He and I stare down at the freshly laid gravestone, edged by spring-green grass. “When people come into our office for this,” he trails off, shielding his eyes from the morning sunshine, his weathered face suddenly young in disbelief. “It’s the absolute worst when this happens,” he shakes his head, unable to speak the words… Read More
When your children encounter death in a personal way, you cannot protect them from pain. You can consult experts. You can rehearse what to say. You can pray for guidance. But eventually you have to sit down and have hard conversations. Over the years, we’ve had more conversations about death and grief with our kids… Read More
I’m mad. Spitting mad. Irate, outraged, furious, frustrated, livid, fuming. Angry doesn’t have enough synonyms to sum up the fury I feel at the most recent sex abuse scandals to shake the Catholic Church. I can heap adjective upon adjective, yet everything falls flat in the face of depraved evil and systemic injustice. The men who… Read More
The book is done. Edits complete, permissions secured, page proofs underway. We spent months writing on miscarriage, my spouse and I. Grief and loss, marriage and parenting, sacraments and prayer. All the themes of our life together, wrestled and woven into words on a page. Writing a book together was a work I never expected… Read More
Two years ago, I had two hearts beating beneath my own. Twins. I was overwhelmed most of the pregnancy, to be honest. Worry multiplies with multiples. How would we care for two babies at once? What would life look like with five kids? Deeper, darker questions slid underneath, slimy and squirming. How could I love… Read More
This post contains affiliate links. Three years ago, I said yes. (A small yes. More like a “sure, why not?”) I never expected it would change my life. When a friend asked if I’d be willing to check out another blogger’s new idea – to create an online ministry devoted to Scripture for Catholic women –… Read More
It’s steadily fall now. Even I can admit it, a summer-loving girl who hates to kick the flipflops to the dusty back of the closet. The light is lower each afternoon, the mornings darker. The seasons have turned again. I’m trying to soak up what’s good about this one. The splash of colors on trees,… Read More
Right now are the waning days of pregnancy. Contractions come and go. Intense, then subsiding. I can’t walk without waddling. Sleep is fitful, restless. Comfort is elusive. I wake a hundred times. Every morning the kids ask if the baby will be born today. No one knows. These are my last days to carry. To… Read More
I have two items on my to-do list that I can’t get done: Order gravestone. Buy car seat. Every week they stare back at me blankly from my planner. Five simple words. One phone call to make. One purchase to click. Every week I turn away. I can’t tackle either one. (Yet.) Both must get… Read More
Triduum is my favorite time of year. Except when it’s turned upside down. In a house of one spouse with walking pneumonia, one child with pinkeye, two children with stomach bugs, and everyone home sick for Holy Week bringing an apocalyptic return of morning sickness which lands the other (pregnant) spouse in the hospital for dehydration on Holy… Read More