Most nights before our kids go to bed, we have a family prayer time. It usually begins with William prostrate on the floor (who knows how he decided that the best way to pray is face to the ground and eyes closed). He usually says, “Thank you for our day. Thank you for our family.” Then he adds another line that rhymes. Something like, “Palalooakay. Moozywoozyramily.” We can’t vouch for his sincerity. Penny almost always defers. “No, you first Mom….... Read more
For Mother’s Day this year, my husband gave me one of those priceless gifts: the gift of time. The idea was that I would go away for two days and night to a retreat center. I’d have endless hours to think and pray and journal and get my spiritual house in order. Then the reality of being a nursing mother returned, so I’m now just going to have two daylong retreats within a mile of our house and sleep at... Read more
Penny asks repetitive questions. So when, for instance, her dad was out of town last week, she persisted, “Where’s Dad?” “Pen, you know the answer to that.” “No I don’t.” “Yes you do.” “Richmond.” “Right.” A few moments pass. “Mom, where’s Dad?” I finally figured out that she wasn’t asking because she didn’t know the answer. She was asking because she didn’t like the answer. She wanted Dad to be in the next room over, not a plane ride away.... Read more
Last week I was interviewed on the John and Kathy Show of Word FM, a Christian radio station in Pittsburgh. The interview came as a follow up to the award I received (along with my friend Ellen Painter Dollar) from the Evangelical Press Association in response to my article, “Consindering Curing Down Syndrome with Caution.” It’s a 15-minute interview that you can listen to in full here. One quotation from the conversation: “Who are you in God’s eyes? What do... Read more
I was changing Marilee’s diaper today and I remembered that I had meant to try cloth diapers this time around. I had the same lofty thoughts when William was born. I did some research and talked with my friend Michelle who uses cloth diapers and thought about all the economic and ecological reasons why it made sense to go that route… And then I paid my money for a heck of a lot of Pampers. And here I am again,... Read more
Is it possible to have sex without having a relationship? Dannah Gresh, writing for CNN’s belief blog, says no. I recommend reading her entire essay, “There’s Nothing Brief About a Hookup.” To quote her at length: [Oxytocin] is released during sexual expression. A tiny dose is downloaded during intimate skin-to-skin contact; a much bigger dose is released during orgasm. In fact, the only other time as much oxytocin is released as during orgasm is when a mother is breastfeeding her... Read more
We were sitting around the dinner table and Peter reached over and rubbed Penny’s arm. “Why you do that, Dad?” she asked. “It’s a way of saying I love you,” he said. She nodded. A moment later, she reached over to Marilee and rubbed Marilee’s arm. “I love you, Marilee.” The same night, I read a essay by Jonathan Franzen adapted from a graduation speech he gave at Kenyan College. Franzen considers the relationship we have with gadgets and he... Read more
When I was little, my big sister Katey carried, snuggled, cooed at, tickled, and pushed me on the swing. She bickered with me over food, toys, attention, and pets. As a toddler, I looked up to Katey, fifteen years my senior. I wanted to wear her retainer and her big purple dress and go to high school with her. Katey taught me how to dance to Madonna and Michael Jackson and to appreciate animals. She always stopped to pat dogs... Read more
Theoretically, I’m a big believer in “observing the Sabbath.” I’ve read books about it, written articles about it (“No Shopping on Sundays“) and tried to implement various practices such as not using our household appliances on Sundays. I believe the Sabbath is a gift and a responsibility–a gift that allows us to stop working, and a responsibility not to ask others to work on our behalf. But I have a really hard time resting. Even on Sundays. I come by... Read more
For most of my life, I attended private schools. I grew up taking a bus to a cinder block building 30 minutes away from our 5,000 person town. The bus stopped at a trailer park to pick up students along the way. Not exactly elitism, but still a school where tuition was required. We moved to Connecticut when I was in 6th grade, and I received three years of public education. For high school I lived at a boarding school... Read more
Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability
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