Gone Sluggin’

As you read this, I’m on the road with my 18 year old high school senior Adam. We’re headed to the coast for the day to attend a college admissions event at UC Santa Cruz. The home of the Banana Slugs is honestly not high on either of our lists, but a road trip to one of Adam’s “safety schools” and a visit to a city we haven’t really seen before sounded like a fun way to spend the day. While we’re there, I hope to sneak in a visit to Holy Cross Church at Mission Santa Cruz, a mission I’ve always wanted to visit.

Mission Santa Cruz was founded September 25, 1791 by Father Ferm ín Francisco de Lasuén, the successor of Father Junípero Serra. “Santa Cruz” means “Holy Cross” in Spanish. The full Spanish name of the mission is “Misión la exaltación de la Santa Cruz,” named after a feast day in the Church calendar which occurs on September 14: The Exaltation of the Holy Cross. For more information, click here.

Adam and I are a few months into his college search process. Along the way, there have been heated discussions, moments of enlightenment, a lot of long nights at Panera sucking down wifi and coffee refills, and already at least one early admission letter. All of the parties involved in this particular college discernment process have strong feelings which at this point are not in perfect alignment. We’ve agreed that at this point our job is to investigate all of the options — now is not the time for decision making. It’s the time to learn, to explore, to put your best foot forward in the application process and to leave a lot of trust in God’s infinite wisdom.

So I hope you enjoy your Saturday as much as I know I will, spending the day in the company of my favorite teenager. If you catch a score on the Notre Dame game, feel free to tweet it to me (@LisaHendey) and make sure you too find time for a little rest and relaxation today.

And don’t worry, if I see a real “banana slug” I’ll definitely share a photo!