At lunch time on Sunday I picked the boys up and brought them to the YMCA where I work so they could go swimming while I finished the work day. Then, after work we went grocery shopping and then back to their home. When we got there the Icon corner was cluttered with other stuff, dust covered everything. I set Basil Wenceslas to dusting and removing things that didn't belong, and Anselm Samuel was tasked with cleaning the lampada filling it with oil and replacing the wick.
Once that was done we made supper together and ate it. We played two fun games after supper. The first, Ticket to Ride is one of the best board games I've ever played. The second game, Bananagrams, was fun, too but it wasn't a fair game for an adult and children to play together.
After the games we said evening prayers. Basil was a little upset that we did the Lenten tones. He didn't know it was Lent. But when I explained it to him he was alright. He quickly remembered the Lenten music and by the time we were finished he was chanting the responses with the correct music. I've been sick since mid February (mostly better now) and have lost a lot of my hearing so I it was difficult for me to sing the prayers. I was very glad when last night and this morning Anselm was able to lead and Basil was able to respond while I just stood and prayed before the Icons with them.
Each night after prayers we fell asleep listening to a recording of "An Irish Country Courtship". I like the whole series.
I took Anselm to his swim team meeting. It was fun watching him. He's been swimming at the YMCA for years but I didn't know he was good enough to make the team. He tried out for the team last week and was selected. He's really good.
This morning, after I dropped Anselm off at his school, Basil asked me what my favorite holiday is. I said, "Well, that's a difficult question to answer. I really like St. Patrick's day when Anslem and I made the book about St. Patrick and you and I made soda bread and we all prayed that prayer written by St. Patrick. And I like Christmas when we read the books all Advent and go to church on Christmas and we cook the sausage we ground and stuffed ourselves. And I like Thanksgiving when your mom cooks the best turkey and we go to the Cathedral in San Francisco. And I like Pascha. We always make the Paskha and Kulich. Do you remember the year we took the train to San Francisco, walked through the tunnel, bought BBQ pork buns in Chinatown on the way to the hotel, and then shared them with everyone after the liturgy?"
Then Basil leaned over, put his head on my arm and said, "I love you, Dad."
I loved being with my boys the past few days.
2 comments:
These few days will have been a true blessing for you and for them.
This is a heartening post. It was a great blessing you were able to partake in, and I love all the details.
Thank you for the tip about Ticket to Ride, which I almost bought for my grandchildren last year. I find Bananagrams to be perfect for all ages playing together, because while adults may form many more words than children during the game, that gives them no advantage. No one has to deal with anyone else's words formed, and there is that element of chance at the very end that has allowed young kids to win many games I've played with them.
Also, thank you for the book ideas. I will be checking them out, too.
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