A Simple Assumption Celebration for the Sick

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Happy Assumption of Mary Day!

Here, it has, indeed, been a happy day.  For, not only is it a feast day, but it has also been a day of recovery, too.

Of Service and Sickness

Before the sickness set in...

Regular readers might have noticed that I've been on an unexpected 10-day hiatus from publishing here.  That break did not begin as an intentional one.  In fact, I planned to write several posts over the past ten days while winding down between babysitting for a friend who was moving, leading the first Parent Support Night for a local Catholic homeschooling group that I volunteer as co-coordinator for and enjoying another week of summer life and learning with the kids.

Plans and reality don't always coincide though.  

Last Saturday night, instead of writing up a weekly Sunday Call to Faith Formation for Young Children post after taking my friend's son and my children to a pond, I found myself nursing Nina, who had gotten suddenly sick.

I thought Nina might be suffering from a bit of swallowed pond water, eating too many snacks in the car and having molars growing in.

Wrong!

As the week unfolded, it became apparent that Nina's sudden Saturday sickness was a belly bug.  A sneaky little belly bug that kept appearing to have passed from our home only to strike again.

By yesterday, it had struck Nina, Jack (twice!), Luke, and, yes, me.  (May Hubby be spared from this lovely bug!)

But, belly bug or not, today was a day of celebration!

A Simple Assumption Day Celebration
 

Someone had an appetite again!

I went to noon day Mass today by myself since it had been 24 hours since I had last gotten sick, but not since my boys have.  (Daddy and Nina stayed home to nurse the boys!)

Knowing that tummy upset might await me at home, I decided we would not enjoy rich fare for our family feast day celebration.  Indeed, there would be no Assumption Day Waffles like the ones we enjoyed last year or in 2012.   

Likewise, I decided it would be fruitless to attempt many of the ideas and activities I'd collected in a couple years ago for a Resource Round for Assumption Day.

Rather, the day called for simplicity:


Decoration

Simple, yet meaningful, decor

To make our outdoor celebration special, we laid a white tablecloth on the table, broke out the "special" glassware and decorated with:

• a Virgin Mary Statue that Luke had received for his First Holy Communion (for obvious reasons)

• a blessed white candle that we received from a friend during a Candlemas celebration (to symbolize Mary's purity) 

• a blue candle (because the color blue is associated with Mary) 

• a bouquet of wildflowers, collected by Nina, who has taken to beautifying our home (and tables!) with flowers (and who would have included herbs, which are traditional on this day, if we had any, which we did  not.)

Tea Time Fare

We set our celebration fare out in the shape of a cross.

Those recovering from sickness need vitamins.  Those at the tail-end belly bugs can use live cultures.  All want to enjoy yumminess and fun during a feast-day celebration.  Thus,I decided on make-your-own yogurt "sundaes".

•  So Delicious Chocolate Cultured Coconut Milk Yogurt represented the earth, where Mary was assume from.

• So Delicious Vanilla and Greek Style Blueberry Cultured Coconut Milk Yogurt represented the heavens Mary was assumed into (even if the blueberry yogurt is more purple than blue) 

• fresh, organic blueberries added to the heavens (and fresh raspberries were added to the table simply to tempt our boy who does not like blueberries)

Drinks were Silk Almond Vanilla Milk (because Silk Milk is a treat here and white, again, symbolizes Mary's purity) and organic white grape juice (our "sick tummy" drink ever since the Easter weekend all three of our children ended up in the hospital due to a belly bug!)


Activities

Nina explains what the Assumption is, dramatizing Mary being assumed into Heaven.

Simple was the key word of our celebration, so activities included:

• discussing what the Assumption is and how our food and decor choices connect to the day's celebration.

• praying together.

• reading the portion of a Holy Heroes: The Triumph of Jesus Coloring Book that relates to the Assumption. 

• reading about Mary in the awesome Dragon Slayers: The Essential Training Guide for Young Dragon Fighters book that Luke got for his First Holy Communion.

 

Jack shows such concentration on spooning "clouds" into his sundae cup.

• and, of course, just having fun making our "sundaes".

I had also had one of my favorite Mary books, Just Like Mary, on hand, but we never got to reading from it before requests for a read-aloud unrelated to the feast day came up.

Luke, apparently, preferred "earth" to "sky" yogurt. (Mama just was happy that he ate something and kept it down!)

 So it was that we feasted despite sickness in honor of Our Lady's Assumption.

How did you celebrate the Assumption today?