Harvey Millican's Blog: Musings of a Trad Dad

“ And God said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature in its kind, cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth, according to their kinds. And it was so done.  And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds, and cattle, and every thing that creepeth on the earth after its kind. And God saw that it was good.” – Gen. 1:24-25

About an hour ago, I had to put my dog down. Buddy, the irascible and very temperamental Jack Russell-Chihuahua mix who came into my life thirteen years ago because my mother-in-law was in the hospital and I was too lazy to keep driving over to her house to feed him – had reached the end of his life.

I did not want a dog. Instead I got a constant companion. And although I know he literally ceased to exist (there is no dog heaven) this afternoon, this was so very hard.

God knew what He was doing when He made them. He knew us humans would be captivated by them and love them. He knew that they make cute faces and we would fall in love. He knew they would bark at the mailman and we would say, “Nice job!” He knew that they would curl up next to us in bed and protect us from all the bad things in the shadows.

He created the beasts of the earth. And He saw that they were good.

I will miss my little friend.

Yes, even Christmas – my favorite season – must come to an end.

What you are looking at in this picture is the box that contains the 900 LEDs that have proudly stood attached to my 20’ flag pole these past number of weeks.

As the lights are in the box, that means they are no longer lighting up my neighborhood. This was the very last thing to come down signifying that today is the feast of the Purification and the traditional end of the Christmas season.

My neighbors, who have long since taken their lights down, probably think I am insane. They may be correct; but I will honor the Christmas season for every minute of its worth. 

For the handful of you who read these pages… If you read yesterday, you know. I spoke to my sister this morning. I thanked her. Gratitude. I woke up this morning in my own bed. I was alive and in one piece. Yes, there are titanium screws in my spine but so what? My dog was curled up at my side. My beautiful wife was asleep next to me. My children slumbered in their beds. I have a home, a life, a family. And I shed a tear of thanksgiving. She saved my life that night. Because of her I am here. And the life I live is because she did what she did.

You never know what God has in store for you – whether it be to do something great or to do something heroic so that someone somewhere generations removed can do something great.

I didn’t get to her grave this year. Next year is 45 years. I will plan on that.

This is… a tough week for us.

Mother of Good Counsel, pray for us!

If there was ever a motivation to try to live one’s life in accordance with God’s law – loving Him, meditating daily on His passion and death, seeking the Truth for He IS Truth, honoring His Most Blessed Mother for no man could love her more than He Himself does, staying confessed, and praying minute by minute to remain faithful to Him in one’s state in life… If there was such a motivation it might be this.

I want to see my twin sister again.

I want to learn all about heaven from her.

I want to see all the instances where her prayers prevented me from evil and where they motivated me to good.

I want to say hello to her even though in the confusion of the moment we never said goodbye.

Sunday, February 1st at 2 AM ET marks 44 years since I last saw her. We were four years-old. Our home was engulfed in flames. In His Providence, God saw fit that my guardian angel should direct me into the arms of our older sister. In His Providence, He saw fit to shepherd my twin sister to her eternal reward. And two days later, our six year-old brother. And two days after that our ten year-old brother.

Years later I would read something that Fulton Sheen wrote that put it in perspective.

(Paraphrasing but not much): “Sometimes, the Good Shepherd will remove the littlest lamb(s) from the flock and carry it up to the top of the hill to greener pastures. He does this not because he is spiting the other sheep. He does this so that they will set their gaze on top of the hill and follow.”

May God bless you all and please stay confessed. You know not the day nor the hour.

And please keep two people in your prayers today – my dear mom who endured so much and still continues to share her warmth, love, and deep Catholic faith at the age of 88, who has outlived her husband and three more adult sons; and my sister Susan whom the Holy Ghost used that dark night to save the lives of her younger brothers and sisters. She broke half the bones in her body that night. Without her, these words don’t exist. And without their example, the faith would not live in me.

When your wife whispers after morning Mass, “Can you give us a hand?”

Anything for the parish…

There was a line in an old episode of Kingof the Hill where Hank perfectly sums up so many things. Basically, Bobby has joined a Christian youth megachurch and Hank doesn’t like the way things are going so he confronts the “youth pastor”, a 20-something skateboarder with long hair, tattoos, and an electric guitar. Take a look:

https://youtu.be/oPwaqaOcAyE?si=MzZDh5QX2Hn77yNW

“You’re just making rock and roll worse…”

I was recently talking with a friend about the TSA. Seems this friend didn’t know the history of that agency and how after 9-11 th federal government did what they like to do and federalized a bunch of wageys by giving them blue shirts and the ability to make the average air travelers life a nightmare.

To which, he responded,

“So they didn’t make air travel safer, they just gave aggressive retarded people authority.”

So much better than the Hank Hill line and really sums up a lot (*cough* Roman Curia *cough*).

I’m traveling again. This time an intra-state roadtrip for work. Keep me in your prayers, please.