Cemetary Cleanup

Well, I, for one, am THRILLED that Sr. Maxine isn't going to be around for a week! She's been teasing me mercilessly about going to Hell for thinking priests are cute.

And for the record, I don't think ALL priests are cute, just SOME of them! And that's all I'll say for now!

So...anyway...on with what we REALLY did today...

Around our unnamed Monastery, we do a lot of work outside on Saturdays, and our biggest project is the cemetary. We've whacked all the weeds, and today, Brother Brit, Brother Gus, and Father went to work on cutting down small trees that have grown around the gravestones and they used the weed-wacker to get rid of a lot of the weeds that hide the snakes. Some of the graves are really sunken in, so we have to be really careful about walking around. And in all our chopping, we found an even OLDER section that's barely marked! And that area is really treacherous so Father told us not to go in there at all for now, and we'll all tackle it as a group. And he has some concerns about some other things, but I saw he and Sister Perpetua exchange a "look" so I think something is up.

Well, we are working on re-setting stones, and we're going to work on some landscaping and try to find out who's really buried there so we can pray for them and maybe even contact their families, if it's possible. It's such an old cemetary that we think there's a good chance that there are descendents out there who may be interested in our work here on behalf of those people who went before them. And maybe we'll open the cemetary to the public; right now it's cut off from the public because it's part of the monastery grounds but we might be able to construct a fence or something.

Later in the day, Father left for some other obligations, and Mother Frangelico had to return some phone calls so it was me, Sr. Max, Br. Brit, and Br. Gus in the cemetary. We were really hot, really tired, and all of us really dirty from all the hard work. Well, Sr. Max and Br. Gus were working on one project, and the next thing I knew, something came sailing through the air and landed on my shoulder...a really HUGE spider!

I completely freaked out, started screaming, and ran away into the part of the cemetary that we were told not to go into. I didn't really realize I was going there, and as I ran, Br. Brit actually tried to stop me, and he did brush the big spider off. He was yelling something, but I couldn't tell what he said, and Sister Max and Brother Gus were laughing.

Then I remember stepping down and the ground sorta "crumbled" and I fell and there was this terrible pain! I fell so hard that for a minute I didn't realize what happened. I was all by myself in the woods, and I saw the spider was gone, but I was in a bunch of weeds and brush, and buckthorn! I'd stopped just short of the buckthorn, but it scratched me up pretty good, anyway.

I tried to get up but the ground was still crumbling, and my ankle hurt terribly and couldn't put any weight on it. I didn't want to yell anymore, becuase I figured they would just think I was screaming about bugs again, so I should just get myself out. But I COULDN'T! I couldn't walk and the only thing around me to grab was the buckthorn! And I didn't want to scoot across the crumbling grave...the idea of falling into it with sunset approaching was just awful. And there weer storms coming, too!

But then I heard Sister Maxine yelling for me, and she wasn't laughing, but I didn't trust her, so I didn't say anything. (Well, I did say something under my breath but that's between me and my confessor!)

And then I heard Brother Brit, and he's never laughed at me, so I did answer him, and both he and Sister Maxine were pushing through the brush. I was really embarassed and explained that I couldn't get up, and Sister Maxine went as white as Sister Perpetua. She and Brother Brit helped me up and when we came out of the woods, Brother Gus, seeing that I couldn't put any weight on my foot, told me that he would help Brother Brit carry me inside but I refused. I preferred to hop as well as I could, and told them that it was fine, I just needed some ice and it would be fine by morning. I don't think anyone believed me, though.

Sister Maxine was very sorry, the spider was fake, and she had no idea I'd go running into the thicket. Brother Brit had seen right away that the spider was fake, but I was too fast as I ran past him.

Well, we hopped into the Monastery, and even Brother Gus and Sister Perpetua followed. Mother was busy, so Brother Gus went and grabbed the ice, and Sister Maxine put a pillow under my foot. It was really painful, and my whole ankle was all bruised-looking and swollen and just moving it almost made me cry, but I didn't want to cry so I didn't.

Brother Brit told me that he thought we should get Mother Frangelico because he thought I should go to the hospital for X-rays. But I didn't want to go. But everyone else agreed. And Sister Maxine and Brother Gus were REALLY REALLY sorry, and said it was their fault, and they would drive me if Mother Frangelico said it was OK to take the car.

Just then, Mother Frangelico came out, thinking to go outside to tell us to come in because of a severe thunderstorm warning (it was a little late...it was already hailing by then, glad we were inside!), and saw the whole situation.

And she said that as soon as the storm let up, we were going to the hospital, and that was the end of the story. So, we went, and it's just a bad sprain but now I'm on crutches! I was going to go on a Nun Run this week (the kind where you visit convents, not where you run miles and miles), but now I can't go until this heals up.

We ran into Father at the hospital..that was one of his obligations. He visits the hospital on Saturday evenings, and nursing homes and stuff, and just happened to walk into the ER just after we got there.

That's a different story. They gave me some medication for pain so now I'm really tired and I'm going to go to sleep now.