About the time my eldest was born, it seemed like everyone was coming down with autism. I’m not sure I’d even heard of such a thing during my youth, and I asked a friend: Why the sudden surge? Improved diagnosis, she explained — think back to the weird kid at school that always got picked on. Ah. There was a darker side to that sudden surge of public disability, and to make my case let’s start with the stories you’ve... Read more
I’ve been following a friend’s adventures getting ready to fight for the USA in the Armored Combat League’s Medieval Combat World Championship. Competition begins tomorrow May 1, Spain time, and continues through the weekend. From the Facebook page: Reminder – Live Tweeting (and updates to Facebook) starting on May 1 for the tournament. #ACL #IMCF #swordfighting Enjoy! Read more
The prospect of death does not make cry. The prospect of choosing between another around of Dr. Maybe’s Office Staff Craziness Circus, or giving up on the local guy and driving two hours down the road to the next nearest guy in the same specialty . . . that makes me cry. Appointment w/ Dr. Maybe is in 9 days, and if ever there were need for the Nine Annoying Things Novena, that need is now. Those who followed me... Read more
If you search Google images for the word “No”, a bazillion variations pop up. If you search Wikimedia, all you get is lovely Nobelium, an element about which I know nothing. It might kill you. Or not. I stink at the word No. My kids charm me, everyone charms me, and I cave. When Lisa Hendey mentioned she was writing a book called The Grace of Yes, I retorted that my husband would burn the book if he saw it... Read more
I was chatting with Rebecca Frech the other week, who is both blessedly familiar with intense fitness trainfully, and dreadfully familiar with chronic illness. One of the ironies of my own recent illness, I told her, was that some of the most useful information came from articles geared towards serious athletes. One of those useful clues has been information on heart rate monitoring as a way to avoid overtraining. The situation normal people face: In the quest to get fit,... Read more
At New Evangelizers, I explain why now is the perfect time for an Easter Egg hunt, deadline: Pentecost. Easter Friday — that’s the solemnity that falls a week after Good Friday — we drove to a park across town to meet friends for egg hunt that actually happened during Easter: I try not to be insufferable about it. If this or that friend desperately wants my child to go hunt eggs mid-Lent, I don’t throw a temper-tantrum. I’ll suspend disbelief... Read more
One more bit of excitement for today: Take a look at the first issue of Pauline Media’s new and gorgeous digital magazine. Current issue is entitled: Trusting God When Life Isn’t Easy. Yes, that’s my article on page 3. I tell the bloody finger story, which is funny, not gory, so you know you want to look. And it’s free — other people paid to make this happen so that you don’t have to. Writing thing: Sr. Marie Paul Curley... Read more
Head’s up, if you were planning to see me or any of the bazillion presenters and keynote speakers at the Midlands Homeschool Convention, today’s the last day for discounted registration. If you live in the Southeast and are homeschooling or thinking about homeschooling, seriously consider attending this particular convention. Reasons I’m thrilled to be a part of it: It’s the best value for your convention dollar going. Nearly a hundred workshops, including a massive special-needs track. The focus is on... Read more
I took a random visit to my Goodreads page as part of a some Catholic Writers Guild business, and learned the big news: My book’s coming out in Spanish this fall! Manual del Manejo de Clase Para Catequistas. I know! I’m going to sound so educated! Dear Catequistas, My Spanish is very, very limited. Love the language, can read it a little and that’s about it. But hey, I’m going to read my whole book in Spanish. You betcha. It’ll... Read more
Add “Obedience” to the long list of Christian topics I write about but personally stink at. It’s an aspirational faith, and anyway, if my writing does nothing else, it amuses the people who know me in real life. When I first became a parent, the concept that my children should obey me, and that I should teach them to obey me, was utterly foreign. I knew you wanted the kids to behave well, but I wasn’t so sure that I... Read more
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