Time for Palms Friday Five

Mother Laura says:

Can you believe Daylight Savings Time is here already? It's hard to get used to the new, earlier onset. My family has been getting up and out a little late and a little sleepy in the mornings.

And can you believe that in two days it will be Palm Sunday for Western Christians? Our Lent is almost over, while our Orthodox sisters and brothers, whose liturgical year follows the older Julian calendar, are just starting theirs. Nicholas did a recent book report on George Washington, and we were surprised to find out that our first President's birthday was originally Feb. 11, since he was born just before the change to the Gregorian calendar. Apparently the change almost caused rioting, as some indignant people were sure that they were being cheated out of eleven days of their lives!

To help you adjust--and enjoy the process--here's a Friday Five about time and transitions....

1. If you could travel to any historical time period, which would it be, and why?

I'm pretty happy here; I might want to visit for a day or two some periods, like John Wesley deciding to preach outdoors (he called it "submitting to be more vile"), but there's no period I'd rather live in than now.

2. What futuristic/science fiction development would you most like to see?

I'm ready for advances in implants--that's probably the only way I'll ever see without glasses or contacts. Holographic communication would be nice, too--webcams and the internet don't do justice to Jamie the Exceptional One (who will be 2 soon!). And I'd love to know what's up in Cletus' mind, and what the spooky Boo cat thinks about all day. Or maybe not. And bullet trains (a far off advance for my part of the world) and jet packs--so I could make a quick trip anywhere I wanted to go.

3. Which do you enjoy more: remembering the past, or dreaming for the future?

Definitely dreaming for the future. There's some stuff in my past I'd just as soon leave behind, plus there's the whole fantasizing part. I'm a dreamer, a daydream believer...

4. What do you find most memorable about this year's Lent?

Sadly, the deaths of my uncle and my grandmother. But also my first (I hope) magazine article was published during this Lent. And my Bible study group is struggling gamely through Bread and Wine--it's fun to see people encountering Moltmann and Chesterton and all these great writers for the first time, and fun to see what they bring out of what they are reading.

5. How will you spend your time during this upcoming Holy Week? What part do you look forward to most?

Honestly, I look forward to Easter afternoon, when we will cancel the church's usually busy afternoon schedule and take a well-earned Sabbath rest. And then my bff Tonya is coming to visit--so that will be big fun. It's been a rough Lent; I'm ready for some T. time. Only 12 more sleeps till I meet her plane!