The Garden School Tattler

We had an outstanding time yesterday. We left on time and went up through the country. We saw a lot of the tornado damage around Boonville and Degonia Springs. Some of the old landmark houses were a mess. Austin asked about the "broken" houses, and I explained to him that those were some of the houses caught by the big storm. He was pensive about it.

They've built a big new guest house at St. Meinrad which is really nice. We walked past the monastery and over to the big church. Br. Maurus met us and talked about the church windows. He seemed to enjoy the children. We went to the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, and the children recited the Our Father. The children were very child reverent and it was a delight.

Then we climbed up the steps and went up to the Chapter Room and got ashes. The children loved the painted ceilings which depict all those who praise the Lord. We sang our Blest be the Lord song and Br. Maurus thought we were wonderful.

The children were as good as gold at Noon Prayer, and not a child moved. We sat on the floor and listened to the monks chant prayer until the end when the children out recited the Our Father again, and sort of drowned out the monks. I had to smile.

Aiden, who is Jewish, was delighted to sit on the Star of David which makes up the pattern in the big church floor. Then when it was over, some of the young monks came over to us and introduced themselves. They also invited us to sing, so we got to sing in the big church after all. Hadley, Peyton, Mayli and Abby were the chorus line, Ty, Adyson, Yuta and Jack were our verse liners. And the other children really belted out the song.

Then we packed up and went up to Monte Casino and had a picnic. The day was beautiful and the children got a lot of run time. This is our first long trip of the year. We try out picnic lunch, bus obedience, and fatigue status on this trip to see what we may have to handle during the summer. It looks like a great year.

The kids ate pretty well. We had tuna, egg, cheese and peanut butter sandwiches, homemade chocolate chip cookies, carrots and dip, pickles, apples and chips. They were outstanding on the bus and I even managed to get my hair done! We decided among the girls that what we really need at school is a beauty parlor. So we've decided to make a corner just for hair and nails.

We all came home delightfully tired but not snipey.

Next on the agenda: the St. Patrick's Day Play, a trip to the museum, and Spring Break. This year the buzz word is "costumes."