The Lourdes College Self-Study (2007) reported that the percentages of female, African-American, and non-traditional-aged students at Lourdes are higher than at large nearby institutions!

Why is that important? Because greater diversity means a better education for all students. Here are some examples:

·         Diversity broadens students' experiences educationally—intellectually, socially, emotionally, and ethically.

·         Learning in a diverse environment helps to make us competitive professionals in our diverse US society and it positions us to make a difference in the global society.

·         Students who graduate from a college with a diverse student population are better prepared to meet the demands of a diverse workplace and are better able to contribute to the diverse communities in which we live.

·         Diversity in the classroom helps us learn to become more effective leaders. Leaders need to solicit and understand the perspectives of many people, because diverse perspectives are superior to narrower single-group thinking.

Friday, September 07, 2007 3:40:46 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [7] | 

Featuring Dr. Shall Sinha, an in-character presentation

Sunday, September 30, at 3pm.

Doermann Theatre

University of Toledo

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Dr. Shall Sinha is a leading expert on the life and works of Mahatma Ghandi. Through his unique presentation, he delivers Ghandi's message in Ghandi's character. The political and spiritual leader of India was committed to non-violence, championed for human rights, and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom around the world.

Friday, September 07, 2007 2:53:53 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

Hey!! We’ve got a new name!

Diversity Awareness & Action Committee

The Multicultural Committee is now the Diversity Awareness & Action Committee (DAAC). The DAAC brings students, faculty, and staff together to create awareness about diversity topics through educational events, speakers, and celebrations and take action by developing and supporting institutional diversity initiatives that effect change on campus.

Look for information posted about Fall events, such as:

• Safe Schools Project—October 25, 6:30-8:00, Franciscan Center Rooms A and B. Event is open to students, faculty, and staff of Lourdes College.
• Hispanic Heritage Month—September/October
• Native American Heritage Month—November
• Names Project Quilt—December 1, World AIDS Day

We welcome student input and participation!

• Be a blogger on Diversity Blog at LourdesWorld.

• Come to our meetings:
  • Wednesday Sept. 26^th 1pm - 2pm SCH 142
  • Wednesday Oct. 17^th noon - 1pm  SCH 253
  • Wednesday Nov. 7^th 1pm - 2pm SCH 142
  • Wednesday Nov. 28^th noon- 1pm SCH 142

Want more information?  Have some ideas? Contact Larry Murphy at 419-824-3825 (lmurphy@lourdes.edu) or Therese Hoffman at 419-824-3824 (thoffman@lourdes.edu).

Friday, September 07, 2007 2:44:16 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

As you complete your 2nd week of courses....

Thursday, September 06, 2007 9:14:22 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

Once again, Lourdes College has broken its enrollment record. Last year, Lourdes enrolled more than 2,000 students for the first time in the College’s history and this year it has again exceeded that number. 

As of Tuesday, September 4, 2007, there were 2,183 students enrolled, a 7.27% increase from the Fall 2006 record of 2,035.  This is the fourth straight increase in fall semester enrollment.

“It is exciting to begin this 50th anniversary year with yet another record enrollment," says College President Dr. Robert C. Helmer. "The energy on campus this semester is incredible."

The Princeton Review – nationally known for its test preparation and admissions services – has included Lourdes College among the 2008 Best Colleges: Region by Region for the fourth consecutive year.

Lourdes is among only 161 colleges to be included on the nationwide Best Midwestern Colleges list, based on Princeton Review’s criteria of academic excellence and feedback from current students.  Lourdes was one of 28 Ohio colleges included in the Midwest rankings, which comprises 13 different states.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007 4:41:25 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

Back in the Saddle

The parenting saddle that is! It has been a hectic summer for our family with funerals, weddings, and court hearings (all of which were out of town). Bill & I have gotten custody of our two grandchildren, Arianna & Will. They are 5 & 6 yrs respectfully. Now, Bill & I have had discussions over the past 2 yrs regarding taking in the kids. We talked about everything from how Bill’s illness is going to affect his being able to care for them to me going crazy taking care of Bill, 2 small kids, & 2 poodles (they’re not just dogs after all), tutoring, & going to grad school. Of course, talking about it is not the same as doing it. On August 16th, we picked up Arianna & Will with all their belongings (we had to rent a trailer) & went back to the hotel in Louisville, KY. As precious as these two kids are I was so happy to get them to sleep that night.

