Friday Five: Time for Palms

Mother Laura says:

Can you believe Daylight Savings Time is here already? It's hard to get used to the new, earlier onset. My family has been getting up and out a little late and a little sleepy in the mornings. (Yeah...us too.)

And can you believe that in two days it will be Palm Sunday for Western Christians? Our Lent is almost over, while our Orthodox sisters and brothers, whose liturgical year follows the older Julian calendar, are just starting theirs. Nicholas did a recent book report on George Washington, and we were surprised to find out that our first President's birthday was originally Feb. 11, since he was born just before the change to the Gregorian calendar. Apparently the change almost caused rioting, as some indignant people were sure that they were being cheated out of eleven days of their lives!

To help you adjust--and enjoy the process--here's a Friday Five about time and transitions....

1. If you could travel to any historical time period, which would it be, and why?

As an almost-was English major, I waver between two choices: Elizabethan England, and high Victorian London. Between the two, I guess I'd go with the nineteenth century because the improvements in sanitation and health care since Elizabeth's day would make it an easier place to visit! Victorian London was a modern society in many ways, and I would enjoy seeing how everyday people lived.

2. What futuristic/science fiction development would you most like to see?

Wouldn't it be convenient if Scotty could just beam you up whenever you were running late?

3. Which do you enjoy more: remembering the past, or dreaming for the future?

I am fond of remembering the past, because so many of my dreams have already come true. But that makes planning and working toward the new dreams a pleasure too.

4. What do you find most memorable about this year's Lent?

I am sorry to say it has gone by in a blur.

5. How will you spend your time during this upcoming Holy Week? What part do you look forward to most?

This will be an extremely busy week at work, as (1) it is Spring Break all over our six-county region, so tout le monde made their children's eligibility evaluation appointments for this week, and (2) we are preparing for our state audit the first week of April, and I have to get all of my files in order before I get on a certain big boat on March 27. So the part I am looking forward to the most is Good Friday, when I am most definitely not working, and plan to spend the whole day at home. We are singing Dale Wood's "A Service of Darkness" that night. It has been a while since I participated in a Tenebrae service, so I'm looking forward to that.

I'm also looking forward to Easter morning, of course, and celebrating with two wonderful anthems, C. V. Stanford's "Ye Choirs of New Jerusalem" and Ralph Vaughn Williams' arrangement of "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name". Then we'll come home and grill a leg of lamb! Marinate the butterflied leg of lamb in olive oil, lemon juice, and chopped fresh rosemary or oregano. Drain the marinade, then rub the lamb with more herbs and grill it to medium/medium rare. It's a fabulous Easter dinner. If you have a vegetable grilling basket you could cook some asparagus alongside. I think I'll make a lemony rice pilaf too...and maybe some strawberry shortcake!