At the start of every summer, I make a list of fun things to do –not so they all get done, but so that if ever the words are uttered, “Mom, I’m bored,” there is an answer. Here’s the follow up. 100) Ice Cream. It’s always summer if you’re eating ice cream. DONE OFTEN. 99) Fireworks (Ditto) DONE! 98) Playing cards. –DONE OFTEN. 97) Going to the pool. NEED TO DO MORE. 96) Going to the library. DOING NEXT Week.... Read more
The state of politics in our nation leaves most sane people exhausted and wondering how we ever could get to a better place. This past week’s Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis reminds us, the answer is always “yes.” Yes, we can become a better people. Yes, we can cooperate with grace and see each person we encounter as Christ in his distressing disguise. Yes, we can reorient our lives so that we are a source of healing to those around us. ... Read more
There’s been a ton of internet ink spilled on the opening ceremonies of the 2024 Olympics. The best take I’ve seen is Simcha Fisher’s, “The Table Where You Sit.” The giant “ah, you’re overreacting” vs. “this is blasphemy” argument ignores the reality. Neither argument addresses the other person, but merely reflects the side of the person speaking. “I like this, so you must be overreacting.” “I hold this sacred, therefore this is blasphemy.” The arguments disregard that people... Read more
To keep me on my toes, my writing coach asked we write a short about our worst day and best day. I opted to look at the actual day –being the contrarian I am, and see it from both perspectives. The number one movie of the week deals with Twisters, but reality pulls you in so many more directions. This week should be happy –and it is. My son turns twenty-five. Three of my children are moving into apartments at... Read more
During the pandemic, we had no option but the virtual mass and it was a soul saver for my spirit. I’d watch the local one of our parish. Sometimes I logged in to view the one from my brother’s high school in Texas, where I knew people I knew were also watching. It kept us connected on a spiritual if not physical level, better than the phone calls and Zoom meetings we tried to orchestrate. Since the pandemic lifted, I’ve... Read more
The other day, I read an Op-ed in the Washington Post, in which the author begged the Almighty to speak to the President. I read it, and thought it sincere. Prayer does that. When we begin to speak to God, or even when we to pretend to do so, we often find ourselves actually speaking to God. It is each heart’s orientation whether we recognize it or not. The truth of our hearts will out. Every moment we recognize something beyond ourselves,... Read more
On July 3rd, we celebrated my fifty-eighth year of life. This past year, I’ve struggled with anemia, and it means no matter how much I rest, I’m tired. Tired is not fun. It means naps are a required part of my day, and I miss those hours I lose to necessary sleep. However, I do have a doctor and she’s keeping me working on treating it –it’s the result of a combo of my medication and prior diagonsises. ... Read more
In the course of writing since 2004, I’ve told some stories more than once, always discovering there was more to learn from those moments than what I’d said before. Today at mass, a favorite gospel story came up, and it reminded me of my own dad’s experience of the storm at sea. Yesterday was his birthday and he would have been eighty-two. The big thing I keep coming back to from that story of when my dad and his fishing... Read more
Recently, I took a quiz from my local paper about where I want to go –and the bottom line is, I want to be by a pool or body of water with little to stop me from doing, or from doing nothing. I grew up with the beach as an expectation and reality, not a possibility. Now, it feels like life is too busy and too full to stop for such a long time, much less to be... Read more
So I wrote this post three days ago and thought I’d scheduled it to be published, but it vaporized into the internet underworld and fortunately, I’d saved some of it. I didn’t realize it hadn’t published until I tried to read it. So here we are, on the feast of the Sacred Heart. I made it to mass because it was my daughter’s end of the school year. She won an award. As a result, I managed my first, first... Read more
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