We have fought most of the red tape that one has to tear through when working with different state agencies. That in itself is mind boggling! The kids are both in school (YEAH!) & love it!

My main problem over the last few weeks is poor time management skills. Bill & I have been spoiled as far as being able to what we want when we want as all of our kids are grown up & on their own. To borrow a phrase form T.D. Jakes; “It’s time to get repositioned We’re slowly coming out of this whirlwind of becoming an instant family. Here are a few things I’ve learned so far:

·   I must first walk the poodles in the morning, THEN take a shower, & THEN get the kids up for the day.

·   Oops! I must also pack their lunches before they wake up. This is to avoid them saying. “But, Grams! I want this, & this, & this, & this, & this….in my lunch!”  My immediate answer to this is, “Where’s my darn coffee!”

·   We pick out what we’re going to wear the night before (Yes, even Grams). This saves several minutes of indecision in the mornings.

·   I must work on my papers, assignments, pay bills, etc. either while they’re in school (& I’m not tutoring in TRiO) or in the wee small hours of the morning. Hey, Tom! You’re up & awake then; I’ll call & bug you.

·   Bill & I must find some quiet time alone. At the moment, he wakes me up in the middle of the night because he can’t sleep & just starts talking to me as if I’m wide awake. WHERE IS MY DARN COFFEE!

·   Bill needs to learn to “tune out” the kids. Is this just a mothering instinct? I’ve been able to tune them out when they’re playing, etc. When things get out of hand between them I jump in. After all, one must pick their battles.

·   I’ve learned that Sponge Bob, Veggie Tales, Spiderman, Dora, & Diego are their favorite shows.

·   I’ve learned to ignore, “I want that!” every time a commercial comes on. Do these people think I’m made of money? We’re on a fixed income & I’m a poor grad student after all.

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not complaining about raising our grandchildren. I love them so very much. Things will get easier (that is until their teenage years). I find that I have a bit more patience then I did raising my own kids. As with everything Bill & I go threw, we find the humor in it all. You have to in order to remain halfway sane. Here’s to a new & exciting chapter in our lives. As Will would say, “LET’S ROCK & ROLL, BABY!”

  Will & Arianna

 ...& Bill thought that he could sneak out of this picture!

Wednesday, September 05, 2007 9:53:15 AM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [1] | 

 Like so many Lourdes students, I am 'non-traditional,' which means I have a large gap between high school and college, with a family in tow, a husband, and interests outside of the college scene. About the only thing I don't have is a job, although I am here to tell you, being a Mom is a full time job in itself, and anyone who says any differently doesn't have kids.

 My days are sometimes frantic, sometimes boring, and sometimes somewhere in between. A typical day starts at 7 am, when my husband goes to work and I get up to get my oldest ready for the bus. Shower, make breakfast, convince a sleepy 7 year old to wake up and get dressed, double-check his homework, double-check his lunch money and all the odds and ends of his school day.... Bus shows up at 8:45. Somewhere in there, I also have to deal with my 4 year old and the animals, who all demand breakfast at the same time.

 I volunteer for a Boxer rescue, and I serve on 2 committees, plus serve on the Board of Directors. My morning is spent doing rescue stuff - returning emails, returning phone calls, calling vets and shelters and owners who wish to surrender their dogs and adopters who are having problems.... It's very rewarding, but can be draining at the same time. It's heartbreaking to hear of a Boxer in a shelter, waiting to die in the gas chamber, and not be able to help. It's heartbreaking to hear of an oldster going into a nursing home and having to give up his 10 year old Boxer, who has been his only companion for years. But some days we win some, so I keep at it.

 My 4 year old and I also do our errands in the morning... bank, post office, grocery store. We have lunch and then he goes to pre-school, and I am off to the barn for the horse chores.

