The many many holidays of Germany

I'm a bit of a religion buff.  I like to learn about religions.  As a matter of fact, the Fall 2 semester at UMUC has a Philosophy class coming up that teaches about multiple current religions and I'm taking it.  I need another Philosophy class so it's win-win.  Every time I find out about a new religion, obscure or not, I do tons of research and find out as much as possible.  One of my favorites is Catholicism because it's a very old religion and there is a lot of information out there...and there is a lot of information HERE.  Plus Laura's Mom, St. Bab's, supports my research and sends me books and Saint cards and Rosaries...and I think she prays for my conversion (which after this last book, sounds pretty hard...and would totally have to wait til after I got back Stateside to put any serious thought into lol).

So There seems to be a State (Bavaria) wide holiday pretty frequently here, and I think almost every holiday...if not every one, is related to Catholicism.  At least 95%.  Today's holiday, August 15th, is Assumption Day or Mariä Himmelfahrt.  Basically it celebrates the day the the Virgin Mary's earthly life was over and she ascended to heaven.  They (according to the text I'm reading) very literally mean that her tomb was empty, that her actual physical body left the Earth and went up to heaven, not in the way that you or I (general sweeping) would say someone went to heaven.  Of course, there is also room to believe that she hadn't died before she went to heaven, according to some teaching and some of what I'm reading....that was according to Pope Pius XII.  So yes.

I recently finished a book called "No Turning Back : A Witness To Mercy".  It's by Father Donald Calloway, MIC.

No Turning Back

 

 

 It was about this guy, who as you can kind of guess by the cover, is a Priest...and he surfs.  Just a little background, he was a Navy brat that got into mucho trouble, got kicked out of Japan, got into drugs and alcohol pretty bad...and then became a Priest.  It's a story of redemption.  Which a lot of stories are.  Beauty and the Beast? Redemption.  Angel? Redemption.  You get it.  This just has a twist.  It was a good book and I learned a lot about the conversion process as well as a lot about Mary and what it takes to become a Priest, because I honestly didn't know much about that process.

So yes.  That is what I've been reading lately.  St. Babs sent it to me after my TWLOHA post and I am grateful, I loved it.  Other than reading and researching every German Holiday, all I have been doing is...nothing.  Because I can't do much.  My breathing/heart issues aren't getting better.  Sometimes it feels like they're getting worse.  I have my appointment to get my referral to Weiden for the CT scan tomorrow though, so hopefully that's soon (I think they said the 17th but then I thought that's what I was doing tomorrow so then I just got confused).  I hate CT scans but the last time I had one I had a concussion and it kinda tripped me out so I'm sure this one will be less scary.  I think I need to be hospitalized and have heart monitors hooked up to me for more than 5 minutes.  I think they need to monitor it for a little while so that they can catch it when it does the speed up really really fast then stop skip a beat or two then go normal again thing....it does that about once a day now.  But on the same hand, I can't be hospitalized.  Taylor isn't in school, so there isn't anyone to take care of her, and even when she is in school, there's no one to watch her after school.  Danny's unit is NOT the most accommodating.  I get this feeling that if there is something seriously wrong with me (this is crazy Bri talking) I will die before it gets fixed because there's just simply no one that can help with Taylor and the dogs etc, especially when Danny's in the field at the end of the month...I certainly couldn't be in the hospital then.  Ugh.

So that's the "I'm still sick" rant/update.  I just tried to do a few things around the house, it didn't work out so well, I can't breathe now.  So I sat down to try to catch my breath and now I feel like I am going to pass out from exhaustion.  I woke up at 10! It's 3:30! I should not be tired.  Lack of oxygen screws with ya man.

Double ugh.  Later y'all :) Here's hoping for Weiden!