A HopeFUL romantic

This has been a long time coming. I have not written since the beginning of summer. I have wanted to write but I did not know what about.  Now I realize it was because I wasn’t really sure of anything. I have been in limbo for a long time, until this evening.

Back story:  Two things have been on my mind for a long time now, ever since the middle of summer. One of them has been the Be Satisfied Prayer of St. Anthony of Padua. This prayer has taught me a lot about having a relationship with Christ before a relationship with others.  Below are the parts of the prayer that sticks out the most to me.

“Just keep looking off and away up to Me,

Or you'll miss what I want to show you.”

“You just keep watching Me, expecting the greatest things.

Keep experiencing the satisfaction that I am.”

 The second quote that has been on my mind a lot is this from this random movie called The English Patient.  This may not be perfectly right but it went a little something like this- a man’s friend asks him how his wife came to fall in love with him and the response was…

“She was always crying on my shoulder about her other loves. And then finally she learned to fall in love with my shoulder.”

You may call me sappy because I love things like this, but I call myself a hopeFUL romantic and think it’s possible to find a love like this one day with God and with a man.

 

Changing gears- This semester has been a difficult one. I have been doing a lot of personal growth and I have been trying to learn as much as I can from the people around me. However, finding answers and feeling fulfilled has not really been a result. 

But tonight at Mass, that changed a little bit. Mass was so great and it hasn't been great in a while. My prayer was everywhere- about the future, about the now, about my insecurities, about boys, about my inadequacies, about my blessings, and my joys. One of those fleeting thoughts was about how I love the Be Satisfied Prayer especially the lines I mentioned above.  But want to know what…? I have very rarely been looking up while at mass. I am so focused on trying to get into prayer that I am not looking at the most tangible thing in the whole room, the Crucifix. 

I looked up for a moment then looked back down and skipped to the second quote- the one about the crying shoulder. I thought about my frustrations with the different shoulders in my life. I repeated that quote in my head as I looked back up to refocus. I looked up at the Crucifix. I was complaining to Christ. I was crying on His shoulder in that moment.... then it hit me. I keep going to cry on Christ’s shoulder but I have not been recognizing why. I have just been thinking it’s enough that I go to Him when in reality it’s because I have been in love with Him all along. After that moment I was completely romanced and in love all over again with the sacrifice and awesomeness of Christ.

 

Maybe this is me being a hopeFUL romantic in prayer. Maybe this is me praying that this lesson will bear fruit in all of my interactions with others. Or maybe this is me just wanting to sing to the rooftops about what it is like to fall in love… via blog post.  Maybe I am writing this so I don’t forget that it happened. Or maybe the message of Saint Anthony’s prayer is not just being thought about but is being lived out. Or maybe I’m trying to convince you that we need to stop looking around us so desperately to fall in love when the other option is to look up.

 

Peace and blessings.

Your Nug,

Shannon

Heaven Is For Real

This past week I spent time with family in Colorado. I could easily write about my adventures of standing in waterfalls, hiking canyons, or swimming in a pool that makes you feel like you could fall off the top of the mountain. But, believe it or not something much cooler happened on this trip of a lifetime. I learned about my 8 year old cousin Baron's faith life. 

Baron, we call him Bear for short, is the wittiest kid you have ever met. He is a little small for his age and totes qualifies as a Nug. He loves dinosaurs. He loves sugar. He loves to cuddle. And his perfect date would consist of switching back and forth from the pool to the trampoline while making up games with a football.  

Bear is a tough guy. He only likes tom girls. He likes getting dirty. But he is not so secretly the sweetest, most sensitive soul I have ever met. This is the gent I speak so highly of.

One day we went for a hike at Dominguez Canyon. It was a long adventure but along the way we saw lizards, threw rocks off of rickety bridges, pretended we were cowboys, and swam in a creek. After the long morning of adventure, Bear was loosing energy so I walked slowly with him and intermittently gave him piggy back rides or carried him up on my shoulders. 

Here is a snip it of the dynamic duo:

When he was on his own two feet walking next to me we had some pretty fun chats. One topic was about his favorite books to read before bed. He mentioned a few dinosaur books, another one about a park ranger, and obviously as a true Colorado boy, there was a book about the Bronco's.

Then Baron said "I read from my children's bible by myself sometimes. And let me tell you. I believe in God, Jesus, and Heaven!"

I was taken back by his honesty and excitement.  I wanted to ask him all about it. When he prays, what does he see? What does he picture Heaven to be like? What makes him want to read the Children's Bible the nights he chooses to do so? 

