Sharing Views {Independence Day 2012}

The stunning view at BSA Camp Parsons

The view at home

Charlie, Rocky and I are on retreat this week, while Zachary, Joseph, Peter and Tim enjoy BSA summer camp at Camp Parsons on the Olympic Peninsula.  Camp Parsons is known as a true gem in the Scout Camp world, and boasts of having the longest pier of any BSA camp.  My dad camped at Parsons in his Boy Scout years, and will be visiting the guys at camp this week.  Considering how much fun Scout camp with the guys can be, my role as dog sitter almost amounts to a sentence of house arrest.  But I am grateful for the chance to enjoy a bit of quiet time at home (between barks), and may even finish a whole book!

Headlines from summer camp:

• Troop perilously close to running out of candy (given away as fun awards).
• Joseph is suffering a very sore throat.
• Zachary got a good night's sleep.
• Peter is having the time of his life.
• Tim's tent is next to some nocturnally boisterous Scouts from Texas.
• The dining hall is packing campers in like sardines.

  
Headlines from home:

• Dogs ecstatic to see Bridget shift in chair, both jump up and start wagging tails hysterically.
• Charlie barks incessantly and furiously at every exploding firework on Independence Day.
• Pigeons get food and water daily.
• All household appliances (except coffee maker and refrigerator) take the week off.
• A new post up at Discerning Daily (which should probably be renamed Discerning Quarterly).

Looking forward to the boys' return from camp

Happy Independence Day!

Monastery Retreat {Westminster Abbey, BC}

Joseph, Peter and Zachary at Westminster Abbey, Mission, BC, Canada

Recently our nuclear family of 5 escaped to a foreign country for a much needed two-day retreat at Westminster Abbey, a Benedictine Monastery in Mission, BC.  We coordinated respite care for the three little ones, leaving Ezra to care for house and pets and encouraging him again to get a passport for freedom to travel. 

Tim and the boys on a campus stroll with Father Peter, heading toward the seminarians' street hockey zone. 

Father Peter plays the harp for us in his office at Christ the King Seminary, Mission, BC, Canada.

Last year our family retreat at the monastery occurred just before the start of school, but this year we visited while the seminaries were in session.  Our boys accepted invitations to attend seminary classes for a day.  Peter and Joseph sat in with the eighth grade boys for religion, math, history, language arts, science, voice, and PE.  Peter greatly enjoyed the classroom experience (his first ever).   Zachary attended college seminary metaphysics, ethics, and sociology; with metaphysics being his top pick.

Joseph, Zachary and Peter dish up supper in the guesthouse dining hall at Westminster Abbey, BC.

The monks' hospitality surpassed any four star hotel, and we scored the bishops' room; a corner suite  with a sitting parlour.  We were fed like kings (plus queen), eating family style in the guesthouse dining room.  At every meal, one monk would join us as the host and server.  We greatly enjoyed their company and learned all sorts of interesting things during meals.  Over supper we discovered that one of Father Basil's nieces had attended Catholic grade school with Tim.  Small world!

Joseph, Peter, Tim and Zachary with the church steeple/bell tower looming



A gorgeous environment of prayerful peace, the monastery settles the soul.  Chanted Psalms at prayer times in the church, early morning Mass, melodious bells summoning us to praise God and worship with the monks... What a breath of fresh air for our family!

Saint Benedict,

Pray for us!