I wasn’t particularly offended a couple of months ago when my 4-year-old told me that she wishes Aunt Sarah were her mom because Aunt Sarah is “more fun.” For...
Parenting
It’s not without some degree of pride, and equal parts delight, that my children’s most requested bedtime song at the moment is the Litany of the Saints. I...
Years ago, I stood with my husband Bruce in our parish church for the Easter Vigil. People around me were singing, but I was mute, an ache in my throat. We had...
When we recently named our baby boy “Jude,” I swore to myself I wouldn’t be singing the Beatles’ top-selling single to him around the clock. It just seemed, I...
Second grade was the year I fell in love with going to school. After being afraid of my kindergarten teacher and subsequently being in her class again as she...
One thing I didn’t expect about working at a parish named Our Lady of Sorrows was the frequency with which friends, acquaintances, and strangers, upon hearing...
I don’t know if you’ve ever been in charge of feeding a toddler, but it is a challenge. Last week, my kid loved bananas. Today he cannot stand them. Pasta, one...
In my years since becoming a parent, I’ve heard myself, not infrequently, repeating the aphorisms and one-liners that formed the soundtrack of my childhood...
My mother didn’t want to homeschool us, but my father insisted. When she resisted, he manipulated her into continuing. I pondered this while I read an article...
Five of my nine pregnancies were the result of trying to use NFP (natural family planning) with a man who became drunk and abusive towards me and the children...