Today was a beautiful day, nearly seventy degrees. It was a vast contrast to the bitter cold days earlier this week that brought with them an ice storm and a day off from school. This past Monday evening, all of the weather forecasters warned us that Tuesday would be a miserably cold day with storms moving in and making travel more and more treacherous as the day progressed. This poor prognosis for the day’s weather caused our local school district…
Back in March of 2007 I posted a list of things that suggest that your child might be a nerd. Two years later, there is no question that I have raised not one but two nerds. Below is confirmation that Offspring No. 2 is definitely a nerd. Nerdy Friend at 8:20pm January 10Hahaha…I miss being a nerd. Offspring No. 2 at 8:21pm January 10Have you STOPPED being a nerd in the past two hours? Nerdy Friend at 8:22pm January 10Yes!…
For seventeen years, every morning of the academic year has involved taking children to school. This time would have been cut short if Brooke had chosen to get her driver’s license when she turned sixteen. She didn’t – and at age nineteen still hasn’t. Fortunately, she lives in Chicago where mass transit negates the need for a car, a license, insurance, snow tires . . .Erin, on the other hand, has been ready to drive since . . .well, Brooke…
Earlier today I was reading a post by another blogger whose work, both writing and photography, I admire. She writes honestly and openly about the joys of raising a family as well as the accompanying trials and tribulations. In this particular post, she says that there are some topics that she chooses not to address on her blog because as she says, “Well, they are mine.” In particular, she mentions her faith and religion in this category of taboo subjects….
Often in the parting of two people, whether it be through divorce, a need for friends to go their separate ways, or even death, there is the potential for the separation to be surrounded, or even engulfed, in anger. Several of those who know the circumstances of my divorce have asked if I am angry at Mike. I can say with absolute certainty that the answer is “No.” First of all, I see no real reason to be angry. And…
The bookstores are filled with stories of those who in times of personal strife suffer a crisis of faith. I must admit that I have never been fond of such stories. My idealistic self has always thought that in our darkest hours faith was the only thread that would hold things together, that when humanity fails us, God’s love will prevail. My suspicions and hopes have been proven true in the last few months. Life has been on the chaotic…
In this world where we seem to be going paperless – email instead of handwritten notes, online bank and credit card statements, even virtual checks – why do we all still get so much junk mail? Most of the cleaning I do when I attempt to straighten things up around here is the removal of junk mail from every horizontal surface in the house. There is a lot of it. I often wonder what the success rate for junk mail…
I am part of a women’s group at church that has been meeting since early in the summer to study Christian formation. During our four months together, those of us in the group have gotten to know each other and ourselves a little better. The course consists of a six book series. We began the second book today. Someone (none of us currently in the group) decided that it would be a good idea to bring in a new person…
Tonight I went to Target to get a few necessities like toothpaste and deodorant. I was with BK who was looking for bulk birthday cards to send to the 100+ people in our parish who celebrate October birthdays. As we approached the stationary aisle, I saw a wash of red clearance tags. This is our lucky day, I thought to myself. Have you ever really thought about how ridiculously expensive cards are? The average Hallmark greeting card costs between $2.50…
It is September 11th, again. Seven years after the attack on America, we as a nation are still attempting to heal from the deep wounds inflicted in each of us on that day. Talking heads around the country have expounded on how we should acknowledge this day each year, what the permanent memorial should and shouldn’t be, and how best to go forward as a nation. All of this chatter comes from raw emotions still unresolved seven years after that…