Saturday, October 02, 2010

Sunday Favorites #73 --The Green Eyed Monster



Sunday Favorites is a meme hosted by Chari at Happy to Design. Chari asks us to drag one of our older posts out of mothballs and repost it. After all, only so many posts can be on the first page and once they move down the stack they are seldom ever looked at again.

You can check out this Sunday meme by visiting
Happy to Design. Heck, you might find some great stuff and be inspired to join the fun and repost some of your favorites that have been long forgotten.

My repost for this Sunday was originally posted on a blog that I have since closed. The original posting was made in September of 2008 and was titled "The Green Eyed Monster"

There is an old saying “if Mama ain’t happy ain’t nobody happy.” Well, in our house, when I was a child, that saying went “if Mom can’t make it happen then no one can.” My mother had the ability to move heaven and earth when it came to getting the things she wanted for her family. Keeping all of us in a Catholic School was probably at the top of Mom’s requirements for her children. If you have read previous post then you know that she found some very creative ways to assure the old coffee can hidden in the kitchen contained enough money to cover the tuition each semester.

During my childhood, parochial school classrooms were still ruled by nun’s. Real nuns. I mean those pious creatures dressed from head to toe in black, with scrubbed faces poking through circles of starched white linen. Austere, gender neutral women, with long veils and flowing skirts, silently gliding down corridors, in chunky high-heeled orthopedic shoes. They wore heavy crosses around their necks and giant rosary beads hanging from their waists with the crucifix marching at the hem of their skirts.

But most importantly, that saintly packaging hid a formidable and stern character that could swat knuckles with rulers or match professional pitchers with the accuracy of tossed erasers magically retrieved from hidden pockets. Like all teachers, the nuns had different methods of teaching but fear and guilt were two that were universal. The Nuns of my generation could outdo even the best Jewish mother at instilling lifelong guilt while making every subject and situation a fearful lesson on the damnation of our souls.

High on the list of things that led us to the weekly confessional were the repeatedon Seven Deadly Sins: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and Pride. Sure, I have had my small encounters with most of the mighty seven but the one cardinal sin I have struggled with the most is envy. I once read that Envy is the desire for others’ traits, status, abilities, or situation and we do it because we think other people are so much luckier, smarter, more attractive, or better than we are. Envy is often linked symbolically to a dog or the color green, thus the terms “Green eyed monster” or “Green with envy”. According to those wonderful nuns that taught in my elementary school, the punishment for dying with the sin of Envy on our soul was not only being banished to Hell but having to spending eternity in a tub of freezing water as well.

Now, I certainly know the difference between envy and jealousy and do not get me wrong, I never wanted to trade places with anyone I envied. I am happy for all their accomplishments; but, I am sometimes envious that my life lacked the adventures or financial perks I saw others enjoying during my relatively long life.

Just yesterday I found myself being envious of the opportunities my dear husband had to travel the globe visiting so many interesting places while serving our country in the US Navy. When I mentioned this to him he admitted that he was just as envious that I had spent my life in one place with a large and loving family.

Oh well, I will save you the details of the discourse that followed but, I guess it is back to the confessional for me.

5 comments:

  1. Hi Rita! It's been quite a while since I last ran into you in blogland - - - hope all is going well for you and yours.

    Yes, that little old green-eyed monster can really get a grip on our hearts, can't he?

    I'm sure he is a he. ;-)

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  2. I remember walking my son to school pushing his brother in a stroller and passing a driveway where the tall well dressed woman with leather satchel was getting into her car to head to work. I was so envious. Until the next weekend that is when her husband was killed in a motorcycle accident.
    It was quite a wake up call for me.

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  3. Who amongst us can't relate to that Monster - at some level, that is ... unless they're fooling themselves.
    Still, this is wonderfully written; and personally, I'm so glad you chose to post it once more!

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  4. Great message and great post my friend...Thanks for sharing this...hugs and smiles Gl♥ria

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  5. Hi Rita...

    My friend, I'm just tickled pink to see you for Sunday Favorites today...what a treat! And...before I forget...I just wanted to thank you for that sweet "shout-out" for the Sunday Favorites party! Thank you!!!

    Well my friend, I don't think any of us are exempt from having that old "green eyed monster" show up once in awhile! My beloved and very saintly grandmother used to have a saying when seeing something that someone had that she wanted..."I sure would like to have that...and wished that they had one better!" I used to always get a kick out of her saying that. I guess she was covering every angle there! Believe me, my sweet Grandma didn't have an envious bone in her body! She's my hero and I have always tried to pattern my life after her! You know, I have actually witnessed people who have envied to the extent that it caused them to be vicious. So sad! This was a great post to share with us today for Sunday Favorites...thank you, my friend!

    Warmest autumn wishes,
    Chari @Happy To Design

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Thank you for stopping by my site. Without your visits there would be no incentive to continue posting. So, having you here and reading your comments is the highlight of my day.

I regret that time does not always allow me to return visits to everyone who stops by, but, I will certainly do my best to get to everyone. I will definitely answer any questions you leave me.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.