I’m Just Not that Catholic

Written By: Kim - Feb• 01•12

Last week, on 23 January, the March for Life continued it’s annual protest of the 1973 Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade. When I made it to DC’s Union Station to take the commuter train home, there were multitudes of crowds. I even ran in to a good friend of mine who was taking the bus back home to our parish. It’s not unusual to see families riding the commuter train back home from either a regular site seeing day or a protest/march. So, I stumbled upon a middle aged mom with four children who were enjoying a late lunch.

After we spoke briefly about the VRE back home, someone that she new entered in to our area. This mom and her three children had also been at the March for Life. This woman couldn’t have been more than 30 and her oldest looked no older than 10. She wore no makeup and an oversize poncho-type sweater. But, she was also pregnant so I will cut her some slack for looking like Betty Suarez did when “Ugly Betty” first aired. Except Betty had on makeup.

The DC weather in January is always sketchy. Who remembers when President Obama was sworn in? DC weather might be bitter cold, rainy, cold and rain, windy or a combination of all of these. Or, it could just be sunny and decent for winter weather. On 23 January 2012 it was mid 40s with rain. An icky day for a protest no matter the cause. But marchers show up regardless.

The young mother got in to a conversation about the weather and how the Supreme Court justices should know how dedicated the marchers were to seeing Roe v. Wade overturned because they always show up no matter the weather. Ok, I’ll buy that. Marchers and protesters show their passion for the issue.

But then she said something that I will never agree with: that God had allowed the rain so the Supreme Court justices would know how dedicated the Right to Life Marchers were about overturning this court case. She then inferred that the protestors were being punished via the rain. For what? Original sin?

I am sick of some Catholics bearing this guilt cross. Yes, I know. We can’t seem to let it go. It’s part of our culture; our dogma. Can’t we celebrate God differently? Yes. Should we embrace our roots, so to speak? Yes. Are any of us worthy of God? Not really. Are your children really suffering in the rain at at Right to Life March because Eve at that stupid apple? No.

How about embracing your walk with God in a positive way, not propelled by guilt and original sin? Although I attend church on a regular basis and try to walk with God as Christians should, I guess I am just not that Catholic. I don’t let guilt impact how I worship God.

Posted in Catholic, Children, God, Guilt, Right to Life , , , , , | No Comments »

Just a Pair of North Face Gloves

Written By: Kim - Jan• 24•12

As I was preparing to leave my commuter train tonight, I stepped on a pair of gloves. I asked everyone near me if they belonged to them. No one claimed them.

These weren’t just any generic gloves — they were North Face gloves. Dark gray, men’s large, with grip tips on the ends of the fingers. A quick search told me they retail for $25.00. They would have fit my son perfectly and gray is a color he wears. They are also the brand coveted by many teenagers of which my children are no exception.

©Sarah Jay courtesy of stock.xchng

My commute time between when I discovered the gloves and when I leave the train lasts about five minutes. It’s long enough for me to simply place the gloves in my bag. A quick run through the wash machine and they now belong in our household. It’s also long enough for me to know the standard operating procedure for the VRE’s lost & found: We hand the item over to the conductor. He or she drops it off at the VRE HQ. The items stay there about a month.

I’ve lost two things on the VRE in almost six years of using the train to trek in to Washington, DC. I left a really awesome American flag j-handled umbrella (which no one turned in to lost and found) and my ticket holder. My ticket holder also has my Washington, DC Metro card (SmarTrip), my business card, and any free VRE passes I have earned when the train is 30 minutes late or more. Luckily, the on time train performance is much better since both Norfolk Southern and CSX finished replacing railroad ties a few years back, so I only had four.

The person who found my badge holder could have simply taken the VRE tickets and the SmarTrip card out and used them. But he or she did not. He or she turned in the entire badge holder to the conductor. Since my business card was inside, VRE called me. After I identified the items, they returned it to me. Yes, there are honest people still around; many more than we all let our jaded selves believe.

So, if there was a chance that this guy who dropped his gloves might call VRE looking for them, I knew what to do despite the temptation to keep them. The right thing was for me to give them to the conductor. Let me be clear: Passengers on the VRE are far from the community’s needy. Some might take that in to consideration as an honesty litmus test. But, that’s not really the point. The point is that this item did not belong to me. It was left somewhere that had a procedure for recovering items that were lost.

I encourage my children to turn things in to someone in authority when they find something at school, on the bus, etc. Why wouldn’t I expect anything less of myself, even if it was just a pair of North Face gloves?

 

PS. 31 January: The guy who lost the gloves sat behind me again. I asked him about them and let him know they were at VRE’s lost & found.

Posted in Children, junior high school, North Face, Parenting, Policy, Travel, VRE , , , , , , , | No Comments »
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