 The mini horse needs daily medicine for Cushings Disease, stalls need cleaning, and then my fun starts. I am training to do Extreme Cowboy Racing with my Tennessee Walker, Bourbon. Every day, we practice a skill - we rope fence posts, we walk across tarps, we drag a log, we cross my inlaws' pond. It's a timed event, so we work on our speed as well as doing the obstacles. Bourbon is actually my mother in laws' horse, but in both our hearts, he belongs to me, and I belong to him. We work as a team. Our first race is in 2 weeks.

 Home again, to pick up my 4 year old and get my oldest son off the bus. Snacks are served. Then I shower - I have classes on Tues and Wed nights, so I don't want to smell like a horse. Do my hair, do my make up, maybe run some laundry. Dinner comes around a little early on the nights I have class, so feed the kids and clean the kitchen. Kids to my sister in law, me off to class. 8 pm comes and off I go. Pick up the kids, help my son with homework, run their baths, read bedtime stories. Tuck in the kids, and visit with my husband, should he happen to be home early. Pick up the living room, feed the dogs, clean the catbox, and then do homework. Bedtime is sometimes 11, sometimes midnight, but whatever time it is, I have no trouble collapsing into bed and falling right to sleep.

 Non traditional means having a full schedule in addition to our classes. I know my friends watch me go go go and wonder why I don't drop something - why not quit the rescue, or why not give up the horses. But these things make my life fuller and richer than college alone. To give up anything in my hectic life would mean giving up a piece of myself. I'm sure all the busy, non-traditional students would agree. Life is more than classes, and more than family, and more than hobbies. Life is a blending of all these things. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007 9:49:15 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

I was sitting outside of cafe Lourdes in the nice, cool air conditioning talking with some friends that I haven't seen all summer.  We were talking about all of the various places that we have lived during the course of our lives.  Being a Marine brat, I had the longest list.  However, I have lived in Toledo longer than I have any other place.  We started talking about all of the things that we didn't really know or experience until after we lived in Toledo for a few years.  Feel free to add to our list!

Here is our list of those things were talked about

- You get tired of hearing about Katie Holmes, you know exactly where her parents live, and don't really care.

- You have gotten a speeding ticket in Ottawa Hills.

- President Bush came to your school. The President commented on how bad the streets are yet the potholes don't phase you anymore.

- You refuse to call it Westfield Shopping Center, because we all know it is really Franklin Park Mall. You got confused when they added onto the mall.

- You freeze your butt off walking around The Toledo Zoo because you want to see Christmas lights.  "Everybody's Zooing It" means something to you, and you can sing the song, weird accent and all. You've ridden an elephant, a panda, a buffalo, and a turtle at the zoo.

- Everyone knows how to drive in snow, rain, sleet, and hail, but traffic backs up when it is 80 degrees and sunny outside.  If you see a driver that is driving erratically you automatically check for the Michigan license plate.

- You know what Meijer is. You've been to Meijer's at 2am, just for fun.

- Visiting Cedar Point is a tradition.

- Everyone has a favorite room in The Toledo Art Museum.

- You know who Jamie Farr is.

- COSI was a yearly class field trip for those that grew up here.

- You graduated at the Stranahan.

- You know what Krogering is.

- You know where the nearest Tim Hortons is.

- You know who says 'Turtle'.  You know the exact location of the owner's two stores.

- You remember when Toledo did not have any Wal-Marts.

- You've driven to Gibbs Bridge to try to see the ghost.

- Seeing a giant, neon-colored, plastic frog sitting on the sidewalk is nothing unusual.

- You can drive down any major road and have access to 100 different restaurants within 5 min of travel.  You know where to get the best Mexican/Chinese/Italian/Pizza, but still proclaim Toledo is running out of good restaurants.

- You're so used to driving in construction that you feel odd driving where you can't see orange barrels.

- You know where the original Tony Packo's is at and you know what type of food famous people sign on the walls. You've eaten at Tony Packo's. (Bonus points if you can say it correctly.)

- You've been to a Mud Hens game.  You still have no idea what a Mudhen is, or if you do know, people think you're making it up.

