Adoramus Te

(It's not the best picture in the world, but I was having trouble getting a good one since there were so many people going in and out of the church.)

My parish recently held its annual 40 Hour Eucharistic Adoration, and while I was unable to sign up for a time slot, I did slip into the church Friday afternoon and spend some quiet time with our Lord. And let me tell you--there is nothing that adoration doesn't make better.

Even after a week when many of my colleagues, students, and I were ill...
Even after a week when my lessons didn't go very well...
Even after a week when my plans to see friends were thwarted...

Even after this kind of week, Christ was there to tell me it was alright.  He told me to let go and trust in Him, and the weekend has been so peaceful as a result.

Adoration
(Because whose Sunday couldn't use a little St. Thomas Aquinas and Matt Maher?)

As we start another week...

Richmond, London

"Entrust your works to the Lord, and your plans will succeed....In his mind a man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps."

~Proverbs 16:3-9.

Friday Afternoons

The view from my window at school.
I get to look out at my church all day :)

About two months ago, I read an article about some work habits and tips from CEOs of major corporations.  And--although I'm a beginning teacher, obviously not a CEO haha--some of the tips struck me as particularly good ideas for people working at any level and any job.

The two that I've adopted wholeheartedly are related to Friday afternoon routines.  I'm not sure about you, but Friday afternoons can sometimes be a little tough for me.  Either I'm really tired from a long, but hopefully productive, week, or I'm full of energy and antsy for the weekend to begin.  Once I got into the following two habits, though, I've found that Friday afternoons are one of my favorite times of the week.


1. Cultivate a Grateful Attitude--Write a Thank You Note

I'm the sort of person who relishes any opportunity to write a hand-written note or letter anyway, so I immediately jumped at this idea.  Friday afternoon, as I'm winding down my work week and getting ready to shut down my computer, I think back over the week.  Usually, there is at least one person who has helped me somehow, even if in a very small way.  Now every Friday, I take five minutes to write a thank you card for someone at the school who has made a difference in my week, and I slip it in his or her pigeon hole on my way out.

Sometimes I thank someone for giving me the opportunity to do something interesting like chaperone a field trip or help organize an outing for the foreign exchange students.  Sometimes I thank someone for brightening my day, letting me observe a lesson, giving me ideas for my own teaching, letting me borrow teaching materials, or motivating me at lunch.  Other times, they're deeper notes to one of my mentors, telling them how grateful I am for their support as I learn how to become a better teacher. Whatever it's for and whomever it's to, that note always brightens my afternoon.  And I've found that these tiny notes have dramatically improved my relationships with my colleagues; it's incredible how much a hand-written note can mean to someone in this digital age.


2. Cultivate a Positive Attitude--Write a Reflection

After I write a thank you note, I take another five minutes to record all the positives I can think of from the past week as well as all the things I wish had gone better or I hope to improve.  For example, today I realized I hadn't made enough of an effort to watch another teacher teach this week. (I try to observe at least two lessons a week; it helps my teaching so much!)  But I also remembered that this week had a lot of positives:

• I gave a lesson without using a Powerpoint for the first time this year.  (Sadly, that was a major accomplishment.  It's so easy to get comfortable with one way of teaching and forget that there are dozens of other methods to try.)
• I improved a grammar lesson the second time I gave it that had gone rather poorly when I tried it the first time. 
• I had the chance to watch some of my students sing in the year's first chorus concert.
• And finally, I was able to turn a baking disaster into a success. I have eleven girls in my homeroom, and I have promised to bake and bring in a treat for each of their birthdays.  (It's fun for them, and it gives me a chance to bake but not eat the whole batch myself...)  But sadly, I forgot the egg when making butterscotch brownies, and they turned out more like hard candy than brownies.  However, I cut them differently and called them butter candy instead, and the girls loved them so much that they asked for the recipe. That request made me smile...

Anyway, these two habits have dynamically transformed my Fridays and always leave me in a good mood for the start of the weekend.  Do you have any Friday afternoon routines?

Life Updates

Well, I doubt I have any regular readers since I've only posted twice, and it's been a month since my last post.  But if I do, my sincere apologies for my long absence.

For awhile, I wasn't posting because it was school vacation, and I was traveling.  But then...as time went on, I started to psych myself out a little.  I was worried I didn't have anything interesting to say; then I was worried I had too much to say, and it began to feel like work.  And finally, I realized I was being silly and that I should just write what's on my mind.