Even though I was all for this conversation, I also knew he was exhausted, so I decided to meet him where he was at. 

I responded with "Me too, Baron."

I gave him a second and then said "I like many stories from the Bible. They help me a lot. Do you have a favorite story?"

Innocent Bear immediately got back to me with an answer. "The creation story. You know, with the animals and Adam and Eve." He summed up the whole thing for me, followed by "I know he is bad and he is kind of the devil. So I don't like the serpent. But I like that there is a snake in the story." 

I loved his answer and could not help but laugh and then ask him a few other little things. 

The next day he stopped by the Hotel my family was staying at. He jumped on my bed then stopped and pointed out the window. 

He said with his little manly voice "oh cool dude, that is my favorite building. You have the best view ever!"

Bear was pointing at the Catholic Church across the way.

He said, "that is the Church."

"I feel happy whenever I see it."

Both these conversations were quick and could easily be overlooked but, to me, they were utterly inspiring and just the little push I needed in my own prayer life. 

Childlike faith- what I aspire to have.

Childlike faith- Baron has it.

Childlike faith- something we all can learn from.

Baron, was the perfect reminder of the radical dependence we all ought to have in God. Even more so, he was the best example of allowing God to be a part of our lives and trusting Him with no bounds and doing do so with nothing but joy and excitement in our hearts.

Bear's, childlike love and sweet simplicity was a gentle reminder of Christ's presence in my life and I hope his awe in God can do the same for you! 

You-Hoo Big Summer Blow Out

If you have ever seen frozen, you have seen this character.

Chances are you immediately started laughing and could not handle the hilariousness of his hospitality, fun, and once of sass. 

My friends and especially myself love this character.  In fact, we often yell  "you-hoo" to greet each other or just to give one another a smile. This road trip was also named "Shannon and Rob's Big Summer Blow Out!"

Here are some snap chats of the adventure that went well:

After a few hours of travel, three episodes of car sickness, a quick change, and getting real comfortable with each other, Rob and I finally get to beautiful state of NJ to pick up Peter. The GPS said we were at our destination, which is when Rob and I looked at each other with concern. The following moment I was on the phone with Peter asking "are we picking you up under a bridge?" 

Luckily no. Even better at a creepy hotel under a bridge. 

Greeted with NJ bagels and hugs. And then the road trip continued! Stopped to pick up Hannah in Pennsylvania. Then finally arrived in DC. 

In DC life was filled games, ice cream, and with the most beautiful surprises!

First surprise... Joe, the best partner in crime, and I visited Julie, the most beautiful role model in my life, at her business school graduation and even managed to chronicle the event with a selfie.

Second surprise... After dinner to celebrate Rob's 21st we walked back to the metro and ran into some people we know. The Dominicans and some Sisters singing on the streets of Chinatown

Then came Kate. A friend from mental health clinical. We always said how we wanted to get together and share a bottle of wine once I was 21. Somehow she just happened to be at the bar the night of my 21st birthday!

This surprise may be one of the best!!! This is Kat! A dear friend who has been abroad all semester in Rome. And I just happened to find her in the Caldwell parking lot on my birthday! Reunited at last! All the random weird emails to each other were now in person hugs and jokes! So blessed to have her in my life.

With a little free time made my way over to the Basillica, where I am always surprised by something. This is usually one of my favorites, but on this day it was extra amazing. Little surprise from above, I think.

The visit concluded with hanging by a fire and learning a little bit more about these people, a night I will always remember, but it starts to get a little "hazy" once the game of King's began. 

And a few last bear hugs from Amanda, the girl who helped me get through another year of nursing school and my first year of ministry. She loves me even though I don't like sleep overs. And she even let's me do 90% of the talking when studying. Forever my fashionista. 

And on the road trip home there were a few surprises in Philly (which I still do not know how to spell).

Fish counters in a really cool market.

Independence Hall. Yeah that's it behind us! Please pardon my obnoxious "excited face"

And love park! 

So many cool adventures, but what made the road trip and visit to DC the most fun were the people I spent it with. It was filled with the perfect amount of hospitality, fun, and sass just like the silly man from Frozen. But I have to say Olaf always wins with "some people are worth melting for" and all the people I met and and all the people who I spent the weekend with made one big puddle in my summer! 

Nug + Mini Van + Ben Affleck

Tomorrow I begin the journey of a lifetime. Well it is a journey I have traveled many times before. Once in 8th grade and for the past 3 years driving to and from school for move in and move out. 