- Your mayor decides to change the fire hydrant color. Your mayor has gotten into almost-fist-fights with people. Your mayor addresses residents' complaints about airport noise by proposing that the city moves all the deaf people near the airport.  You know who Opal Covey is, and want her to run for mayor again just so you can watch the debate.  You know that no Republican will ever win the mayorship of your city.

- You get stopped by a train daily!

- You'd take Beaners over Starbucks any day, and you use your Beaners card religiously.

- You know all the words to the Erie Street Market jingle. 

-  At least one person you know used to work for Jeep.

- You know of two ways to pronounce the street name "Nevada."

-  You think having four all-girls and boys catholic high schools is normal.

- It takes you less than 15 minutes to get to work.

-  You've seen Ferdos burn down at least 16 times.

- You'd much rather drive an hour to Detroit than fly out of Toledo Express.

-  You hate the Blade, but read it anyway.

-  You live in a suburb, but say you're from Toledo.

-  You survived the North Toledo Riots of '05.

- The best place to go sledding is at Fort Meigs.

- You agree Toledo is "a great place to raise a family," but you want to get out now as soon as possible.

- You're torn between rooting for BG or UT.

- You know Major Magic's is way better than Chuck E. Cheese's.

- You know what Q-Zar is and have a favorite team color.

- You have at least one Race for the Cure T-Shirt.

- You've had a Rudy's Hotdog, and have concluded with the rest of Toledo that it's really not that great. You returned to Rudy's after the disappointing dog to discover: equally mediocre Chili-Mac. 

-  You know where the only White Castle in Toledo is and now exactly how long it takes you to get there from your home.

- You've been to the Holiday Inn French Quarter for a birthday party.

- You know who Mr.Atomic is, and you want his car.

- Your mom has at least one Garden Smiles by Carruth somewhere in the house.

-  It's not mini golf. It's putt-putt.

-  You have four network tv news stations, but you only take two of them seriously

- You remember the FOX Kids Club rap, and you know who Freddy Fox is.

- You know your choice in colors on OSU vs. Michigan day cuts out any decent conversation with half of your friends, because Toledo is 50% Michigan fans 50% Ohio State fans.

- You have ran (or rolled) down the hill at Maumee Bay.

- You use the excuse that you love snow when you can't afford to spend the winter in Florida.

-  You look forward to food festivals (German, Polish, Irish, Hungarian, Greek) and go to them even if you aren't of the nationality.

- You can explain snow and every other weather pattern.  You know who Blizzard Bill Spencer is.

- You can't drive anywhere without seeing something named after Martin Luther King, Jr.

- The only schools that are good in football are Catholic schools. The only thing to do when it's not football season is go to the movies.

- You know why Toledo is known as the "Glass City".

- You went to High School with a radio D.J.

- You have eaten at Dominics and wonder what happened to all the autographs.

- You remember when a guy from Boys || Men got married to a girl from Toledo.

-  You realize that one of the most important battles ever to take place on the North American continent was the Battle of Fallen Timbers, yet they want to make the ground into another stupid mall.

- You can pronounce Maumee correctly.

- You realize that the town of Oregon and the state of Oregon are pronounced differently.

-  You know the best place in the world to buy cakes is Wixey's Bakery.

-  You know what speed to drive on the Trail at night so that you never have to hit the brakes.

- You overheard at least four panicked conversations after the 9/11 attacks about how Davis-Besse was going to get blown up.

- You don't question the continued construction of new houses for a shrinking population. You rent!

-  You know and can explain what a buckeye is.

- Ending up in Michigan after taking a wrong turn does not incite panic because it's like going across the street.

- You remember Southwyck before it fell apart and became empty.

- You will always call MUO "MCO" and your parents will always call UT "TU"

- You like spending your Sundays at the Anderson's and you aren't afraid to admit it.

- No matter what the story is whether its about a man from Japan or a tornado in Oklahoma, the channel 13 news station always find someone in Toledo who can relate or has been effected by it.

- You cry every year when Mr. Freeze closes for the season.

- You know that there are 4 Taco Bells on Alexis Road

Friday, August 31, 2007 6:10:55 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [6] | 

On Friday, August 17, Lourdes College joined the Old Newsboys Goodfellow Association at the Shoe Bowl Football Classic. The Shoe Bowl, which featured two-quarter scrimmages between six high school football teams, served as a pre-season football preview and charity fundraising event for the Old Newsboys Association.

