What have I gotten myself into?
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Somehow I've agreed to participate in a Polar Bear Plunge to raise money for the Special Olympics. Supposedly if I raise $75 then I will get a free sweatshirt. It sounds pretty horrible. But supposedly the Scandinavians are convinced that taking a dip in frigid waters is good for the immune system. Vikings seem pretty healthy. So who can argue with that? I tried the sauna half of that experience in the middle of Alaska, so I guess I'm halfway to a Viking immune system.
If anyone wants to donate to the Special Olympics and encourage me to plunge further than ankle deep please check out my page: HERE.
This helpful website claims that less is more in terms of clothing for the Polar Bear Plunge. A bathing suit is better than actual clothing because then you don't have to peel off wet layers before reaping the benefits of the heated tent. Hm... I guess that means shaving in the winter. Sigh.
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When searching for my donor page, I see that there is another Sarah Jones participating from Baltimore! She is on a team from Dick's Last Resort. I'm sure she is totally awesome, especially since she's named Sarah Jones. However, Dick's Last Resort is the trashiest restaurant I've ever been to. Rather than peanut shells or sawdust on the floor it appeared to be cover in wadded up toilet paper. And the decor was reminiscent of the much devolved successor of Fuddruckers from Idiocracy. The future is here!
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It turns out that many of the Saints regularly practiced the Polar Bear Plunge. They did it mainly to fight bodily temptations, but it's good to know that I can count on their intercession to get me through unscathed. I'll offer up my suffering for the homeless and people who don't have adequate heat and for the repose of the souls of those who froze to death, especially those poor people on the Titanic. Saint Bernard, pray for us!
To defend his purity, Saint Francis of Assisi rolled in the snow, Saint Benedict threw himself into a thorn bush, Saint Bernard plunged into an icy pond... You..., what have you done?
---St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way 143
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There was freezing rain this morning. When I got to the driveway for the chapel on the hill where weekday Masses are held at my church there was a man standing in the rain. He redirected traffic to the main church at the bottom of the hill, since it was impossible to drive up. Our celebrant, who lives at the top of the hill, had to tromp through the leaves and grass in the forest to get down safely. We made it to Mass and the leper was made clean.
I'm currently reading a book called Fr. Elijah by Michael O'Brien. My mom bought it for me off of my Christmas list. It is about the Antichrist and the Apocalypse and I highly recommend it. This morning as I was in and out of sleep I had a nightmare that someone was trying to find and kill a priest I know and they were looking for me too. I was hurriedly packing up and getting ready to run for my life as my stalkers were just arriving out in front of our place. This book has seamlessly woven itself into one of my recurring nightmares. (I think that is an impressive review even if I didn't find an occasion to use the term "tour de force".)
You're going to love it!!! <3 And no worries, if you start to drown due to hypothermia, my Dad is on Boat Patrol (this is not because he enjoys working, he just likes to be on the boat to take photos).
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