Essays – Page 5

Five Lessons My Kids Teach Me Every Day

1. Stop to smell the roses…and dandelions.To my Madeline, who’s almost 3, every blossom – no matter how simple – is a lovely flower and one worthy of being picked. She’ll find a bedraggled weed, pluck it from the ground, sniff it and then offer it to me as a gift. Thanks to her appreciationRead the whole post >>

Keeping Faith

There have been times in my life when my faith overwhelms me. Some days I can look at a Crucifix and feel so close to Christ that my body trembles and my eyes brim with tears. Sounds dramatic, but it’s happened to me before. Or, I receive the Eucharist and no longer feel hungry forRead the whole post >>

The Maine Attraction

(Maine, August 2005) Tomorrow I leave for Maine, where I’ll be “unplugged” for 10 days with no Internet access (that means no blogging for awhile – just journaling the old-fashioned way with pen and paper) and not even any hot, running water. We’re headed to Maine where Dave’s family has a cabin (or “camp” asRead the whole post >>

Strength for the Journey

I woke up this morning and did not feel like going to Mass. Madeline had a sleepover at Nana and Pop’s (Dave’s parents) and Dave was on-call last night, so it was very tempting to just skip out of going. I decided I’d go to the earlier service to “get it over with.” As soonRead the whole post >>

Adventures in Grocery Land

I was feeling smug carrying a sleeping Rachel Marie in a sling snuggled close to my chest and pushing Madeline around in one of those hybrid shopping cart-race cars, especially after a woman said, “Good for you for getting out already!” Both girls were cooperating. Madeline was pretending to drive us around the grocery storeRead the whole post >>