Nuns on the Roof

I bought this picture on a recent trip to Guatemala with my daughter.  I've always been fascinated by these saintly women.  Who knows what they were doing on the roof??  Maybe searching for more....

Finding this photo again reminded me of another time, in the not so distant past, when I was soooo lost.  I thought my life was  over and I was grasping to find the NEW me. The me who would be bullet proof against life.  

Making the appointment with the very kind Fr Gus was the easy part. With the purest of hearts and with my eyes brimming with tears, I told Fr. Gus  I wanted to be a nun.  I want to join the sisterhood, I said with such CONVICTION.  After his eyes rolled back in his head where they were supposed to be AND when he regained his composure AND when  he was finally able to speak, he calmly and tenderly said, Oh...............................I don't think that's such a good idea.  What???  Hmmmm.  Oh!  Is is because I'm not Catholic???  Because I'll convert.  I'm Episcopalian!  I'm what y'all call Catholic-Light.  So, it's not a problem.  Not a problem for me AT ALL.  But you see, he said.  It is a problem for me.  I don't think the sisterhood is ready for you.  BUT FR. GUS, how can that be??  I'M SO READY FOR THEM.  He wisely suggested that I  wait one year and  meet with him again and then tell him that I still want to be a nun. 

I ran into Fr. Gus at the annual Knights of Columbus fish fry the following year.  He came and found me and I grabbed him and hugged him so tightly ( thinking, oh no! am I supposed to be hugging a priest, because I'm not really sure?).  His little mischievous eyes told me what was coming next:  So Sheila, are you ready to be a nun?  I laughed out loud.  Too loud!  I knew they would never be ready for me and I also knew I would never be ready for them.

I'm still fascinated by the Sissies, as my friend sweetly calls them.  Especially the Nuns on the Roof.  They are a constant reminder of the great time I had in Guatemala, when I took my daughter to celebrate a new decade of her life.  Her 30th birthday.  Thank you Sissies!