In between scrimmages, Lourdes College held an on-field ceremony to present the schools with $1,000 scholarships. The Lourdes scholarships were awarded to Anthony Wayne High School, Bedford High School, Scott High School, Start High School, St. John’s Jesuit High School and Waite High School. Representatives from each school were presented with the scholarship certificates from Mary Arquette, Vice President for Institutional Advancement.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 1:55:30 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

2:00 AM

Been away for a while. I needed to avoid thinking about anything in the weeks leading up to the new academic year. The week prior to classes is just plain nasty. Meetings, meetings and more meetings. On top of that I have to awaken before noon twice!! I drift through the week semi-conscious. Go to bed at 6:00am and rise 2 hours later for a meeting. Oh boy...

I am now caught up on sleep, it is the middle of the night as I sit in my office and all is well with the world   :)

Gave my first lectures of the year earlier today. I really enjoy being in the classroom. I despise other aspects of the academic experience (did I mention meetings?) but absolutely love teaching and being around students.

If my work required me to attend meetings on a weekly basis, shuffle papers back and forth, create meaningless documents that no one will ever care about...well I'd take up rock collecting and live in a tent on the coast of Maine.

But when it comes to teaching...22+ years have been delightful. It is great to see so many students in the hall. The new facilities are very nice and I look forward to seeing the new building from the inside.

Things on my mind lately:

• Elvis. The anniversary of this wretched man's death was all over the media last week. Why our culture celebrates this loser I will never fully understand. He died with virtually no friends. He had alienated everyone around him. Peter Guralnick's highly respected biography describes a pathetic figure who had tin foil taped over his bedroom windows, his room littered with hundreds of used needles (Demerol injections). He was paranoid and hostile. Would anyone want their son to grow up to be like Elvis??? Are you joking? He is the epitome of a failed life. He was talentless. He played NO instruments, he wrote NO songs. He was the ultimate triumph of style and no substance. His acting was abysmal, his parenting skills lost in a sea of drug and food abuse. It is just that he spent the end of his life in Vegas. He was the embodiment of Vegas, superficial, decadent and corruptive of the human spirit. Elvis flushed his life down the toilet so it is only right that he died while sitting on one.

More to come...........

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 2:13:30 AM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

So, day one is almost complete.  I am currently in my Internet Marketing class with Mike Temple, a business adjunct.  I was a little nervous at first having a class with an adjunct.  I love our business faculty on campus here.  I have grown particularly fond of Dane, Jean, Bob, and Tom over the past few years.  However, I knew that they would not saddle us with someone who had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

Mike definitely knows his stuff.  I think I am really going to enjoy this class, and will keep you updated on how it pans out.

Earlier this evening I had my Interpersonal Communications course with John Makay.  I might be a little bored in this class.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy his teaching style - think Mark Christensen.  He uses personal stories and experiences to get major points and book material across. However, I have already had Business Communications, and from spending an hour browsing through my book, every single topic minus one was covered in my Business Communications class.  I might speak with him after class next time and see if there are other assignments that I can do to expand my personal learning experience. In almost three years, this is the very first class that I have ever had in St. Clair Hall.

Wednesday night I have class with Jean Kujawa who is one of my favorite professors here.  She's one of those types of teachers that you will think about 20 or 30 years down the road and think to yourself, "Wow, what an impact she had not only on my education, but on my life."  We have quite a few professors like that here at Lourdes - as I said before, all of the business faculty members.  Anyone who does not go to Lourdes and attends another college for a business degree, I highly recommend that you make an appointment to come onto campus and see exactly what they have to offer here.

FYI - if you do not have any plans next Thursday from 4:00 - 6:00, come onto campus for the Fall Fest.  Enjoy free food and entertainment while getting to know the students, staff, faculty, and alumni of the college.  See you there!    

