Today and yesterday, I spent from 9-3:30 on Zoom in a professional development. I understand as never before, why my students loathed with the passion of all the suns that ever shed light or heat on anything, zoom instruction. It wasn’t that what was presented was bad or poorly organized or problematic, only that Zoom instruction by its nature, agitates because it is not as active as in real life, and you spend the whole time wrestling with the passivity... Read more
So today, I met with my doctor. Karolina Grabowska Dr: How are you feeling? Me: Tired. Dr: What have you been doing? Me: Well, school ended July 17th. I went to a Sheryl Crow concert in Virginia that night. The next day, I took two kids to get haircuts, and we bought shoes. We also cleared out two closets of clothing to donate. Sunday, we celebrated Father’s day with gardening, cooking a Tomahawk steak with a garlic butter, roasted potatoes,... Read more
Photo by Mark Walz Most people remember the starfish story. I did some digging on the internet to find out more. It was written by Loren Eisley. The summary of the story is a whole school of starfish washed up onto the beach and lay dying. One kid on the beach stood throwing as many as possible back into the ocean. An adult watching the child said, “You will never get all of them.” to which the kid agrees. It’s... Read more
School is out. The hormones I’m taking to fight the cancer make me edgy and anxious. It’s hard to focus and the default mood is not my normal chipper self. Concentration is an issue, humor is an issue. I made a list. It includes play drums, read, write, exercise and help teens learn how to drive. I’ve made check lists to help me stay on the list. Why? Because as I said, I forget what I was doing in the... Read more
To be pro-life, one must advocate for the invisible. Who are the invisible? They are the vulnerable. They are the powerless. They are the voiceless. They are the ignored. They are the defenseless. They are the un-useful. They are the incomeless. They are the sick. They are the not likely to get awards. They are the not popular. They are the weak. This listing would include but not be limited to: the homeless, the mentally disabled, the physically confined, the... Read more
Yesterday, we celebrated the graduation of our seniors at my job. Riding back on the bus, teachers relaxed and talked about what we would do this summer. One person lamented that she didn’t know, and I told her how we had a tradition in my house of the list. I know I’ve posted about the list before here, but I didn’t realize how unusual it was until the woman and I talked. So far this summer, we’ve tried to throttle... Read more
The summer I learned to swim, I was exploring underwater at the YMCA, lost in my thoughts somewhere between mermaids and dolphins when I saw someone swimming towards me. It was my dad. He and I smiled at each other underwater, but I admit, it took me a moment to recognize him because I’d been elsewhere. It is a memory of my dad’s smile. It is a memory of me of what my dad looks like when he’s looking at... Read more
Just a reminder to all who want to follow Christ, who want to be disciples. The witness of the fifty including children, killed in Nigeria on Pentecost Sunday could not be more clear. They are martyrs of the faith, who wear crowns in Heaven and know the glory and peace and joy that comes from being fully in the presence of the Holy Trinity. We get to slog it out here in the slow drip of martyrdom for the faith... Read more
In my sojourn through Catholic media, I notice a lot of scorn for whosever is “doing it wrong.” People planning to shred a program or a workshop or a book series, people bashing the Pope or this newspaper or that one, or this media or that one, this group that holds to a tradition, or this one that wrestles with a modern sensibility. It doesn’t seem to matter right or left, people have out the torches and feel justified in... Read more
Everyone knows that nothing makes the not yet grown up set we’re legally obligated to supervise and sustain vanish faster than a sink full of dishes, lawn work or public displays of affection by mom and dad. However, what I did not know until recently, was the power of other adult arenas to motivate my teen and up crew to assist with the first two. For example, take job applications. The concept of a summer job once one teen has... Read more
