Mountains and Molehills

I'm writing this from my sealed, germ-free hazmat suit. It makes typing tricky, what with the big rubber gloves, but we must be vigilant! This is a deadly strain of a worldwide contagion!

I'm so sick of it I could puke. But then they'd probably just quarantine me.

They closed two schools yesterday because a kid tested positive for what I'm still calling the Swine Flu, even though the WHO (Horton hears 'em!) isn't calling it that. Fuck the WHO. They're pains in the ass, the lot of them. The CDC is bad enough on their own.

Why close a whole school? Doesn't it make more sense to keep the sick kid at home? For that matter, what happened last cold and flu season? You know, the HUMAN flu that's as contagious as this one with more severe symptoms--where were the school closings? Nope, just use precautions. No masks, even. What about this past winter when the Noro virus was running amok and we were, to quote Fr. Albert, all shitting our pants at Christmas time? Where were the school closings? Just wash your hands, you'll be fine.

But swine flu? OH MY GOD WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!!

Enough already. Rant over.

I made a sweater! Did I tell you I was working on one? I can't remember. I should take the time to re-read my latest posts before I post a new one so that I know what I already told you. I usually post the new one and then read the last one to find out that I already said this, that, or the other thing. I know. I don't get it either.

Oh, the sweater! Here 'tis.

The cream color is Ella Rae Classic wool (dirt cheap at Little Knits) and the green and yellow are Knitpicks WOTA. The turquoise color is my own homespun! Can't even tell, can you? I'm pretty pleased with myself, yessiree.

On the boy...

Close-up of the sleeve detail. One is solid off-white, the other has colored stripes and an embroidered felt patch. 'Cause symmetry is for squares, man.

I took some pictures of the kids too, all three together, but I'm going to use them as a distraction for when I don't have anything interesting to say.

In other news, I have two Confirmation classes left for the year. Tonight I'm going to answer some of the questions they've come up with as part of a year-long assignment. I told them at the first class that one of my favorite quotes is "Unthinking faith is a curious offering to the creator of the human mind." Question everything. Always want to know more. Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you. And they do, but it takes some time for them to understand that I mean it. I will answer any question you have to the best of my ability. I'll never tell you "I don't know" without a promise to find out the answer. So tonight I am fielding questions ranging from "Will you go to hell if you burn a bible?" to "Why are there sometimes 3 altar servers and sometimes 5 or more?"

Then, after the Q&A session, I'm going to teach them about the 7 deadly sins. The History Channel did a 7-part series on them that was fascinating, and I'm going to do a lesson that ties fairy tales like Snow White in with them. I'll tell you the story, you pinpoint the sin. Snow White? Envy, and you could make a case for Anger and Pride as well. I should be working on some visuals right now. So I may have to cut this short.

Finally, I had Fr. bless some St. Joseph medals. He's our patron saint and the patron saint of families, and I give it to them to remind them that wherever they go, they will always have a home in our parish. They are part of our family. And I wrote them each an individual note as well.

Choir practices are almost done as well. Only a few more there. I'm going back to work part-time, but I don't have much to report as yet. More on that when I have details ironed out.

Okay, whilst the boy grabs a nap, I shall prepare my second to last lesson. Whee.