A founding principle of the Knights of Columbus was to help men protect their families from financial ruin should disaster strike the husband and father. As the son of a woman who was widowed with four children ages 5-15, and a member of the Order, I support this work. Yet a husband’s job goes far […]
I remember a couple of years ago seeing some TV reports about a heartbreaking situation in Somalia and Kenya that continue today. The commentator said, “We must warn you. Some of the images you are about to see are quite disturbing.” We proceed to see starving infants and children with distended tummies, crying children who […]
I don’t have a paying job at this time, but I am very busy. Even though I no longer homeschool and my girls are over ten, my house is messy. I spend most of my day on Facebook and Twitter. Why? Christina, my daughter, is growing up in a world where no one invites her […]
Because I’m known for blogging about the mishaps and joys inherent in raising a large family, it may surprise some of you to know that I have no siblings myself. I am an only child. I know, right? We onlies are a rare breed to begin with, but onlies who go on to have a slew of kids? […]
I sat in my kitchen on the morning of Labor Day, watching and listening to the activity around me. My husband and I, along with our three youngest children, had arrived home on the previous evening from a three-week vacation in Newfoundland and this was the first time that the family (nine of the ten […]
“Running for Their Lives” (Columbia Magazine, December 2012), chronicles the founding and purpose of LIFE Runners, the largest international running group dedicated to Pro-Life causes. The founders of the group are both members of the Knights of Columbus and Lt. Colonels in the United States Air Force. They began praying together as they were training […]
Working at a nursing home, I met a married couple that really defined for me what marriage means. He was wheelchair dependent. He had had a stroke and lost all movement in his right leg and arm. He was still alert though. He’d tease the staff and tell us all sorts of stories. He’d rant about how […]
In 2003 my beautiful daughter Chloe was born with a diagnosis of Down syndrome, and I must admit my family was filled with fear, anxiety and uncertainty about Chloe’s future. At the time I was in my 20th year as a Police Officer, and I had no knowledge of supports for children like Chloe. When […]
During a conversation with my 23-year-old son, he told me that a lot of his friends like our new pope. This isn’t the measure of the greatness of the man, but it is good to see some of Pope Francis’ major themes resonating with the young. Among the most prominent of these themes, something that […]
A while back, I asked someone for ideas for this column. “Why don’t you write about raising kids?” came the reply. Hmm. That would assume I would know what I’m talking about, wouldn’t it? Frankly, I’m not sure that I am an expert on the subject, even though all four of my children now qualify […]
I’m sort of a sucker for love stories. But then again—aren’t we all? Love is the most basic human need. The music we listen to, the TV shows we watch… everything about the culture we live in testifies to the fact that we are starving for real love that satisfies. Because of this, I believe […]
When you live a life where you try to stay as connected to your Creator as this broken world and your sinful ways allow, you change your perspective on the big picture and the details. He has control over all of it. He can guide your path, deal with the obstacles on the way and […]
For most women when the buzzing alarm goes off in the morning, it isn’t because farm chores await completion and the baking of a hearty breakfast beckons. That’s someone else’s story. Instead, most likely, eyes peel open in order to face the daily grind—coffee, a commute, and a cubical. These days, there is more and […]
At 8:00 a.m. last Thursday, a team of 20 social workers, police officers, and special agents stormed a homeschooling family’s residence near Darmstadt, Germany, forcibly removing all four of the family’s children (ages 7–14). The sole grounds for removal were that the parents, Dirk and Petra Wunderlich, continued to homeschool their children in defiance of […]
I drove through my old neighborhood last week. It is like many suburban neighborhoods that sprouted up in the 1960s. Many of the people who moved there grew up in the city. All of them wanted big yards in which their kids could play. Many wanted to be near St. Germaine Catholic Church and its […]
I have tinnitus. The more common term for it is “ringing in the ears.” It’s not a disease but rather a symptom of many, many things. There’s no easy way for me to trace what it is that is causing the persistent, high-pitched sound inside my head. It could be my depression and anxiety; it […]
Have you decided to homeschool but are super scared to do so? Here are a few thoughts and tips to help you overcome your doubts and launch into the amazing, one-of-a-kind experience known as homeschooling: 1- You are doing the BEST thing ever for your family! If you feel called to homeschool, want to homeschool, […]
Suppose your son is a sixth grader and his male teacher just married another man. If it happens at a Catholic school, the teacher would be fired as has happened at schools in Ohio and California. If it is at a public school, it is likely a non-issue to administrators. In the latter case, you […]
I never met a mom who thought she had enough help. So here’s a few ideas to make your days a little easier. Some ideas come from me, and some from other moms, but they’re all offered from someone who’s been there, done that, and wants to pass on what she’s learned. 1. Ask for […]
I’ll admit it’s work, but I love it. I love camping…. the dust clouds and the cicadas’ rhythmic swell and the sun leaking into the thin tent nylon in the early morning, insistent. Our rusty old camp grill and the Coleman torch that scatters just a bit of an ethereal Hey-summer-we-survived-this-year’s-algebra-and-ancient-history-and-disappointments-and-triumphs-and-we’re-back-to-settle-in-your-scheduleless -rustic-August glow. The whispers […]
During his now-famous impromptu interview while returning to Rome from World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Pope Francis declared the ordination of women a question settled definitively by Blessed Pope John Paul II, but suggested that women’s gifts might be used in other ways. His suggestion that a deeper “theology of women” might have […]
I always cringe a little when I hear people of various Protestant denominations say they belong to a “Bible-based” church and that, as a Catholic, I don’t. They aren’t right, of course. Unfortunately, they aren’t completely wrong, either, when they imply that, generally, Catholics don’t “know our Bible” the way many of them do. I […]
Selecting a curriculum can be a truly overwhelming task each year for homeschooling mothers. So many times I have said to myself, “if I could see that book, I’d know if I want it!” Right? Then you hop online look through blogs of perfect homes, with perfect mom teachers, that have the perfect school rooms, […]
The path to Hell is paved with good intentions. I don’t get that. It seems to me that good intentions ought to be worth more than a ticket to Hell. Having said that, I definitely get that the good intentions I have for any number of things can always be a hellish path. Exercise comes […]
