Grapes of Reflection 2019

It's a special time of year when we change calendar years.

Many people take time to look back on the year that's closing, and I certainly enjoy doing that myself.

I here now reflect on 2019 in accordance with the Spanish custom of eating 12 grapes for the New Year's holiday.

Grape #1, World Youth Day 2019: This trip was the experience of a lifetime, and I'm sure I'll be thinking and sharing about it for a long time to come.

Grape #2, Washington, D.C., trip: There's so much to see in this illustrious city, and I enjoyed yet another opportunity for sightseeing there, doing so for an extended weekend with Mom, longer than the multiple layover visits of the past few years.  And we traveled there in style, riding for the first time in Amtrak Sleeping Class accommodations.  This year's trip came 20 years after a spring1999 family trip there and 15 years after a December 2004 trip there, during the latter of which we stayed at the same place in Alexandria where Mom and I stayed this time around.

Grape #3, more celebrating of Illinois and its Bicentennial: All the exploring I did during the Illinois Bicentennial year in 2018 made me eager to keep exploring Illinois, which included more traveling around the state outside Chicagoland, including the Shawnee National Forest, Vandalia, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, Springfield (on multiple occasions), Tampico, Dixon, and Quincy.

Grape #4, CAC tours: Coming alongside exploring more of Illinois, I enjoyed the opportunity to explore various buildings and areas in Chicago, and nearby, through wonderful tours that helped me appreciate the finer details of the architecture, not to mention Open House Chicago.

Grape #5, trip to Michigan: It was really special to visit Michigan for the first time in 14 years.  I did some great sightseeing at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing, and the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids.  I also spent a magical evening visiting my cousins in Portage, which gave me much to ponder about the meaning of life, librarianship, and family.

Grape #6, visit to West Branch, IA: I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to visit the sights of Herbert Hoover in West Branch, and it was particularly special to be there on his birthday, August 10.

Grape #7, another reunion visit to Winnebago, NE: I was glad to have the chance to visit again the St. Augustine Mission and its environs, to reconnect with the extraordinary experience I had there.  Connecting again with this trip has made me all the more eager to support the campaign for a new school there.

Grape #8, books: I read, and listened to, a good number of books this year. I won a copy of David McCullough's Pioneers book in a Goodreads contest.  I also had many "Aha" moments about how to live life meaningfully reading 90 Seconds to a Life you Love by Joan Rosenberg and Called to Forgive by Anthony Thompson.

Grape #9, movies: I saw some meaningful movies.  Coco had a great family-oriented message.  I unexpectedly and delightfully gained great insight into what it means to be called watching Moana.  And it was moving to watch Unplanned, on opening day, March 29.  I later had the opportunity to meet its star, Ashley Bratcher, at an Aid for Women banquet on May 1.

Grape #10, the Roys Report: Julie Roys used to have a great radio program on Moody Radio, but after she blew the whistle on upon uncovering misdeeds at Moody Bible Institute, she was terminated from employment there.  I was so delighted to encounter the news about the launch of her new program, The Roys Report, during the summer.  She has great content on her program and engages in meaningful discussions on current issues in church and society.

Grape #11, personal anniversaries: There are two notable personal anniversaries in 2019 that come to mind:  In May, I celebrated 20 years since my first communion in the St. Giles Family Mass community.  I attended Mass there as part of my celebration, my first time back there in many years.  Later that day, I was spontaneously invited to the first communion celebration of the daughter of a former co-catechist.  I also marked 10 years since starting at Valparaiso University, which was intimately tied in with the 10th anniversary of my first Mass at St. Teresa's, which I continue to regard as a truly life-changing event, for what happened during that hour, and the impact it had, and continues to have, for a long time.  And while not a personally-oriented anniversary, I took much delight in marking the 150th Anniversary of the Golden Spike Ceremony, because I am so enamored with trains.  I was glad to do something for it when I visited a special exhibit in honor of this anniversary at Historic Union Station in Springfield, IL.

Grape #12, relationships: I think about the important relationships I've participated in throughout this year.  I'm glad for the visits my brother made to Chicagoland after his move to Miami for a new job.  And I had further opportunity to get to know my sister-in-law Naomi and Weasley the dog before they moved.

Furthermore, I think about the importance of relationships I fostered within church context.  I formed great relationships in a young adult small faith-sharing group during Lent.  It's been a joy to keep up with the people, especially with significant life events, including a marriage, an engagement, and two new babies.  I was at the baptism for one of them, and was spontaneously invited to join the family at a celebration afterward.

I was able to share a special experience with my Uncle Bernie when we attended a Dynamic Catholic event at St. James Parish in Arlington Heights, attending with my Uncle Bernie.  We heard from Allen Hunt, who talked about four practices to reinvigorating our spiritual lives.  (This talk highlighted the continued opportunities I've had for lifelong learning, just as I had more opportunity to learn much upon getting my first ever smartphone on June 19, learning about all the functions of this tool.)

I am also pleased that I got acquainted with Stars for Life, the pro-life group at Dominican University.  With the extreme abortion legislation in Illinois, I got on the Illinois Right to Life e-mail list, and did my part to oppose the legislation.  In the wake of its passage, I first became aware of Stars for Life when an e-mail from Illinois Right to Life told me about a banquet they were hosting at the end of June.  In November, they hosted a mini-conference on Theology of the Body.  One of the speakers was Sister Helena Burns, who spoke so eloquently on the subject, and there were numerous "Aha" moments during her talk, as my eyes were opened even wider.  Indeed, I was glad to have opportunities to support this pro-life group at my alma mater.

And I delight greatly in the sense of connection I've forged with my RE students.  I've had great groups of students in both RE years that have spanned this calendar year.  And giving a presentation on my trip to World Youth Day for the middle school students in RE provided me a great chance to interact with the students who were coming down the pipe, many of whom are in my 8th grade classes this year.  Particularly notable for the 2019-2020 RE year is how many students in my classes are younger siblings of former students.  It's special to continue interacting with the families, and speaks to the impact I have had on people's lives, and how much meaning I've found in my life by making an impact, and living out my own faith, especially as I was inspired to do upon my own Confirmation, and teaching RE for middle schoolers, as well as being a mentor at Confirmation meetings.

Despite the challenges associated with adult life, and some of my own personal internal struggles, not to mention the troubles in the world at large, I continue to be very satisfied with the state of my life, and I continue pointing to teaching Religious Education as a large part of why that is.

So as I mark a significant change in chronos time, I look upward to the God Who has gifted me 2019 and I think about the opportunities I've had to use the chronos time of 2019 to attain to Kairos time, by which I may encounter Him through offering 2019 as a gift back to Him in thanksgiving.