Two beautiful things

• Rocky and I look forward to Thursday night every week because that's when St. Rita's has the Tridentine Latin Mass. It's such an uplifting, powerful, beautiful thing. We have young couples, single guys, well behaved children, and worshippers from all over the world. When I hear the words, "I will go to the altar of God..," and the response "to God who gives joy to my youth," I get a thrill every time.
  
  
  
• Every Sunday my mother and I go to the nursing home to visit my uncle. The commute over there isn't fun by any means but when we walk in and he lights up  as soon as he sees us, it's a beautiful thing. If you ever get a chance to visit a nursing home please go.  The residents are so grateful for any little scrap of attention, Reading a book, bringing a magazine or just bringing a pack of cookies brings them so much pleasure. It will fill your heart.
  
  So many residents are just dumped by their relatives and forgotten. Visiting once a month or every couple of weeks doesn't cut it. I don't care how chi chi the home is, residents who don't get visitors don't get anything beyond the barest legal minimum. You need to be your loved one's guard dog. My uncle's nurses know that he has a devoted sister with an eagle eye and a niece who is nuts about him -- or maybe just nuts. Thankfully, he's such a sweetheart and his RNs and LPNs and the CPAs are kind hearted people that they go out of their  way to make him happy. Being my Unkie's (that's what I call him) guardian is not something that I take lightly. It's time consuming but he is my beautiful thing because being in charge of his care is  a kiss from the Cross.