I hate talking about politics. This is odd, because I got my reputation, insofar as I have one, by talking about politics. I became a blogger for Patheos, for reasons I still don’t understand, in 2016. The inimitable Sam Rocha saw my walls of text on my Facebook page and somehow decided I should post them on Patheos instead, and suddenly here I was. The only thing I knew how to write was about myself, and the name of... Read more
Just after I got depressed, I got sick. I am sick so much less often than I used to, it blindsided me, I was in bed with bad fatigue for hours. I used to be fatigued almost every single day, back before my poly-cystic ovary syndrome diagnosis, before the doctor prescribed medication and ketosis for keeping the symptoms under control. Adrienne remembers me as the exhausted parent who had to spend hours in bed after every outing. So at... Read more
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke: On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully. He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than... Read more
It was the one-year anniversary of my car accident, the only accident I’ve ever had, my first and only traffic ticket, the only blot on my record. I had been so absentminded with panic and fear of the escalating situation with our stalking, harassing neighbor, that I got into a fender bender on that nightmare stretch of the freeway near Weirton. I should not have been driving that day at all. That means it was one week from the... Read more
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably already know that President Joe Biden has officially released his plan for student debt relief. It is not, in my opinion, an excellent plan. The ten to twenty thousand dollars is not going to even dent my student debt balance. It’s doing hardly anything for my debt from my failed attempt at graduate school, though the new rules about interest and what counts as “discretionary income” are encouraging. Deciding to study... Read more
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke: Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” He answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking... Read more
It was time for McFluff’s monthly bath and manicure. McFluff is the family guinea pig. His other names are Fluffy, Piggy, Pig, Pigface, Piggity-Pig-Pig-Pig, and Poor Starving Pig Who Hasn’t Eaten in Days. He is Adrienne’s constant companion. He even came with us in a travel cage when we went to Columbus last month. We’re trying to trim McFluff’s nails every two weeks now: one manicure to get the four toes on each front paw and one manicure to get... Read more
I went to the garden to pick peppers. Something yellow and black flitted out of the weeds over the Four Sister patch, too quickly for me to see what it was, as I rounded the corner. Was it a Swallowtail butterfly? Or a bumblebee, a gigantic one as big as my fist? As I got closer, two more of the same creature flew away, and I got a closer look. They were Baltimore orioles, gold and black birds, one... Read more
The first thing that happened when I got home from Columbus was a miracle. A few friends pulled together to gift me the small amount I needed to keep that one student loan from going to collections after all, as an early birthday present. I’ll be in debt for my failed attempt at graduate school for the rest of my life, but that one irritating little loan from undergrad, from the pleasant university near Columbus I actually liked, will... Read more
On Twitter, the formerly Catholic talking head Joseph Sciambra had something to say about parenting. You may recall that Joseph Sciambra is a former gay porn actor who got religion; he used to be a Catholic who wrote about how terrible it is to be gay in Catholic publications, but he’s apparently recently become Russian Orthodox without changing his shtick. Sciambra wrote: “The day your child comes out as LGBTQ-is the day your life changes. Start: 1. Praying. My dad... Read more
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