It's true that there's a lot I meant to write about--on All Saints Day, I wanted to write about St. Therese of Lisieux, for whom this blog is named.  (More on that to come eventually, I promise.) Then on All Souls Day, I wanted to write about my wonderful, sweet grandmother, who just passed away this March.  But I am  determined never to let these blog posts feel like work, so I'm letting it go that I didn't get to write about everything just when I wanted to.  Instead, I'm letting my mood and current interests dictate my post, and that means that today, you're getting a lot of pictures of my travels and other adventures over school break :)

Standing outside the ruins of St. Anthony's Chapel on Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh, Scotland

View of the Old City of Edinburgh from Arthur's Seat. Any city that has natural and manmade wonders this beautiful is my kind of city!

Edinburgh, Scotland

The Nelson Monument on Calton Hill in Edinburgh on Trafalgar Day (October 21st). It commemorates Lord Nelson's victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

Edinburgh at sunset

I absolutely fell in love with this tea room in Edinburgh called 'Clarinda's.' It felt just like afternoon tea should.

I mean, come on. How perfect??

Looking towards The Mall from St. James's Park, London

An absolute 'God moment' in Richmond, London

Some deer grazing in Richmond Park, London. Casual.

Autumn foliage in Hyde Park, London. I still miss the foliage in Boston, but Hyde Park almost gives New England a run for its money...

Little Blessings

Most nights now, when I am praying and drifting off to sleep, I find myself thanking God for so many little things. I don't really ever mean to spend my whole prayer listing off things for which I am thankful, but my list is so long that before I can get to anything else, I fall asleep. I am quite sure that I will want to write another post on gratefulness in late November when I'm longing for the American Thanksgiving I'm missing over here. But in my humble opinion, there can never be too much said on thankfulness, so a post now can't hurt.

I am a huge supporter of the idea that blessings come in all shapes and sizes. Some are weighty and important; I'm always very thankful for the health and safety of my friends and family, for example. But others are things that are nestled into everyday life like:

• Apple cinnamon oatmeal from scratch (Seriously...try it.  It's like autumn in a bowl.)
• Sweet potato and apple muffins
• Hot showers on cold days
• Soft rain outside my window as I fall asleep at night
• The fact that I finally found the right size lightbulb for my bedside lamp and can now read and journal in bed
• An English lesson that went particularly well today
• The genuine smiles I get from my students as I pass them in the hall
• An unexpected free period and the chance to catch up with a friend
• An orange chocolate tart at lunch
• A surge of motivation and productivity this afternoon
• A visit from a very dear friend
• A funny email from a colleague
• The barking of a dog playing ball with a few young boys in the park outside my window
• The soft, warm glow of the street lamps welcoming me home when I return late from work
• A thought-provoking conversation with my homeroom class on friendship
• October afternoon walks around the park, crisp leaves underfoot
• Crowds of children in uniforms, just out of school and swarming the ice cream truck--their joy is contagious
• Quiet walks to the post office to mail letters back home
• Strolls past neat lines of town houses
• Pauses in front of store windows
• And still moments in the church, thanking God for helping me to teach

When there's so much to be thankful for, is it any wonder I fall asleep mid-list?! 

Hello!

Sometimes...you just have to take the plunge and start.

So many of my favorite things in one picture!

It's incredible what an odyssey this little blog has taken me on already, even before its inaugural post! I first started thinking about creating a blog about a year ago and created this one two months ago, but it has taken me until now to finally work up enough courage to post. It's either the perfectionist in me or all the internet safety lectures I received from my parents growing up, but there was something that terrified me about sharing my life online. (Well...terrifies me.  But I'm working on it.)

I also worried that it might be a little egotistical to assume that strangers would want to read about my everyday life. But then I took a deep breath and remembered all of the blogs that have helped me grow so much over the past two years. They have encouraged me in my faith; they have inspired confidence. They have assured me that there are other young women who hope and dream and pray and love and live the way I do. And then I thought, if I could encourage someone else through my blog the way that these young women have done with theirs, then I ought to write.(Note: I've put links to these blogs--the blogs that mean so much to me and that inspire me to be my best self--on the 'Inspirational Places' page.)

Phew! That was a long introduction. Now a little about me. My name is Libby, and I am a young Catholic woman just trying to live out her faith in this crazy but beautiful world. I passionately love tea, Shakespeare, period drama, dresses, my family, my friends, and God. In May, I graduated from Harvard with a degree in English, and now I'm living and working in London teaching literature at a girls' school.

I don't always promise perfect coherence, but I do promise real posts from the heart. I hope you'll join me as I muse on my cooking triumphs and failures, my new life in London, my relationships, my hobbies and interests, and my faith.

My father's side of the family. (I'm in the orange sweater.)

Some of my best friends in the world!!

My grandfather, mother, sister, (me), and my father

I've never felt as at home in any church as I did in St. Paul's in Cambridge.

My beautiful Boston

New England seaside

And actual England! How exciting!