There’s a topic that people of faith spend a lot of time fretting over: what we wear to church. I did a search this morning and came up with a very revealing list of online articles. Clearly, a lot of Christians are incredibly concerned about what everyone else wears to church on Sundays. But a…
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Mall Musings
I don’t understand the aesthetic that governs the catwalk model. The last several weeks, I’ve spent time in a public mall lounge in front of Target, waiting for Alex to get finished with his theater practice. In this lounge they’re playing a video of women modeling what we’re presumably supposed to be wearing this season.…
Read MoreA Farm Story
Growing up on the farm is on a short list of things that define who I am. My memories are filled with gigantic, buttery harvest moons rising through the jagged tips of cornstalks, of leaf piles reduced to pulsing embers that mirrored the night sky, of glittering frosty dawns and mist hanging over the woods,…
Read MoreParents need the freedom to make their own judgment calls
It began with my sister’s Facebook status: at the Steak & Shake where they were eating, a man was being arrested after leaving his baby sleeping in the car while the family, including grandparents, came inside to eat. I only had the sketchiest of details, so I tried hard not to get too worked up.…
Read MoreAcknowledging The Whole Picture of Motherhood
In case you missed the memo, yesterday was a big day. Mothers Day is one of those holidays that bears the weight of impossible cultural expectations. I’ve had some doozies of Mothers Days in the past few years. There were three in a row, in the infertility years, when I tried to pretend the day…
Read MoreThe Drama Next Door
It was 6:20 a.m. on Palm Sunday when I smelled smoke. I sat trapped in my chair by the open window, Michael nursing greedily after sleeping all night, and peered out at fog hovering in the yard. But was it fog? Or was it smoke? It sure smelled like smoke. I knew it wasn’t our…
Read MoreThe Hunger Games: The Ultimate “Reality” TV
Every time the next big thing in YA literature comes out, everyone has to weigh in on the relative merits (or lack thereof). Is it well-written? Does it foster the occult? Does it give girls the wrong idea about romance? Is it too disturbing and violent for the intended audience? I devoured each of the…
Read MoreThe Importance of Saying “No” (a practices of mothering post)
Click here for Part 1 Click here for Part 2 There’s a Gospel passage in which Jesus says no man gives his child a snake when they ask for a fish. It’s built in to our love for our children, this desire to fulfill their needs…and their wants. Whatever they ask for–the newest toy or…
Read MoreSuperhero Squad
I want to say that I was a princess kind of girl when I was little…but that’s not precisely accurate. More accurate to say I was a castle-and-prince-charming-dreaming, pretty dress-wearing, tree-climbing, hay bale-jumping, vine-swinging kind of girl. An Annie and Indiana Jones kind of girl. A Beauty and the Beast and Star Wars/Star Trek kind…
Read MorePrenatal Diagnosis and Abortion: What We Can Do About It
I’ve talked before about how I view prolife work, but today I have the honor of guest posting over at The Practicing Catholic on the topic. I believe that if we find the statistics about prenatal diagnosis and abortion apalling, we have to change the culture that almost guarantees such a high rate. But we don’t…
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Kathleen M. Basi 