Monday, August 27, 2007 10:19:07 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

 Well, since I have had both my Tues and my Wed evening professors before (Hi Jim! Hi Joyce!), I'm not going to say anything about my first impressions of them. I could cast my mind waaaaay back to my first semester here and do a retrospective, but eh, why bother. I like them, and I know my classes with them will be interesting and generate some great discussions. 'Nuff said.

 Today I had two professors for the first time. My first class, which I fondly call 'Anatomy and Physiology for Social Workers and Other Students Who Aren't Great in Science,' was like a Social Worker reunion. I knew about half the class, and the other half was composed mostly of Social Workers I haven't met yet. I have tentative good feelings about the class. I know in an earlier blog I was stressing, but after going over the syllabus, I feel pretty confident.

 My other class is Music in Therapy, and I think it's going to be good for me. I love music, and I've always known that for myself, music can make a difference in my moods, so it's nice to hear my feelings validated on the subject. Plus, we got to play with musical instruments. I have not been allowed to play with a musical instrument since the second grade, when I broke a recorder over the head of another child who criticised my playing ability (I take criticism much better now, by the way). Today was fun. I think I'm going to enjoy myself.

 Parking was a pain, I missed that 5 minute window of opportunity between when classes are let out and other classes begin. But I needed the exercise anyway, so I can't complain. I had a pretzel with cheese for lunch... so I really needed the exercise!

 Anyway, my first impressions are good, and I feel pretty confident that this semester will be enjoyable. I hope everyone else is enjoying their first day back as much as I did!

Monday, August 27, 2007 7:12:29 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [0] | 

      It’s always interesting…the conversations that you get into when your name begins with “Sister”. Well, mine does, so this past weekend I was in several conversations that started off with, “Did you read that article about Mother Teresa?”

      After the first time that someone mentioned the article to me, I went home and read it. Yes, it was unexpected to hear of her struggles, but certainly not shocking. Many great saints wrote of experiencing similar periods of darkness and doubt (including great mystics like Teresa of Avila and, of course, John of the Cross, who wrote of this experience in Dark Night of the Soul). Perhaps the most surprising – and admirable – fact is that Mother Teresa seems to have lived for so long in this ‘dark night’. Why admirable? Because despite the questions she persisted in her chosen life and ministry. She was open to letting God continue to work through her despite her doubts and uncertainties. There certainly had to have been a kernel (and probably much more!) of faith or she would have totally abandoned the way of life.

      A friend once asked me, “Is it enough for you to know the presence of God, or do you need to FEEL his presence?” I suppose that must have been some of Mother Teresa’s struggle. She didn’t always feel that presence. There wasn’t a physical voice, a pat on the back, an embrace…just an overwhelming, daily dose of human suffering and pain.

      We have an amazing way of putting people on pedestals and turning them into something super-human…especially when it comes to saints and heroes. We forget that they were/are human beings, just like us. We don’t want to hear that they have feet of clay. We forget that their lives are set before us as something to imitate. Of course, if I put someone like Mother Teresa or Francis of Assisi on a pedestal, then I’m excused from the challenge that they set before me. I can easily say, “Oh, they could do that because they were special! I could never be expected to live up to that standard.”

      Maybe it’s helpful to hear that someone like a Mother Teresa had doubts as well. It’s encouraging to know that my questions and frustrations are perfectly ‘normal’. It’s often the people who have a more intimate relationship with God that have the most ‘blunt’ conversations with God. After all, don’t we tend to be more willing to challenge and question those that we are closest to? Many years ago, I stumbled across the prayer below by Thomas Merton – it got me started on year-long Merton-reading binge. It rang true then and I still often go back to it.

My Lord God,

I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.

I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,

and the fact that I think I am following Your will

does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please You

does in fact please You

and I hope that I have that desire

in all that I am doing.
And I know that if I do this,

You will lead me by the right road

though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore I will trust You always

though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death,

I will not fear, for You are ever with me

and You will never leave me to face my perils alone.

– from Thoughts in Solitude by Thomas Merton

Monday, August 27, 2007 4:33:13 PM (Atlantic Standard Time, UTC-04:00)    Comments [2] | 

On Wednesday I return to Lourdes for my final semester.  Holy cow, this will all be over soon!  I have been at Lourdes for almost six wonderful years.  I really mean that th