But, this time will be different. This time involves a navy blue mini van, and a man named Rob. Who is rob? Well, I couldn't really tell you too much about him which makes this road trip more fun and more hilarious.  What I can tell you is he is a common friend. Don't worry. I kinda know him. We get meals every now and then and he comes over the House for games often. First impression: great beard, looks like Ben Affleck (but really), oober nice, wicked smahhrt and let's be friends. So we are becoming friends, via a road trip and celebrating our 21st birthdays! 

So, to be honest, I like to think i am spontaneous, but I don't know how spontaneous I actually am. I was a little nervous to spend so many hours with this kid but he is an okay dude. Then somehow we ended up in the situation where to make the best use of time and gas, a slumber party was needed. Next step: I need his address. He responds with Poppasquash Road. Poppasquash. Yes Poppasquash. 

So, here I am sitting as his kitchen table, googling the best bars in DC with Rob by my side. Also with chocolate cake. I guess you could say it is going well, so far. 

Wish us luck. Will keep you filled in with the Nug adventures to come in the next few days. 

Tic Tac- That's a wrap

Every time I visit my housemate Peter's room I always do 2 things. 

1.) I moisturizer my hands with the hand cream he never uses but just happens to convienently have on his shelf.

2.) I eat one orange Tic Tac

This did not start at the beginning of the year. It just kinda happened.. And it is a little tradition for us. 

One time Meagan and I knocked on his door at 2 in the morning. Half asleep and in his pj pants, he took a break from his studies and opened the door with Tic Tacs in his hands to see if we wanted one.

Precious I know. 

Quick pause: 

Have you ever been to a Relay for Life? A school fair? A friends birthday party? And there is a jar of jelly beans or Swedish fish and you can win the prize if you can correctly guess how many are in the jar...? Yeah I have never won, ever!!! 

I say this because God surprised me with Tic Tacs.  And this time I won. I never took the time I figure out how many Tic Tacs were in the small container. I didn't even read the nutritional facts to figure it out.  I just took them. 

Somehow there were just enough to last the semester, down to the last day. 

My last night of Junior year, I went into Peter's room to say goodnight and there just happened to be one left. 

Brain Fry

So this community I have lived with this past year, well I can never explain how much I love each and every one of them. And I can never quite explain to people what it is like to live with your best friends. Even if we weren't the best of friends before this year of ministry, there is something so beautiful about getting to know another person in such an intimate, no filter way. You see them at their worst. You see then at their happiest. You see what they look like when they first wake up. You see their laundry, or you do their laundry. You pray with them. You pray for them. You memorize each other's footsteps on the stairs. You get the picture. It is just like living with your family except maybe just a little bit more wild and cool. 

One of the best parts of living in community is our "fun time." Our end of the year fun time was the same game we played at the beginning of the year. It's was introduced to us by our mom, Rylee. This epic game is called... BRAINFRY. 

Here is how it goes.

1. You pick a topic, such as "things we ate for community meal this year."

2. Everyone picks a different meal.

3. You make a patern such as pete yells one meal to max. When max hears that meal he says it to rose. So on and so forth.

4. You cannot move on in the game until you get that persons attention. Aka be prepared for tons of yelling. 

5. Once you successfully get through one round you add another topic.

6. Keep adding topics until the game consists of constant yelling for several minutes trying to follow several different patterns all at once.

That could probably be described better but anyways. So for this last game we decided to make all the topics related to the past year of ministry. 

Our favorite and last topic was quotes often said from members of the House. 

Just so you can get to know these beautiful people better I'll list a few for yah.

"Mounds of cocaine."

"Can I help help you?"

"Que tu sabes"

"Let us serve you."

"Poop"

"Yoooowhoooo"

"Whose mother didn't teach them to put ketchup in the fridge."

"Wanna play games?"

The game does wonders for community bonding for us. The night even had to end with a community selfie. Take in the good looks, folks. 

It always takes us a few tries to get it right. 

Because I live by quotes.

It's been a while. 

I could say I have been busy, but that's always a cop out.

 Truthfully, I write a lot, but I have not known what to write for the blog. A lot has happened with too many beautiful people to count. So here are pictures of the shenanigans in my life And quotes that I either love or quotes that I think sum up the picture or the relationship perfectly. 

