The Field Trip was Awesome!

I have pics but can't load them at the moment.  I know.  That stinks. 

But we had a very pleasant bus trip to the Castle on the Hill.  Most of us.  The teacher who had to sit midway back on the bus surrounded by the kids might not have had the same opinion.

It was raining just a bit when we got there but the skies cleared and we had perfect weather for the rest of the trip. 

The kids got a tour of the beautiful monastery that feels like home to me.  I was able to get a lot of gorgeous pictures of the monastery building, grounds and church.  The church went through renovations over the last twenty years so it isn't exactly as I remember it but it is still a breathtaking space.

I found myself crying though.  When we were in the space that was the original church for this community of nuns I was saddened by the condition of the space.  It has been turned into a sitting room in pleasant light pink and rose with white couches.  But the wallpaper is peeling.  The carpet is tired.  I wish I had the access to funds to redo that space for them.  I have no idea what it would cost but it would certainly be a big job because the ceilings are very high and while the space doesn't appear huge, I'm sure that once you get in there to work it is bigger than expected (isn't that how it always goes?)

There was some down time after the tour.  We took the kids out to the grounds.  They had a chance to get pictures and run, literally run, the tower steps.  I ran too.  I hope that wasn't too embarrassing to my daughter.  Then we went down to the cemetery.  Not exactly where I bunch of 7th and 8th grade kids want to be.  But I found the graves for the nuns we used to visit.  I cried a little that my girls didn't get to grow up knowing them--or the monastery as it was when I was a child.  We took some pictures. 

The kids got the chance to participate in noon prayers with the nuns.  There is nothing quiet like listening to a group of nuns sing and pray.  It's such a sweet, pure sound. 

I miss the monastery.  I miss the times we had there when I was such a kid I just assumed it would always be there in the same state.  They had an academy for girls when I was a child but it closed down about ten years ago due to a lack of funds.  It is a quieter place now than it was then which makes it beautiful and yet sad.