Sigh.

[margotvankapelle]

I've been sewing for the last few hours...earlier today I had just finished laundry when they broke into the news to report about the Holy Father's condition. (Keep in mind, I am 27 years old, and John Paul II is the only Pope I remember.) So I went home, grabbed my rosary, and prayed for a couple hours at the nearest church. And in between prayers, it struck me that the last time I had done this was when my grandmother had her second, and ultimately fatal, stroke. When Grandma lay dying that final day, Grandpa did not allow me into her hospital room -- I'm not sure why. But Mom hadn't arrived from Columbus yet, and so to pass the time in something contructive, I went across the street from the hospital (where I now work, oddly enough) to St. Jude's and prayed for about four hours. I didn't pray that Grandma's life would be spared, I prayed that Grandma would hang on long enough for Mom to get to her bedside. (Grandma's wish was that all seven of her children would be at her bedside when she died. Grandma got what she wanted.)

And so it was today that I prayed that Death would come as a welcome visitor to His Holiness and to give the College of Cardinals wisdom in selecting the next pontiff. It just made for a melancholy day, is all.