It was a lot of fun! I am tired--like, really, really tired. I don't think I've been this tired since the kids were babies. But other than that complaint, I had a lot of fun and so did everyone else.
When we first arrived, I was wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. There were about 100 people here which meant 100 tents all mashed in together on one small piece of lawn.
This introvert likes her space and privacy. I would never think of living in a neighborhood this crowded, much less camp in one.
But, God likes to take us out of our comfort zones, doesn't He? And that's what He did. We got used to it and it really wasn't as intrusive as I thought it would be.
So what can I say about Catholic Fest? It just was really neat to be in a place where everyone wants to be Catholic. You'd think you'd find that at Mass but sometimes it doesn't feel like everyone wants to be Catholic...
There were big families and little families, old couples and young couples. There were games of soft ball, Frisbee, and catch. Games would keep going late into the night. Nuns outside playing with the children, or barbecuing hot dogs. Everyone was friendly and happy. Although by Sunday, we all were just tired, haha. Friendly but tired.
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| The Sisters played with the children often--there were always games going on! |
Most of all, there was adoration. I loved having perpetual adoration where I could just pop in whenever I wanted. And it was consoling knowing that Jesus was physically present in the camping grounds with us. I found a lot of comfort in this particularly at night, when sometimes it was difficult to sleep.
Mass was also offered every day and on Saturday, confession was available. Can I just say how nice it was to stand in a line again? My kids were like, wait, there's a line??
Four spiritual talks were also offered, although we were only able to make it to one of them. And every night there was always something fun planned. A bonfire one night, and a talent show the next night.
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| Spiritual talks were offered as well |
But mostly, the time is your own to do what you want with it. After all, it's about family time. I will admit it was nice to have the kids outside, playing Badmitten or joining other kids at their tents who were once strangers and now friends. Or to let them go play with one of the Sisters or older kids playing a game and not worry about them. Or to go swimming! The free time was liberating and though it might sound like it might be long, it actually went by very fast. We were all sad to leave. Henry even said, "Mom, I never want to leave here!" All the kids said that, actually! Except for Sunday, when we were all tired and ready to go home. But for the most part, it was just fun to be there.
So yes, we loved Catholic Fest! I hope to spread the word and encourage people to come. Even if you aren't really into camping, it is only for two nights (ends after Mass on Sunday.) And I just brought all the things that would help make it more comfortable like, like a blow up mattress and a sleep mask and ear plugs. It made camping a lot easier.
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| The kids were a little disappointed over the pizza, haha. Oh well. |
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| I was so tempted to keep the pizza box. |
Lake Michigan was not even five minutes away, so we spent some time there to. Closest thing to seeing an ocean for the kids who constantly remind me we never bring them anywhere (and then complain when we do.)
The drive back though, it was like the devil assailed us with all sorts of hardships. I don't even really talk or think about the devil that much, though he's always in the back of my mind, knowing that he's constantly laying out traps for us to fall in. Well, he set out quite a lot on our way back home.
Our drive up was wonderful. It went by quickly, with no fights in the car, the weather was perfect, we didn't get lost, and everything was just easy.
The drive back though, one of our brakes went out (it was metal on metal with no padding) and so we were very nervous about making such a long trip with bad brakes. To make things worse, our GPS took us off the freeway (for reasons we probably will never understand since there was no construction or detour), and made us go through a neighborhood with many stoplights. We gritted our teeth every time we had to stop and we would hear the brakes "GRRRRR" sounding like they were going to snap any minute. For a half hour, we were stuck in that neighborhood.
The kids fought--a lot. We were stuck in traffic jam after traffic jam--one of them being simply to gawk at an abandoned motorcycle left on the road (??) The kids had weak bladders that day, it seemed we would just get started when someone would need to go to the bathroom again--one of them being in a field.
With all the delays, it set us back an additional hour, so our six hour drive was a seven hour drive. Finally, we got to Grandma's to pick up the dogs (they don't allow dogs at Catholic Fest, for which I'm grateful. Think of the noise and mess they would make!) We took a few minutes to gather up their belongings and then headed out, tired and anxious to get home. We started the car and then it sputtered and died. My mom was watching somewhat nervously and I knew what she was thinking: "Remember when we ran out of gas on your driveway, Mom?" I joked. "Wouldn't that be funny if it happened again?"
It didn't happen again, but it did die. Our van of five years finally gave up it's ghost after a grueling seven hour drive. On my mom's driveway. Again.
Lucy began to cry. She was especially tired and was wanting to go home and now the car died. To make things worse, Dennis had already left with Max and the other dogs (there was no room in the van with all our stuff, and so the dogs had nowhere to sit) and he left in the other car that we had left at Grandma's. We tried calling him but just got voicemail. I called, Grandma called, and Lucy even called (she had the family phone in the car.) We got more and more panicked as time went by and Dennis was getting further and further away from us.
Finally we got a hold of him. It turned out he was having problems of his own and was pulled over on the side of the road and didn't hear us. As he was sputtering out his complaints I said, "Well, I don't want to make things worse, but the van died."
We spent another hour at Grandma's showing her pictures of the trip while Dennis looked at the car. It turned out it was the fuel pump. Fuel pump plus the brakes and everything else that was wrong with the car was just not worth fixing. We knew the van would die eventually and agreed that the next major thing that broke, we would just accept.
It was Grandma that took us home (Dennis also took a few kids in the other car). By the time we got home, it was 9:30 at night. Another late night with the kids up way past their bedtime. I was hoping to get everyone showered and bedded at a decent hour after three nights of staying up until 11:00, so I was frustrated about that.
But it was Dennis that probably had the hardest time of all. After dropping off his load of kids, he had to take the 50 minute drive back to Bloomington to go back for our suitcases and everything else that we needed and couldn't fit into the car. He didn't home until about 11.
And so we are without a van but it's not so bad. I am just so thankful that the van decided to die on my mom's driveway, instead of miles away from home. We know that God intervened for us in that way. In many ways, actually. There were moments when I honestly didn't think we were going to make it home. It felt very evident that we were under attack by the devil and why? Because Catholic Fest is such a holy place. For two and a half days, we just basked in our Catholic faith. It felt like being in heaven--not that I would know what that's like, so maybe just a taste of heaven--where everyone is on the same journey with the same goals--maybe not holy, maybe not even saintly, but striving to be. This is what Catholic Fest is, and not too surprising it infuriates the devil so. Makes you wonder what sort of attacks happen to the Sisters, after everyone leaves.
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