“Christian, guess what? I found the old thermometer.” “Oh, yeah? Where was it?” “In my pajama drawer. So what do you think, do we keep using the new one? ’Cause this one registered the temperatures so much lower.” He eases into bed. “You know,” he says, “I never really liked that thermometer anyway. This new…
Read MoreAll articles filed in family planning
You know it’s time when…
You know it’s time when every billboard between home and southern Illinois flashes the word “pregnancy” or “baby” at us, only to morph into something as ordinary as Philosophy or Body Shop upon closer inspection.… *** …Come visit me over at Real Zest, and tell me if you think we’re nuts. (But you know I…
Read More7 Quick Takes
1. Late last week, I short-circuited from novel rejection letters and general loathing for my own work, which naturally led me straight to the edge of an impenetrable titanium wall called WRITER’S BLOCK. After I’d bloodied my cranium against it for a few days, I finally decided it was time to take some time off,…
Read MoreAn Interview with Kimberly Hahn
This spring, I had the opportunity to interview Kimberly Hahn for an article in the Couple to Couple League’s Family Foundations magazine. Catholic audiences need no introduction to Mrs. Hahn and her husband. But for those who aren’t familiar with their work, Scott and Kimberly Hahn were a Protestant minister’s family who converted to Catholicism…
Read MoreNationalized Health Care, Down Syndrome, and Abortion
I’m going to go out on a limb today and say something that a good portion of my readership probably won’t like. Namely: I support Obama’s health care plan. You might remember that last year a group of us put together a bill to mandate coverage of “habilitative” services for children with special needs. This…
Read MoreRepost: Crisis at the Circulation Desk
It’s just one of those days, folks, so here’s a repost from early of 2009, a few short weeks before Nicholas was born: *** Scene: the circulation desk at the public library. Behind the counter, a young man and a middle-aged woman. In front of it: two very pregnant women, with small children in tow.…
Read More7 Quick Takes, Vol. 72
1. I have a new blog I want you to visit: http://www.kellehampton.com/. She just gave birth to her second daughter, who has Down syndrome, and reading her posts is like hearing someone say everything I ever thought, only more beautifully…and punctuated with heart-stopping pictures, to boot. If you follow no other link I have ever…
Read MoreThe Sacred Cow
“Is it not possible for us to do with gender, sexuality, and reproduction what was long ago done with the stars? To realize that these are also secular areas…?” So says Anne Rice in the conclusion to her book, Called Out of Darkness, her memoir about her flight from and return to Catholicism. She’s talking…
Read MoreWFMW: Weight Loss (Real and perceived)
Ah, it’s that time of year again. Carbo heaven in November, cookie kingdom all through December; cream cheese-laden appetizers and desserts, multiple family feasts…and even as we gorge our way through the holidays, we cringe inwardly, knowing that there is a price to pay for all that richness. It’s January when everybody gets “serious” about…
Read MoreSnip-ety Link, take 2
Sunday Snippets is a group of bloggers who gather once each week to share out best posts. This week, I’ve had quite a lot to say on the subject of faith! “Second Chances” is about finding our way back to God’s plan when we’ve screwed things up the first time around. There’s “Confessions of a…
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Kathleen M. Basi 