Well, yesterday was my first official day of candidacy with the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity, better known as the Redwood City Franciscans in California. My friends asked me all kinds of questions about "going off to the convent." So, here's the recap of my first "exciting" day.
I should have started packing the day before, but ended up working until 10:30 PM on Halloween night -- trying to finish things at the last minute at Clara's House (a free clinic for the "voiceless and vulnerable in Sacramento; for more info go to here) before I left for good. So, Thursday morning, I started packing around 9:00 AM. Took a break at noon to go to Mass for All Saints day. Came back, and finished packing and cleaning my bedroom. I started the drive from the Sacramento area to Redwood City at 3:00 PM. Because of traffic, I arrived at the house in Redwood City a couple of minutes before 6:00 PM. It was great timing for dinner followed by evening prayer. It was bad timing for unpacking the car because it was dark. So, I just brought in a few clothes and planned to bring in the rest the next day (today, actually).
You have to understand that the last time I moved was 1977. Now, I had thought that I had gotten my life pared down to a carload of essentials. And yes, the car was fully, fully packed. Good thing I didn't have a passenger because that person would have had to sit on the roof! . So, as I pulled up to the curve in front of the house, Meg opened the door and came out to welcome me before I could even get out of the car. Carol and Meg were so welcoming last night -- even though I was four or five hours later than my originally anticipated arrival time. Anyway, Meg helped me carry a few bags into the house and into my bedroom. It's then that I thought that what I had brought would never fit! I spent the night dreaming about out how to arrange stuff. The night ended with firing up my laptop and reading a few emails, then to bed. So ended my first day. It was more tiring than exciting.
