We were at church, waiting…me, in line for Confession, the children, in the pews, waiting for me. The older two sat quietly reading, but Nicholas wanted to explore: up to the front, back to me, wanting a hug and a snuggle. Off to press his nose against stained glass window…then back to me, for more…
Read MoreAll articles filed in culture
Christmas in October
I know this will come as no surprise to those who know our tendency to plan, plan, plan, but we have already started Christmas shopping. In fact, we’re well into the process. And you know what? It is awesome. See, here’s the thing. Every year, Christmas shopping gets more stressful. We can always come up…
Read MoreMeet Kate, the (non)consummate housekeeper
I think it happened because my dishwasher broke. It’s ridiculous, really, that one appliance can become so indispensible that one starts to obsess, not only about clean vs. dirty dishes, but clean vs. dirty (or disorganized) everything else. Especially for me. After all, for the first twenty-one years of my life, I didn’t have a…
Read MoreAre We Still the Good Guys?
“Mommy, guess what? Did you know this bracelet was MADE IN CHINA?” I turned around and saw Alex in the back seat of the van, holding up the rubber wristband that serves as admission ticket to Annheuser Busch’s Clydesdale breeding farm, which we had just left. “I didn’t know, but I’m not surprised,” I told…
Read MoreIt Takes A Village…
Yesterday morning, after the big ones were off to school, Nicholas and I walked up to the neighborhood playground. I leaned against the stairwell of the tiny climber and tried to work on my Advent article for Liguorian magazine (don’t knock it; it’s due in four weeks) while Nicholas spun the steering wheel and used…
Read MoreBoys vs. Girls
We (or more specifically, Nicholas) are enrolled in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which sends one book a month. The last two have been sibling photo books. “Big Sister, Little Sister” came first. I rolled my eyes a bit at the sight of the tutu/princess dress-clad girls, but yanno. Okay. It’s a cute book. In its…
Read MoreTeaching Healthy Sexuality To Our Children, Part 2
Do you go through stages where you keep talking about the same topic again and again, wrestling with it until you finally resolve it? For me, lately, that topic has been how to teach sexuality to my children. There’s such a tightrope to walk between doing too little and too much. Talk about it too…
Read MorePreaching To the Choir
“Why is the “e” word (evangelism) so hard? How can the Christian faith be something you keep to yourself … or keep for yourself?” – Tweeted by @lensweet 3/16/11 “What we want is not more books about Christianity, but more books by Christians on other subjects.” – C.S. Lewis Sometimes I wonder if what I’m doing…
Read MoreWhat it’s like to receive a diagnosis of Down syndrome
___1___ Wrapping up “Julianna week” here at So Much to Say, So Little Time. This week, I participated in a research study. The researchers are asking people about their experiences at and around the time they received a diagnosis of a “congenital condition,” such as Down syndrome. I decided to share some of my answers…
Read MoreBlind Sided
They say Hollywood keeps making the same movies over and over again. See if this plot sounds familiar: a (world-weary) (well-intentioned) (jaded) (down-to-earth) main character encounters someone with multiple strikes against him: low intelligence, destitution, familial abandonment, mental illness, etc. Do-gooder sets out to help poor unfortunate soul and instead finds him/herself changed forever. My…
Read More
Kathleen M. Basi 