Last week Kelly introduced herself to possible new readers. I will pretend there is a possibility of pretend new readers too and introduce myself.
1. I am Mary. I am a little protective of my identity because I am a librarian at a public middle school. Too many kids could stalk me and other people who might be all up in my business. Someday when I retire that won't be as big of an issue, but for today, I am a little evasive.
2. I have a husband of many years and a son in his 30s. That makes me sort of old for internet content providing. I am not a digital native. I immigrated here from paper and typewriters and pencils. I have types of pens I prefer and mechanical pencils. When I was in middle school ballpoint pens were not largely used. I used a fountain pen. (And no calculators in math I used a slide rule.) (Be amazed!)
But, I have recently taken to wearing a Fitbit. I know how to sync it and I understand the dongle. I have managed the 10000 steps every day since I got it. This hasn't been easy because I have a pinched nerve in my hip from the surgery I had in December and a bum knee and a pulled Achilles tendon. But, not bad for someone who is barely fluent in digital, no? And I Kindle. And I use a smartphone, so there it is. I have adapted to digital.
3. My mom is 93 and lives in an apartment more than 2 hours away. She still drives, but is thinking of giving it up. She is getting frail and forgetful. As the oldest child I have responsibilities for her. I have a sister who lives 2 hours away from both Mom and I who also helps. I have a brother who lives in northern Illinois and another brother who works on the Mall in DC. They are nice guys, but they don't help as much with Mom. My dad passed away when he was 62, the age I will be this year.
4. My sister and I are writing a book. She is writing the words and I am helping with the story. It is am imagined story based on the life of our great grandparents. It will be a few years before it is actually something I should be talking about. It is a project born out of a vacation that my sister and I took to Oklahoma to visit the old family sites.
5. I make baby quilts and do some other sewing and crocheting projects. I find that creative activity relaxes and refreshes me after a day of work. I end up showing lots of little quilts on this blog. I like to photograph them as a record. I give them all away and I rarely ever even see the babies that they are given to. I pray for the babies. That is something that I do.
This is the one I am quilting at the moment.
6. I am Catholic from the cradle. My mom has always been a Methodist. Within my extended family there are lots of Protestants. They have been sandpaper to my faith life. I tend toward the charismatic renewal of the Catholic Church, like Pope Francis. That doesn't just mean I like lively music, although I do. I can take or leave the Latin, since that was the norm when I was young. I would mostly leave it. I accept and employ the charisms of the Holy Spirit which have been given to us. All we Christians do, I just work harder than some do to be open to the gifts. I pray for people.
7. The last one is hard to choose. Should I say I like hawks? Because I do. Should I say that I want more than anything to go to the Holy Land this year? Should I tell you about my girlfriends the Yayas who prayed for me when I went through that surgery in December? I used to have cats? I could throw in a bunch more stuff, but maybe I should keep a little mystery in the relationship?
