It is no surprise that my personal mission statement includes this line:
"work hard, play hard, pray hard ... sleep well."
I will sleep well tonight because today we prayed and played ... and, thanks to hard work, we kept the secret & shocked the students and high school faculty when we announced after an all-school mass in the Cathedral that ... TODAY IS CONGE!
I will never out-grow the joy of Congé ... relay races, an all-school photo, cache-cache, Congé cakes, and a colourful t-shirt for every child and adult - it was awesome. My first congé was in October of 1976 on the Feast of Mater Admirabilis. I was in Grade 9 and got to be on the planning committee - we served 4 kinds of pink ice-cream that day! I'm still that young Grade 9 girl at Duchesne, full of school spirit, and excited beyond words for the thrill of a Sacred Heart tradition that dates back to 1800.
I want to thank Stephanie, Jessica, Kelly, Maura, Shauna, Heather, and Pat for the quiet months of planning that made today so special. Our parents and vendors adjusted lunch service, Donald made sure all elementary students had milk in their homerooms, Brian hung the Congé banner. Pat had colourful napkins to go with the cakes, our 4-5 year olds set the tone with their ongoing chant "con-ge, con-ge, con-ge...." as they gave high five to all of the Gr. 1-12 students upon return from the Cathedral. I am grateful that every cool Gr. 12 girl and boy is still young enough to don a t-shirt and fully entered into the spirit to make it a fabulous day for everyone.
At one point during a hotly contested game of cache-cache, I was huddled under Ms. Scott's desk with Rachel in Grade 4. They were after us, and the Principal's Office seemed the only option for hiding. I looked at Rachel and thought - What am I doing? Though my knees were not happy, I thought - I'm playing with the kids & teaching them a tradition that must be carried forward. I can call this work. I asked Rachel if she thought her father was having as much fun today at his job!
The coordination of events was outstanding. Our liturgy committee did an amazing job, our students led the music and prayers, proclaimed the word, and served in many ways. Steve Tugwell expertly organized the relays - no small accomplishment!! Barb orchestrated the photo & then posted a bunch of pictures outside the gym. Teachers stepped up to lead activities and a good time was had by all! Our theme this year "We've Got Spirit!" was on display in every way.
I must say - it ranks among the best of Conge's since I entered Sacred Heart as a student 38 years ago! To top off the day, our Jr. and Sr. basketball teams both won their home games this evening.
My Happy Heart sends love and gratitude.
Now, I need some sleep!
