Dear Mom, I know things have been rough between us lately. I know that you have been been emotionally volatile about the direction I’ve chosen to take my life. I understand that you don’t agree with it and that you would prefer I go in a more “socially acceptable” direction. But this is not a decision I have made lightly, and the truth is, it’s a choice I’ve made for you as much as for me. Mom, it’s time that... Read more
I learned something really important today: a good friend lets you clean up your own messes. Not all the time, maybe. And not in totality. But it’s actually charitable to let someone take care of their own shite. Literally, in this case. Today I went next door to have coffee with my friend and let our kids play together. Liam was thrilled, because she has three older boys and they have *excellent* boy toys. Lincoln was thrilled because he’s thrilled... Read more
The Ogre: “Babe, I love you, but we have to be up in five and a half hours. We must stop talking and go to bed.” Me: “I know! I know it’s super late and we’re both super tired. I just really, really love hanging out with you.” The Ogre: “Trust me, I know. I really love hanging out with me too.” Read more
Among the men and women Pope Francis was set to unite in marriage were Catholics who have been living together as well as couples who already have children.The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, will preside over his first wedding ceremony as pontiff during a nuptial Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Sept. 14. The event, which will see 20 couples from the Diocese of Rome celebrate the Sacrament of Marriage, was organized by the vicariate of Rome.“Those who... Read more
Sam Rocha sent me an advance copy of Late to Love at the beginning of August. Unlike 99% of reviews I write, this one is not shamefully late because I totally forgot about the review material until I unearthed it from a stack of mail I had been carefully avoiding. I stuck the cd in our car’s 6-disc changer as soon as we got home from Texas, and listened to it on every trek back and forth to Naples. For... Read more
So I went on a silent retreat this weekend. Trust me, you’re not as shocked as I was. But I went anyway, and over the course of 42 excruciatingly silent hours, God and I had the following conversation: Friday, 9:10 pm God: “You have a great capacity for love.” Me: “What? Er, uh, thanks, God, but You know it terrifies me when You give me compliments.” God: “Let me rephrase that. I have given you a great capacity for love.”... Read more
Remember how I talked about karma the other day? Remember how when I don’t like something I usually say it should be “lit on fire”? Remember when I actually combined those two things in one post? This morning, I was industriously preparing dinner to put in the slow cooker like a good housewife. The sun was shining, I had walked the girls to school then taken the dog for a walk, I had enough time to make the bed before... Read more
If there’s anything I’ve learned in my 8.5 years of parenting, it’s that the fervency with which I decry certain aspects of modern American parenting directly correlates to how loudly I will be able to hear God laughing later on, when I eat my words. When I was pregnant with Sienna, we laid down all these rules like, “no pink. No frills. No tiaras. Never anything princess ever upon pain of death.” That wasn’t a huge deal for Sienna, since... Read more
Is what I thoughtlessly told Sienna yesterday when her “clothes that can get wet” ended up being a white t-shirt and white pants. Lucky for me, she was so excited about the prospect of pouring ice water over our heads that she didn’t even ask what a wet t-shirt contest is, deo gratias. Our good friends from California, the Healys, challenged our family to the ice bucket challenge. We accepted — with only a brief discussion* of the oxymoronic qualities... Read more
I’m officially the worst blogging friend ever, y’all. When I was at Edel (dancing embarrassingly in ways that made my sister cringe for me when I re-created my moves in her living room) I got a message from the Anchoress and immediately squealed like a fangirl at a One Direction concert. I’ve been super excited about the contents of that message ever since, and waiting impatiently for opportunity to spill the beans. Then that opportunity came and went while I... Read more
Barefoot and Pregnant
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