I met with my spiritual director, Debby, yesterday morning. Have I mentioned yet that she’s my hero? I have this amazing gift of becoming a weep machine every time I talk about anything that matters to me. So, in our few Tuesday mornings together, poor Debby has dealt with way more tears than any spiritual director probably signs up for. Yesterday was less teary than our meeting two weeks ago. That’s probably because when I met with her last I was in the thick of prayerlessness, feeling … [Read more...]
It’s Thankful Tuesday Time!
June 28, 2010 By 7 Comments
We haven't had a Thankful Tuesday list for too long, friends. So, I'm starting it out and you're finishing it off. Ok? My son is sleeping again! After lamenting about his sleep habits last week: which included round-offs out of the crib, angry screaming and near hyperventilation, I took the sleep book's advice and made a sign about our rules for bedtime (stay in bed, close your eyes, be very quiet, etc). I even drew some super cute pictures to go with each rule. Despite my son's wrathful … [Read more...]
Remember
June 28, 2010 By 2 Comments
Yesterday, the sermon was about Communion and how it challenges us towards community, memory and hope. What I can’t get over is my pastor’s description of what it means to “remember.” As we looked at the passage of scripture in 1 Corinthians 11, he explained that when Paul exhorts the church in Corinth to take the bread and wine of The Lord’s Supper “in remembrance” of Christ, just as Jesus commanded, the definition of remembering is a bit more carnal than we may think at … [Read more...]
Great is Thy Faithfulness
June 24, 2010 By 11 Comments
As I write this it is almost midnight, June 24th. Two years ago at this time, I was in the final stages of labor, after more than a day of working to get that baby out of me. This morning, after his bath time, I watched him running through the house naked, that same body that tore out of me has now lost its chunky baby butt in favor of the skinny boy butt. Those fat thighs gained three inches in the past month, I swear. The kid’s a giant (Hohorst genes). And I feel continually shocked that … [Read more...]
50/50?
June 23, 2010 By 6 Comments
Tonight I left Chris at home to feed, play with and put August to bed while I drove out to Oakland to help some friends pack their apartment. I came home to a kitchen that was cleaned (even the stove top sparkled!), bills that were a bit more organized, and some laundry still unfolded in the basket. (He's wonderful but not perfect.) Last year a friend of mine interviewed us as a couple about our "roles" for one of her classes. As I answered her questions, I was embarrassed at how traditional my … [Read more...]
Adjusting
June 22, 2010 By 6 Comments
It’s been one week since we arrived home from a ten-day trip out east to see family and friends. I don’t like coming home. Of course, I like getting back into routine. I like being in my own home with my own stuff. I like the simplicity of non-vacation life. What I don’t like is saying goodbye. I don’t like the shock of quietness in my little apartment with August all day. I don’t like the reminder that my relationships out here are little seedlings while my relationships where … [Read more...]
Julie Bowen and Our Bellies
June 17, 2010 By 6 Comments
A couple of weeks ago, I noticed a link on Twitter to an article about a photo of actor Julie Bowen breastfeeding her twins. There was some fuss made about her desire to show the photo when she appeared on The View. The talk show made a decision not to display it, which had some breastfeeding advocates up in arms about our culture’s willingness to display breasts when it comes to sexuality but hide from them when breasts are actually being used for their intended purpose. I was drawn to this … [Read more...]
For Phil and Brother Shad
June 16, 2010 By 2 Comments
Tonight as Chris, freshly home from work, sat on our bed, removing his shoes while August climbed on the comforter around him, he said: “I have sad news.” “Ah, man.” I said, thinking his sad news would involve his having to work when we’d already scheduled something wonderful. It wasn’t that. “I got a call today from Phil’s wife, Jennifer. He died. The funeral’s later this week.” Phil was our next-door neighbor in our town outside Philadelphia. A small African American man … [Read more...]
Thankful Tuesday: Husband Edition
June 15, 2010 By 1 Comment
Yes, it's already evening on the east coast and I haven't written since Thursday. But, despite my failures at posting, it's never too late to celebrate Thankful Tuesday. Today I want to speak gratefully about the life of my main squeeze, aka spouse, aka father of my child: the always dapper Christopher Hohorst, who finally joined me this past Sunday in the realm of the thirties. (I have to admit I love going into ages 10 months ahead of the man, getting that year sorted out and cushioning the … [Read more...]
Coming Home
June 10, 2010 By 1 Comment
"Coming Home" is such a cliché. Remember in Sleepless in Seattle when Tom Hanks describes how he loved his deceased wife (I know his words by heart): "It was like coming home. Only to, to no home I'd ever known before....I was just reaching out to take her hand..." Ahhh. Sleepless in Seattle. I will not blame an overused metaphor on you. You are as delicious as dark chocolate and decaf black tea with milk. No. Coming home became a cliché the same way that ever other cliché came to … [Read more...]
Follow Patheos
Family: