Memento mori | Don't Blink

Good evening, world! I hope your week is advancing nicely. Not too much small talk from me tonight so let’s get started with the rundown…

Fires Quenched – It was a little surreal to see our old neighborhood make national news this past weekend for a scary reason. Wildfires raged in the Carolina Forest area of Myrtle Beach. The development and house we called home were evacuated. Luckily, Sidney’s family, who also live in Carolina Forest, did not have to evacuate. From all accounts, it sounded like the fire department acted heroically to prevent the destruction of any houses.

My friend and former co-worker Judy Johns took this photo of her street in Carolina Forest. Thanks Be To God, no houses were lost!

Memento Mori – It was just four months ago that Sloan educated me on Memento Mori. The phrase means “remember your death” and pushes us not to forget about the inevitable. Perhaps there is not a more appropriate time for Memento Mori than Lent. After all, when ashes were applied on our foreheads yesterday, we were reminded that we are dust and to dust we shall return. Appropriately, a book that I am reading this Lent is called Remember Your Death and it is entirely about Memento Mori. They say the concept itself is a form of Lenten penance because it is self-denial that leads to conversion.

I am reading “Remember Your Death” as I journey through Lent. Memento Mori!

National Dentist Day – Today is National Dentist Day and I feel fortunate to have received superb dental care from my past two offices. When I lived in South Carolina I went to Carolina Center for Advanced Dentistry and currently I go to Dr. C Family Dentistry here in Spokane. This week, Beau had a dental hygienist visit his classroom to chat about the importance of good oral care. He couldn’t stop talking about the visit later that night. He was given a goodie bag and guess what his most prized item was? Bubble gum mouthwash!

Beau investigates the contents of his dentist “treat bag” while sitting next to his teacher, Mrs. Hoard.

Favorite Unhealthy Cereal – I can’t believe it has been exactly 13 years since I wrote my “famous” blog post on my top three unhealthy cereals (because I am sure you are all dying to know what they are, right?). I won’t leave you in suspense tonight, my list was comprised of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Reese’s Puffs, and Rice Krispie Treats Cereal. Although I haven’t ate the latter in years because I think it no longer exists, I will always eat a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Reese’s Puffs when given the opportunity. About four years later I would rank my top healthy cereals of all-time.

Our family likes Cinnamon Toast Crunch so much I once made Cinnamon Toast Crunch pancakes.

Jellycat – I took the below photo of Beau this morning. He is clutching his beloved stuffed dinosaur named “Roar.” We knew we had to get Beau a friend like “Roar” after Sloan has continued to enjoy “Corn,” her stuffed unicorn. Roar and Corn are both Jellycat stuffies, a product that goes a couple steps above your average stuffed animal. If you are looking for a toy to give a newborn, you might consider a Jellycat. Sloan still sleeps with Corn (don’t know if I should be concerned about that?) and finds a lot of comfort having the stuffed animal by her side.

Beau holding Roar, his Jellycat stuffed animal.

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Another rundown in the books! Continue to pray for Pope Francis and have a nice weekend. Don’t Blink.

Yesterday afternoon, Sloan and I were running errands. As we pulled out of the grocery store parking lot, we started talking about death. Don’t worry, our conversation wasn’t completely random. Earlier that morning, Fr. Jeff Lewis preached about the squirm-inducing topic as he covered its origin, inevitability, and earthly aftermath (the funeral).

As we chatted, Sloan admitted that death was a difficult concept for her but that she is doing her best to embrace memento mori.

Memento what?

Thanks to Sloan, I learned about “memento mori.” We need to remember death.

I didn’t expect a Latin lesson from my 7-year-old daughter (thanks, St. Mary Catholic School!). I had Sloan explain what it meant in her own words and then I feverishly looked it up once we arrived home. Memento mori translates to remember your death in English. In the context of Catholicism, it is a reminder to anticipate and meditate on our own deaths. By practicing memento mori, we can prepare for the reality that we all face while living a life that will put us in the best position for God’s judgment.

Tough stuff, right? If you are like me, memento mori can be a difficult topic to grapple with, especially when you encounter it head-on late at night. But just because something is difficult or seemingly unpleasant doesn’t make it unnecessary to examine.

This month is an opportune time to contemplate memento mori. In the Catholic Church, we use November to contemplate our own mortality while also remembering the faithfully departed. As part of the “Month of Remembrance,” we place a special emphasis on those souls in Purgatory and pray even more intensely for them. Thus, I think by remembering those who have gone before us and praying for them, we can become more in touch with our own memento mori journey.