Pope Francis in New York City

My son and I left New York City the night before Pope Francis' arrival. We felt the tug and pull of being happy we flew out before the traffic became even more chaotic, and the desire to stay and experience the Pope's visit.
And like anyone who has a guest coming to visit, New York was no different in preparing for the arrival of the Holy Father - they worked diligently to ensure that everything was in place.
We visited St. Patrick's Cathedral a couple of days before the Pope's arrival to find the crews working around the clock putting finished touches on the restoration.

Altar of St Patrick's Cathedral two days before the Pope's visit.

  

Painting, polishing, drilling, and testing the miles of media feed - it was a beehive of activity as we quietly walked through the cathedral. The beauty of St. Patrick's Cathedral is gleaming from the $175 M renovation. My son Dallas and I took our time exploring and couldn't help but imagine that in a few days the Pope would be standing at the altar.

robert deutsch-pool/getty

polishing the brass for the Pope's arrival

St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York - two days prior to the Pope;s visit.

It was at Our Lady of Queen's school in Harlem that the Pope seemed the most glowing and excited. The Pope was beaming when he walked along the cheering crowd of children and generously stopped for selfie's with the students.

As the Pope entered the classroom the students broke out in song with a Make Me a Channel of Your Peace (the prayer of Saint Francis) and then skipped right into prayer reciting the Hail Mary with the Pope. Two young students guided the Pope to a interactive video screen to share a project the class had been working on. It was a new lesson for Pope Francis as the students guided him through the process of operating a touch screen. A young girl literally took the Pope's hand to help guide him through the exercise; you couldn't help but smile at the innocence and excitement of the children.

Speeches were detoured as Pope Francis spoke from his heart, eyes glowing back at the exited faces of the children and extended his time at the school. If he could stay and spend the rest of his time at the school, he would have. At Central Park there were 80,000 people waiting to capture a glimpse of the Pope before he leaves for mass at Madison Square Gardens.

Being in the city while New York prepared for the visit (and the UN at the same time) -  I have to say they deserve enormous applause. New York took it all in stride - preparing and welcoming the Pope.

As the journey continues with prayer and blessings for everyone, 

Pope Francis asks that we pray for him.

We lit candles & prayed at the altar during our visit.

  

A few days to play

I am off and running with my handsome son for a few days. We are spending some quality time together in New York City. 

Sightseeing, exploring, shopping, taking selfies, and having some crazy fun. 

There may be a few bevies involved.

That is the plan.

I promise to bring you home a souvenir, which will likely be in the form of many photo's to share here next week. 

But for now, I'm excited to have the days to play and explore. 

And so happy to have this time alone with my son.

Autumn

Call it what you prefer. 

I prefer 'Autumn' over the term 'Fall'. 

Maybe it's the idea that fall.... falling, seems like we are tumbling.

We have one tree on our property that drops her leaves early each year. Like a concerned mother I am watching to see if all is OK, or if she is sick. The sight of leaves beginning to turn and fall in August was creating a need for me to stand in the yard a bit more than I normally would.

 

My granddaughter helped me dress up a red leaf wreath for our front door. She discovered small birds on my potting bench and decided they would be the perfect accompaniment. 

And so, the summer wreath was put away and the Autumn decorating begins.

The cool wet weather from last week eased off and we are now experiencing an Indian Summer. Hot, hazy, smoky. The wasps who hid for a week are now flying with a furious need. I did my best to explain to Kya what Indian Summer is, while she explained to me that the wasps flying wildly is part of nature.  

How did she get so smart.

I will admit this is not my favourite season. It is upsetting to put the garden to bed and think about the blanket of snow that will cover my flower gardens for months. But I have to agree that the colour of the leaves is a work of art and that is why I love to rake leaves.

So what about you?

What is your favourite season and why?