FNE prepping:

"So we grew together like to a double cherry, seeming parted, but yet an union in partition, two lovely berries molded on one stem" ~ William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

"Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."  ~Marcel Proust

April Fools

"April 1. This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four." ~Mark Twain

Renew ladies take an Emmaus walk to Potbelly's

She is more  precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

Proverbs 3:15

Supervision Selfies:

"Ministry of absence is just as important as ministry of presence." ~fr. Marek

"Faith is not about feeling. It is about commitment." ~ Fr. Marek

Founder's Day!

"FML. What is my life?" 

Insert turtle noise.

"Just love me." "You are so demanding" 

"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~Bernard Metlzer

"I like nonsense. It wakes up the brain cells." ~Dr. Seuss

Just some of the most amazing men in my life:

"The stuff dreams are made of."

~ Maltese Falcon

"We go together like (vanilla) cupcakes and frosting."

"Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It's splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world." ~ LM Montogomery (Anne if Green Gables) 

"Love of a family is life's greatest blessing."

"Hey, I'm a girl, and I like to play dress up." ~Charlize Theran

"...we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes from community." 

~Dorothy Day

"The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams."

~ oprah 

"Of the seven dwarfs, the only one who shaved was Dopey. That should tell us something about the wisdom of shaving." ~Tim Robbins

"You are my person." ~Grey's Anatomy

My best student who just also happens to be a great teacher to me. 

"It's better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart." ~ Mahatma Ghandi

Last night in DC. 

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up." Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10

Hope that sums up some highlights of the semester for yah. 

So I am in Nicaragua? But really...

It's spring break. And I am in Nicaragua. I know, I am shocked too. Started packing at 11pm the night before. Was interrupted by a birthday celebration the. Finished at 2 am. On the road to the airport at 5am. I slept for most of the time and then woke up while flying over Cuba. I met my first Nicaragua friend in the airplane. His name was Símon. We talked about his family, his house, his love for baseball, boats, travel, fishing, and his favorite food. It was something like ccacacalalahhabalala. I didn't quite catch that one. But be proud of me. I spoke some Spanish!!! 

Flying over Nicaragua looked more like Africa. It was really dry, orange, with shrubs. 

We loaded into buses and started the adventure. We were separated into 2 buses. My group was without the professor. This is significant later in the story. 

The roads and fields were filled with emaciated cows, dogs, and horses. The paved roads had no rules of the road. 

Our first strange experience occurred when a group of little boys came up to our car to clean our windows and begged for money. We said hello and tried to speak Spanish with then but the driver kept going. My heart sank in my chest and it was heard to just leave then behind. We kept going for 2 hours.

Then we got a phone call from the professor who said you are going grocery shopping & good luck. So we entered. People were staring at us and taking pictures. However we successfully found the rum and the plantain chips, after asking a few times in Spanish! We also were able to pay without any math problems! (All without a professor) Here is what a basket of groceries looks like!

We kept driving and saw some beautiful scenery, happy people, and cute towns. The orange dryness started to become more green and jungle like. 

That's a volcano in the distance!

Then it got dark. At hour 3 we pulled onto a long dirt, rocky (large rock) road... In our white Nug of a van. We started to ask the driver about his life. After a bit we just wanted to get to where we were staying. We asked how much longer in Spanish.... He responded with "no se. Mi primera vez." That means it his first time driving here. Soooo we were alone with this man we can barely communicate with, with our professor an hour behind, with no way to communicate with her either. All we could do is laugh. We were exhausted and delirious. 

We Finally arrived and were told we had to carry our luggage through the jungle. Here is proof before the adventure started.

We had dinner at 9:00pm. So much food. None of us could handle it. Rice, carrot, chicken, and guac salad. 

This is dark but this is the room we were eating in!

Emily and I returned to our beautiful rooms, shower outside, and then slepted  like babies. Here is the path to shower and the shower itself.

Beunas Noches, will update on day one later! 

Bucket List Check Offs

1.) go to the Dubliner. Everyone goes and I have never been. I did not have a beer but at least I had a scrumptious lunch.

2.) take great publish ready pictures of my hair in the wind. Because I am pocohantas. Nicole is my John Smith.

3.) go to Disney on ice. According to my mother I have been 10 times and always went to our favorite pizza place in Boston after the performance. Hey at least I can confidently say first time in DC  and got my favorite cup cakes after. 

4.) sit on the metro and then the next stop have a man sit on top of me. Just because he thinks it's funny. (This is normal) (and I know this man) (however we were not traveling together)

5.) glow in the dark bowling with some residents. Got a strike!!!

6.) do the "John Wall" in the same room as John Wall. Oh and watch him get some type of award. Clearly I am very passionate about basketball.

7.) donate my hair

Before:

After: