I met Barbara Shoeneberger through the blogosphere, as we both participate in a weekly Catholic carnival. She has approached her chronic health issues with a beautiful attitude of faith. I hope her thoughts today will illuminate the sufferings in your lives as well. * Nobody gets through this life without mourning. Mourning implies loss of…
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Twenty-Seven Days
If you knew you only had twenty-seven days, how would you live life differently? I spoke recently to a friend whose daughter gave birth to a child they knew was not going to live. Indeed, it was a miracle that the child was not stillborn. “People tiptoe around us,” she said. “They’re afraid to ask.…
Read MoreA Good Year
“Every marriage has it’s good years and bad years. We ended on a great year.” –Robert Duvall, as Spurgeon Tanner in Deep Impact This quote really struck me when I first saw the movie Deep Impact in 1998, mostly because I didn’t really get it. I could only assume that he meant they got along…
Read MoreStanding at the Precipice
Amazing, how long it takes to write 97 words. Ten days of near-constant brainstorming, while driving, washing dishes, walking, putting kids to bed, lying awake, showering… And that’s a quick write, for me. But it’s done now, and I get to go on to the fun part—writing out the musical arrangement. *** I spent…
Read MoreOf Julianna, upon turning two
Miss Julianna has a couple of new nicknames: “Miss Sneaky” and “Superspy.” We call her this because she has no prayer of ever sneaking up on anyone. Because her nerve endings are not as sensitive, she needs greater feedback on any action she takes—which means she does it hard. Thus, Julianna crawling around the…
Read MoreA Farewell to Gene
A plain, cedar box. Unfinished, without attempt to ease the transition from faintly glowing mauve to blond. No sculpted lid, no shining metal handles. A box with a few ropes attached for carrying, a box just deep enough to hold a body, and not an inch more. Today we said farewell to Gene…
Read MoreThe end and the beginning
In the last month, I have had to come to terms with the reality of Julianna’s Down Syndrome. There is an initial grieving when you learn that your child has a disability. For some people it goes on forever. We were blessed—it was over in a few days. Then for a while, life goes on…
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Kathleen M. Basi 