I'm still pretty discombobulated these days so it's been hard for me to form a coherent thought, let alone a post. But here's what's new here - for the 4 or 5 of you who still read my blog.

I volunteer with my church's RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) program, which pretty much spans the school year. It starts in late Aug/early Sept and runs through May. We meet one evening a week with adults who are interesting in converting to the Catholic faith, and those who may have been baptized but have not received the sacraments of communion and confirmation. I really enjoy it, having gone through the RCIA process myself in 1999-2000. (I've volunteered every year since, because it's fulfilling, plus I still feel I have a lot to learn.) This year's group is wonderful, but something has just felt 'off.' I can't really put my finger on it, but for the first time in seven years, I'm actually looking forward to the end of the process. I can't really explain why I feel that way. As I said, the people coming into our faith are amazing folks. Without going into too much detail, we had two new volunteers with our team who had some concerns, but rather than bring their concerns to the team, or two the clergy who lead the team, they took another approach and it caused a bit of drama. They've long since left the team, but things linger. I don't think their intentions were mean-spirited but nor do I think they took the best approach. I honestly don't believe the folks who will be receiving their sacraments at Easter Vigil are even aware of what happened. I get the sense that they feel this has been a positive experience - that's the way it should be.

Son #1 has been pushing my buttons lately. As I've mentioned previously, he's wicked-smart but 'young' for his age. He has been behaving impulsively in the past week - certainly not in an age appropriate manner. This could be related to his ADHD, but there's a teeny part of me who wonders whether it's something more. He has a checkup on April 12 with his regular doctor and I'll discuss my concerns with him then. He also has a check up with his ADHD doctor in May, so I'll have another opportunity at that time. He's a very sweet boy, but socially awkward. His interactions with people are usually limited to his 1) attempts to educate them - he has near-encyclopedic knowledge on several subjects, or 2) his correcting them. He doesn't mean to be disrespectul, but he doesn't seem to get that adults are not his peers and should not be spoken to as such (unless invited to do so).

Also, he's speech impaired so his voice doesn't have the typical range of tones or inflection. As a result, he's unaware that he often has a pissy tone. Also, the kid does not know how to whisper. I'm serious. He'll equate talking low with whispering. I try to tell him that when he's doing in vocalizing. When I whisper, I'm not using my voice. He should be familiar with the concept because he's had 7 years (and counting) of speech therapy. For example, take "f" and "v". They make similar sounds, but the "v" is voiced, the "f" is not. This is only an issue really when he has questions during Mass. Yikes!

Son #2 is doing well, but he has organizational issues at school. He'll do a homework assignment and forget to turn it it. The teacher doesn't accept late assignments for partial credit because - gee, we're in the Big Leagues (4th grade)! :-(

Son #3 is as much a handful as ever. I'm still having a hard time accepting that he'll be going to kindergarten full time in the fall. What will I do with myself then?

One plus note: I joined Weight Watchers a few weeks back and have lost 7.4 pounds so far. Woo Hoo! Of course, I'm hungry and grumpy, but soon, I'll be hungry, grumpy and skinny!

Irreverent Thought of the Day: I'm not a complete idiot -- Some parts are missing.