We stayed in Columbus two days longer than I’d expected. This wasn’t because I wanted to. It was because of a disaster. The Neighborhood Trolley was totaled and undriveable, a story I’ll tell another time. The car already had only a year or so left in it, and Columbus put it to death in spectacular fashion. I couldn’t even sell it for parts because the title to the car was in a drawer back in Steubenville, three hours’ drive... Read more
We went to the downtown library. We’re still in Columbus until Friday afternoon, watching my friend’s dog, but we don’t have money to do anything fun this time. We’re having our meals in the house and playing in the yard quite a bit. McFluff is actually hiding at Holly the witch’s house because this dog is a squirrel dog who wouldn’t be a very good housemate for a fat guinea pig. She puts him outside in her hens’ old... Read more
On the eleventh of September, When ages beyond number had run their course from the creation of the world, when God in the beginning created heaven and earth, and formed man in his own likeness; when century upon century had passed since the Almighty set his bow in the clouds after the Great Flood, as a sign of covenant and peace; Countless millennia since Abraham, our father in faith, came out of Ur of the Chaldees; Countless centuries since... Read more
I went to run errands with Adrienne. It was the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, a feast I’ve never known how to celebrate even in good years– and especially not this year when I am permitting myself to question everything. The people who hurt me most in all the world have been devoted to the Virgin Mary. I never know what to say to her. I didn’t know what to say today either. The stalking neighbor who harassed us for... Read more
It’s been hard to think about Jesus lately, but I was meditating on Him today. I place the blame for this on Adrienne, and my bad taste in music. Adrienne likes to stay up late and sleep way in. She will make a good college student someday. She hates loud music, so I’ve developed a torturous routine for waking her up for homeschooling. First I ask nicely, and go downstairs and wait. Then I come back up and pull... Read more
Once, we went to Hershey Park. I think I was about nine that summer. That theme park is a few hours from my grandparents house in Maryland, a good place for a day trip. She’d decided to take us all to the park that day. I said I didn’t want to go because I don’t like noise and overstimulation, but my father had taken me aside and chided me for whining. Granny was generous. She got tickets for the... Read more
On Sunday, as you know, I was sick. On Monday and Tuesday, the horrible drowsiness from the new powdered supplement slacked off and the depression went with it, so I scrubbed the tub and cleaned the bathroom. People with chronic illness know the massive sense of accomplishment that comes with cleaning the bathroom. Cleaning the bathroom is a tour de force. Cleaning the bathroom is climbing Mount Everest. Cleaning the bathroom is doing the kessel run in less than... Read more
“Grooming” is a word that a certain set of people have become fond of, lately. If you’re on social media in any capacity, you’ve surely seen it. People will refer to a gay person minding their own business as a “groomer,” trying to paint them as a person preparing to sexually abuse a child. They’ll call school teachers “groomers” for giving kids access to library books, or for calling a child “they” if the child prefers it to “he... Read more
Hey folks, This isn’t a real post, this is just me holding out my hat for tips. Steel Magnificat is the vast majority of my family’s income right now. I get a very small paycheck for clicks garnered in the United States and nothing for clicks from most other countries. That check has been coming every couple of months lately and sometimes it isn’t even three figures. The rest of the money I get for the blog is from... Read more
It’s been a month since the meltdown with my grandmother and aunts. I’ve been thinking about that situation every single day since then. I’ve felt guilty and I’ve stewed about what I could have possibly done. I’ve burned at the thought of what my family was saying about me, at their reunion the second week of August. I wondered for the thousandth time if I could explain myself more clearly and they’d finally understand what happened. And earlier today, I... Read more
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