My New Year Behind the Eight Ball

I feel behind the eight ball in the first days of 2022. However it is not my fault.

The holidays have been crazy this year!

We had this situation with Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve falling on Fridays. Christmas Day and New Year's Day then are on Saturday.

Then you have Sunday. That means that for two weeks in a row there was early Mass two days in a row. I kept forgetting what day it was, as well. Today is Sunday and yesterday I kept worrying I would forget to go to church. On account of I had just been to Mass on Saturday morning, New Year's Day.

I admit, I did not do Christmas morning Mass. I did Midnight Mass which in our church really does start at midnight. It is surreal. At 1:15 a.m. you are up in this choir loft singing Mozart's "Jubilate Deo." So as far as Christmas morning mass at 9 a.m., other people in the choir did it, God love them. But me, I did not see that happening and it did not.

However I did do New Year's Day, aka the Solemnity of Mary. That is a dramatic day at Mass in that so many people who show up have been out partying. I was one of those people! I was out to a party. At one point I paused in my reveling to take the picture up above. End result, as we say here in Buffalo, I had to send word the next morning that I would not make the 8 a.m. rehearsal. Then I got a move on and hoped for the best. 

As I am getting near the church I see an electronic clock that said 9:04. Could my car's clock be that far off? Obviously I was very late. 

As I was parking the car I saw the procession. The priest and his entourage were leaving the sacristy and parading toward the front doors of the church. 

I grabbed my music and went flying!

As the procession was going up the center aisle, I was going up the stairs to the choir loft. I got there just as the organ was sounding the first notes of "Adeste Fideles." I stood behind the kids' choir and I was on time for the very first line.

A New Year's miracle! But then this morning I had to do it all over again. A snowstorm was predicted... aiiiiieee! However it ended up not being bad where I live. I was on time for rehearsal. 

This was like hazing! I was joking about that before mass.

However it does take you out of your normal life for a few weeks.

That can be a good thing!

Fast away the old year passes

I am emotional about the old year ending. I know, this year I went caroling a couple of weeks ago, and it is a wonderful memory, bursting into bars with my friends singing "Fast away the old year passes, hail the new, ye lads and lasses!" and happily accepting free drinks. But still.

This was just one crazy magical year.

Bad things happened and good things happened but at the end I feel I landed on my feet. And what more can you ask for?

I am having a wonderful time drawing and painting and I feel very blessed.

My head is clearing after decades of round-the-clock, 24/7 busyness and I feel I should be able to get a certain music writing project wrapped up, not that anyone remembers that besides me but the point is, I do.

This was the year Howard began his donut business and that has been fun. At St. Anthony's at Christmas we had the first Latin Midnight Mass that Buffalo has seen in many years. And I do not need to remind anyone that it was an epic year for thrift shopping. Just check out the picture at the top of the post. That was a score from just yesterday.

Long story short, what I am getting at is, this was a tremendous year in many ways. And it is setting up to be so next year is even better.

Still, you cling to what you know and I feel nostalgic that this year is ending.

2018 ... Sure there are always less-than-great things that happen in any year. People die. Things happen.

But all in all, it was a very good year.

The Low Mass

Today we had a Low Mass, on account of we could not get our music act together. The organist was sick and there were not enough choir members.

Well... Perhaps there were enough choir members. I showed up at the last minute and by that time they had canceled the choir and the Low Mass was just beginning. The door to the choir loft was locked. Darn, because I had left my missal there the day before, duh.

This has to be the day there is no choir. Plus, of course someone has to be all correct and lock the organ loft. Now I cannot get my missal.

This was one of the many times when I feel like one of the Foolish Bridesmaids. Any one of these gals, that is me. Totally.

So.... the lowdown on the Low Mass is that what happens is pretty much complete silence, broken only by the squeaking of kneelers and an occasional word spoken aloud by the priest. From time to time, in sync and in silence, everyone kneels, or everyone stands, or everyone makes the Sign of the Cross. This goes on for, oh, 45 minutes. Anyone looking in would think we were crazy.

As I was participating in the Low Mass, missal-less, I begin -- well, I know this is a stretch seeing we are talking about the Catholic Church, but I began feeling guilty.

What if I had arrived earlier? Maybe we would have had enough singers in the choir.

What if I hadn't slid in at the last minute the way I had the day before?

As it was, I had gotten only about four hours' sleep. But what if I had left the party I was at a little bit earlier? It would not have been easy because it was at my friend Gary's, and Guy Boleri was playing, and it was all we could do to leave at 1:30 a.m. Try leaving when Guy is launching into a set of Cole Porter. What's a girl to do? But whatever, I should have done it. I should have left at a decent God-fearing hour and then I would not have gotten here earlier and we would have been able to sing.

The choir members who were here earlier must all hate me, I thought, looking around the church uneasily.

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa, as Pennario said once when we were arguing about something.

Finally I thought: Mary. Get a grip. So we had a Low Mass.

It is not the end of the world!

No one is dead or bankrupted because you slid into church at the last minute.

End result, as we say here in Buffalo, when after Mass I was approached by my choir buddy Dominic, I was ready.

Dominic said, "Mary! If you had only gotten here earlier --"

"Oh, Dominic," I said. "It's New Year's Day at 9 a.m. for heaven's sake. What do they expect?"

A woman's got to know her limitations!

Hahahaha ... I just happened to look back and came upon this other New Year's Day when I was late. Two years ago. And Dominic figured in this one, too.

I never grow up!