1
Everyone needs an Easter tradition: mine is breaking something. I don't mean breaking a plate; that's what normal people do. Last year I broke a glass coffee table that didn't even belong to us - as well as my husband's homemade Medieval helmet he had just finished making for a future Halloween costume. This year I broke the glass front of our microwave. It really takes the joy out of leftovers when you don't have a microwave
to heat them up in. How did people survive when they had to use the
stove or oven?
2
When you join a liturgical church from an evangelical or non-religious background, they really should warn you about the effect on your knees. I thought I was set thanks to all the gratuitous kneeling and genuflecting my church likes to do. Unfortunately I'd forgotten just how intense the Good Friday service is; I should have been doing squats and lunges.
3
Last year I tried to do way too much, so this year I scaled it back a bit. Unfortunately I still hadn't learned that your apartment should be completely clean prior to the Triduum, because you won't have time to touch it until Sunday, and then you're exhausted. Not to mention cooking a feast for 8 in a tiny kitchen.
4
Proof that I'm still a novice at this: I wrote Trivium instead of Triduum, then decided I'd best look it up. I should probably figure these things out before we have our first church.
5
Don't talk to me about your gracious hospitality. I was scraping mashed potatoes into the serving dish as our guests arrived, hollering to know if anyone wanted wine or beer while I tried not to get potato in my hair.
6
That's why I steer clear of certain lifestyle-typed blogs. You know the ones: the gorgeous pictures of their newly painted furniture and crafts and homemade Advent wreaths and delicacies baked with homemade crusts. I almost cried when I read one blog say "Of course I had the table set and decorated by 9 a.m. the day of the party."
7
Thankfully, my lack of housekeeping was supplemented by a dear friend of ours who brought delightful butternut squash and gluten-free chocolate brownies so I could have dessert. They didn't even taste gluten-free. The best part is that on Monday I had leftover chocolate brownie for breakfast. It's still Easter, don't judge me.
Sometime before I realized that Orthodoxy was home, I thought about the Anglican Church, and I went sometimes with my Anglican friend. But I was pretty sure I couldn't convert to that church because kneeling was so. hard. on my back! It seemed silly, but it was a fact. Now I stand for long periods, which isn't too bad, and prostrations are actually a welcome relief during the long services of Lent. What I really like is praying in bed! But I guess I don't do my best praying there. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI know people say LOL, but I did actually laugh out loud at your comment. There's a learning curve to the kneeling, and figuring out which muscles to use :) There's a huge variety in Episcopal churches on how much kneeling is done, from my current parish that spends more time kneeling than not, to very low-church parishes that only kneel during the confession. Actually, I would have a much harder time standing for the entire liturgy!
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