Yep, yep, yep, we certainly are. We have been going back and forth about registering at a parish and have not quite felt comfortable with the parish here in town. The next parish over, while a nice building with a good homily has actually set the standard for the worst a Catholic parish can get in terms of music. (Yes, Marion, St Mary people, it was that bad, Joshua concurs).
We had heard about a parish north of here, in Macon. Macon, for your daily geography lesson, is 150 miles north of here. We had heard about it from Joshua’s boss, who has known the pastor there for many a years. Joshua contacted Father and after a conversation and an email exchange, we decided to head up there to visit the parish for Mass.
Best Call Ever.
We have been searching for a parish since we left Indiana three and a half years ago and we have finally found one where we feel at home, St Joseph in Macon, Georgia. Sure, it is 150 miles away, yes it takes two hours to get there, without traffic, no we will not be able to go to Mass there every Sunday, but we will try to at least once, perhaps twice a month.
We were able to meet with Father right after Mass also and set up a date for the Baptism of baby, provided he/she arrives on time. Father was very wonderful in that regard, opening his schedule and offering a date for us, shortly after my due date, but with understanding that we might have to change! (Pray that he/she comes early, for the sake of my sanity!)
(Major Topic Jump Ahead)
Groceries here in our part of the state are expensive. The produce is from Chile, Canada and California. The peaches at the store are from anywhere but Georgia. (Raise your hand if your grocery store had Georgia Peaches right now!) In addition to being from points yonder, produce is also expensive. We are talking about $2 for a green pepper, $1.50 for a single cucumber and 70 cents a pound for bananas. All of which go bad within two days of purchase.
I found a fruit and veggie market south of town that stocks more local produce, tomatoes from Tennessee, peaches from Georgia, cucumbers from a local grower with out wax four for a dollar and green peppers, three for a dollar! So, I solved my produce issue. However, we do eat other items, like cheese, milk and meat, that are almost cost prohibitive for us and I really had to shrink back what we bought because I could find myself spending my weekly grocery budget on food that really would not last the week. Meal planning really helped stretch the food out, but I wanted to find more of a way to stock up on staples with out killing our bank.
Kroger is the answer, Kroger has always been the answer to our family grocery budget. Of course, we do not have a Kroger here in town, but there is one in Macon! This morning, we put the cooler in the van and headed up the road. After mass we went to Kroger and honestly, I was so thrilled to be there. First of all, the produce section (though not needed) was nice and organized as well as very fresh looking but most of all, things were so much cheaper up there. Of course, we hit a few sales but also stocked up on things that we just cannot get for a good price here, like frozen orange juice and meat and loaded up the cooler.
We figure that when we go up for Mass, we will stock up at Kroger also. Of course, we need to plan for lunch a bit better. We planned on buying something from the deli section of Kroger then eating at a park. We stopped at a rest area on 75 and were attacked by gnats, so just got back in the van and headed home, eating lunch at 230. The kids were good about it though, as they were about everything today!
So that is the update from our house. Tomorrow marks 37 weeks for me, safe home birth territory. My midwife has told me that she considers herself on call for me as of last week, so I hope hope hope to have this wee one soon. I have a lot of braxton hicks contractions and am totally uncomfortable all the time. I can breathe today, so perhaps the baby dropped a bit, cause yesterday, it was very hard to catch my breath.
Happy Sunday All!!
Craziness on those groceries! I’m glad you found a solution that seems like it will work for your family! You are a brave pioneer woman, my dear! I mean that. You have handled this transition like a champ!
I remember the uncomfortable weeks of pregnancy. Maelys slept all stretched out, with her feet up against my diaphragm so I couldn’t take a breath in when I was lying down at night! Ugh!
Grow your own food, Prego. Who cares if you’re 100 weeks pregnant.
Miss you guys! :o)
Andrea, next year. 😉
A good homily and music are definitely added bonuses….but I am slowly starting to accept that God may be miraculously turning this situation into a love affair with us. He has captured our attention on the Eucharist…the living bread come down from heaven to feed our very soul. In Him alone will we be at rest. Though we are surrounded by poor leaders, poor catechesis, bad examples and ill-formed clergy, we are none-the-less fed by our Lord himself every time we attend Mass at St. Mary. He wants our focus to be on Him, His true presence, His triumph in darkness, His truth among lies. Through suffering, we come to know Him all the more. Praise God!
Paulette, you are very right on that point. Often times when I find mass nearly unbearable and cannot wait for it to be over, I find myself meditating on the mystery that is the Eucharist. Jesus is there.