Friday's Feast

Appetizer
Name one thing nice that you could do for someone else today.
What an intriguing thought. I do nice things for people all the time; it just sort of happens spontaneously. I let people go ahead of me in the grocery line if they're in a hurry, I stop and help people who are in need. It doesn't often occur to me to make a plan for niceness. Okay, here's the plan: I'm going to say (or type in comments) something encouraging to someone. Maybe it will be you.

Soup
When was the last time you were frightened by the weather?
Last year our house in Ohio was up for sale and Mr.V had already moved to the new location several states away. A huge rainstorm hit one day (I think remnants of Katrina). I walked into my daughter's bedroom and heard dripping ... the roof was leaking and dripping right through the ceiling. Aaaargh! After the storm was over I had it patched, got bids, had the entire roof replaced (the interior dried out quickly -- no major damage to repair). But during every subsequent rainstorm I would start to panic. I would lie in bed at night watching the weather channel obsessively. To this day I'm skittish about big storms, worried our new house might spring a leak.

Salad
What would you say is the most useful website or blog that you visit?
Tough call. I use Amazon.com a lot for book reviews. On the other hand, interacting on Mothering.com is certainly a sanity-saver some days.

Main Course
Who was your favorite singer/group when you were a child?
I was sure I would someday be Mrs. Donny Osmond.

Dessert
Do you have any rituals? If so, what are they?
You know, the wording of this question is interesting. Are we to differentiate between routines and rituals? The word “ritual” implies a sacred quality above and beyond a “routine”...but, then again, ought we not imbue much of our day with the sacred? Shouldn't we approach our tasks with mindfulness, rather than mindless rote duty? The Tea Ceremony springs to mind -- serving tea can be considered a routine, or it can be elevated to ritual.

I deal with children and small animals all day long. We have myriad rituals. We have the morning Opening of the Cat Food Can. We have the Offering Up of Methimazole (thyroid medication) Hidden in Treat Food twice per day for our geriatric cat (I often feel like I am propitiating a deity when I set that saucer in front of her, whispering a prayer that she will find it worthy and not display her wrath by peeing all over the bathroom rugs). We have the Quiet Time Before the Kids Are Up during which I do QiGong. I have my personal care rituals. We have mealtime rituals -- we pray certain ways before certain meals, for instance. We read certain books aloud at certain times. Bedtime rituals. Cleaning rituals (why settle for cleaning routines when you can have rituals?). Weekly rituals, including attending church.

Life with kids and animals is chock-full of the unexpected. Many days these rituals don’t quite spring into full-flower -- someone will throw up, lose a tooth, bleed profusely, have emotional meltdown over a lost toy -- and the particular ritual of the moment will be abandoned to care for the trauma. But, there’s always the promise of the rituals that occur later in the day or later in the week to soothe us and let us know that life goes on in spite of these temporary setbacks.