In a rushed attempt to be a better Catholic mother this past Ash Wednesday, I dutifully slipped into church between school pick-ups and piano lessons. I swear to God, I didn't do it for the blog material, but blog material was indeed what I got:
Daniel (inspecting his forehead ashes in the mirror): "Are these ashes from Uncle Lewis?" (his recently-cremated uncle)
Jack: (also inspecting his ashes): "It doesn't look like fairy dust."
And last, but not least, Joey's recap of the ritual:
Thank you, Lord, for always providing.
Growing up in a largely Catholic neighborhood in the northeastern US, it always bummed me out that I didn't get to go to mass before school on Ash Wednesday. And ALL the kids had ashes between their eyes when they showed up at the bus stop. So this is what I did: got a baggie and dumped some of the ashes from the ashtray next to my dad's chair (he smoked a pipe) and right before I got to the bus stop, smeared some between my eyes. I probably should confess this to my mother, who would have been horrified. But she's too old to smack me and 714 miles away.
ReplyDeleteOscar Material.
ReplyDeleteSF
I belong to the C&E club so us heathens don't bother. Plus with all the new changes it's not Ash Wednesday anymore...we now call it "Vestige Wednesday".
ReplyDeleteMan. Lew gets more mentions post-mortem than I do alive. Totally not fair.
ReplyDeleteXOXO
Megan
Hi, I'm new here, but I just had to comment. Although we are Methodist we also receive ashes on our foreheads. When I came home from service on Wednesday my four-year old said, "Mommy, did you fall down?" Apparently the ashes were less a sign of repentance and more a sign of an inability to walk upright!
ReplyDeleteAh, that brings back memories of a two year old in m lap crying that I "Get them off!" as mass continued on. I just kept rubbing around the perimeter of the ashes hoping he'd think I got them off. Priceless comments from your peanut gallery!
ReplyDeleteKirby - I LOVE it! That's called creative problem solving. I bet your mom would laugh about it now. Maybe?
ReplyDeleteSF - Totally.
Maplewood - you're from the 'hood. You're supposed to be encouraging me to go to mass MORE. Bad, Maplewood.
Megan - Just making sure he lives on.....(;
Thescousewife - It's funny how kids view things. My boys were all upset when their ashes wore away. They thought of them as tatoos that should have lasted the week.
Andrea - You're a good mom - serving all your masters dutifully. I love the faux wipe-off. Genius!
LOL Dusty dust.... love it. You just need a swiffer.
ReplyDeleteicepoppy - or a dust buster? (;
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