Last week was hard. There were fresh waves of anxiety over a huge spike in Covid cases in my city. Relief that our curve was flat for so many months gave way to weariness and worry. Now each day we're getting more new cases than we had total from March to mid-June. Our curve is flat....just in the wrong direction: straight up to the sky. The city is open--and our total deaths doubled last week. … [Read more...]
A Very 2020 Kids Summer Reading List
If there's one thing that has helped me keep my sanity while being cooped up over the past two months, it's our daily book time and seeing my kids deepen their love of reading. Because I've been getting lots of requests for book suggestions, I thought I'd share a few of our very favorites from our shelves (newly reorganized, thanks to quarantine angst)! I've found a lot of joy in sharing … [Read more...]
The False Gods of American Politics
“I’ve been uncomfortable speaking out against racism because it sounds like something a liberal would say.” “I’m struggling to reconcile my pro-life beliefs with ‘conservative’ policies that that deny the dignity of immigrants and the poor.” “I’m politically homeless because I think that the lives of unborn babies and black and brown people should be protected.” “I love the beauty … [Read more...]
Agonizing Over When to Return to Mass? Two Things to Consider
I’ve seen a lot of public conversation about reopening churches: people wanting the sacraments, people asking bishops to change their policies, people driving across state lines to attend a Mass, people who want to get on with their lives. What is not so public are the conversations within households as churches reopen and faithful families try to discern how to return. I’ve received so many … [Read more...]
How to Celebrate Holy Week at Home During a Pandemic
Holy Week is the best time of the year to be Catholic. It’s a tour de force of incredible liturgies. It’s my favorite week of the year and this year...well, it’s going to be different. I’m grieving the loss of our Holy Week Masses. A Holy Saturday without going to the Easter Vigil? Until a pandemic swept the globe it really seemed unimaginable. But here we are. It’s an Easter for … [Read more...]
‘Emma’ Film Review: A Delightful (but Slightly Flawed) Visual Banquet
The very short list of good things resulting from this pandemic are people making their own bread, more time to read, and the new adaptation of Emma being released to stream in your living room. Yes, dear reader, Universal has heard your cries for Jane Austen and if you didn’t see it the movie theatre before they closed, you don’t have to wait for this viral outbreak to be over to watch Emma. … [Read more...]
CathLit2020: A Catholic Reading Challenge
One of my favorite things about the internet is having more people to talk about books with. And I love the reading challenges from my favorite writers and bloggers that pop into my inbox at the beginning of January. Except, I'm never on the ball enough to get going on January 1. So here we are mid-January and friends, I am finally ready! Welcome to the CathLIT reading challenge. Get it? … [Read more...]
Looking for Marmee: Childhood Trauma, Cancer, and How Little Women Changed Our Lives
If all goes as planned, on Christmas Day my mother and I will show up at the movie theatre with my six-year-old and eight-year-old daughters to see Greta Gerwig’s new adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's classic novel Little Women. It will be exactly twenty-five years (to the day) since I watched the 1994 film with my mom when it opened in theatres. This upcoming cinematic rite of passage has … [Read more...]
Carrots 2019 Small Business Gift Guide (with Coupon Codes and Giveaway)!
I get asked every year about whether I can offer a gift guide so here I am again! This year I'm only including products from small businesses so that any sales made will benefit artisans and their families. One of the ways we can make changes in the world is by voting with our wallets. I haven't included any links to the site that can get anything to your doorstep in 48 hours (you know the … [Read more...]
When Jesus Gives You a Dog: Ode to Olaf
Wednesday morning our beloved Goldendoodle, Olaf, followed one of the children outside but must have run off instead of following them back into the house. He was hit by a car and died almost instantly. I saw it happen out the window out of the corner of my eye and screamed. Daniel ran outside to scoop him up and try to rush him to the vet. But the sweet little puppy was already gone. He was … [Read more...]
