagirl reading the subtitles of foreign films for her younger siblings. (Remember “Children of Heaven?” or “The Cave of the Yellow Dog”?).
What happened last weekend was I put the movie in, and you kids were so excited to find out what was from Netflix! They lasted about 10 minutes, maybe.
I had some filing with me so I was not giving the documentary my full attention, and I kept getting lost and rewinding so I could see what was happening. Eventually you three starting fighting with each other and we all started getting cranky. I wasn’t getting my filing done!
So, after a grand total of 43 minutes I took the DVD out. On television at that time was Hallmark Channel (I think you had been watching Little House on the Prairie with a babysitter). And the movie on at that time was “Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus.”
And you know what? We watched it. We watched every last minute of it, and we were all completely entranced.
Dad came in during a break in writing and said, “Look, honey, they let some women in the monastery” and made other clever comments (“I didn’t know Steve Gutenberg was a Carthusian”).
But he watched it too and we all laughed and got silly nervous to see if Christmas really would happen if Santa Claus didn’t meet Mrs. Claus by Christmas Eve. Then I taped on our DVR the sequel to it called “Meet the Santas” so we could watch that one another time.
So remember: I love a good cheesy made-for-television movie every so often (unlike books; there I am a total snob). And I have passed that legacy on to you, my dear, dear children!
So when you kids are reading this years from now and wondering how you have such excellent taste in books and why you so much love for the occasional cheesy movie, you can thank your mother.
Interesting/Notable
Round and Round
I know I talked about this Hallmark Hanukkah movie last week. Those of us in St. Louis this weekend watched it and LOVED IT. I mean, 100 percent LOVED IT.
It was not just good for a Hallmark movie, it was good for a movie! I would pay money to see it in the theater, and it is head and shoulders above any recent rom-com I can recall. So amazing!!! The dialogue was intelligent and charming, the actors were top-notch, and the plot itself was wonderful. A+++.
It is airing tomorrow night on the Hallmark Channel again, so either DVR it or find a way to watch this!!!
An Ancient Solution to Our Current Crisis of Disconnection
Here’s a quote that really jumped out to me:
“By mastering the techniques of persuasion, students became proficient at spotting others’ manipulative use of language.”
This is really worth a read. There’s so much manipulation online and in discourse.
Adaptation of “Miss Austen” filming
An Action Item: Play Dreidel for Hanukkah
Hanukkah began last Friday night, and I have fond memories of playing Dreidel with you kids. Among the Christmas bins is a menorah, candles, and several dreidels. Do you remember how to play? It’s really easy, and can be played with poker chips, chocolate chips, or M&Ms.
Remember also to continue to pray for peace in Israel and for safety for all people in that region.
Since none of you kids will be home during Hanukkah, I will plan to make latkes later in December. Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten!
What are you doing this weekend?
The Mom Weekly schedules to post on Tuesdays. One of the reasons for this is to encourage you (and me, too!) to think about weekend plans. All too often, I have let that go until Friday, and then it’s hard to get people together, or make plans for coffee, or figure out when you go to Mass (other than the default, which is what we typically do).
So, now that it’s Tuesday, what are you planning for the weekend? I’m going to suggest trying to cover four “F”s to get ideas flowing:
*faith—when are you going to Mass?
*friends—what friends will you see or connect with?
*food—any fun recipes you plan to try, or restaurants you plan to visit?
*fun—anything interesting you are going to play, watch, or do this weekend? Now’s the time to think it through, and put it on the calendar (even informally)..