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Book Blogging
I don't get the impression that my readers get especially excited about my book blogging entries, but hey! It's my blog! and I LOVE to read. I've been reading--really reading, books not just words--since I was four. I spent my entire childhood with a book in front...
Morning Glory Musing
I wrote here about how sometimes weeds turn out to be flowers. Morning glories exemplify this. Their vines don't look like much and could easily be mistaken for something you want to uproot quickly. Indeed, they are considered invasive by many gardeners, being...
Laundry laundry everywhere and not a thing to wear
I'm sure I must have mentioned laundry previously. With five kids it is ubiquitous here. And it's currently about to put me over the edge. Our old house had a small laundry room, and I had a nice system for pre-sorting dirty clothes into loads, and sorting clean...
Old-Fashioned Homeschooling
It sounds like a misnomer, doesn't it? I mean, homeschooling is kind of radical and newfangled, right? It wasn't so long ago that those who wanted to do it had to fight the state and everyone thought their kids were, well, weird. I wanted to homeschool Emily but...
Don't Try Suicide
I'm feeling sad today about the death of Darrin Owenby, who took his own life early this morning. A former Marine, Darrin apparently suffered from PTSD. I didn't know that, though. I didn't know much about Darrin at all, really. Although we were in grade school...
Backpack Rant
Back in the day (and oh, how my kids mock me when I start off that way), I was so proud of the new book satchel I got at the beginning of every year to carry my things to and from school. As I recall, a lot of children didn't even have satchels--they just carried...
Update
Thanks to anyone who has actually stuck with me over this long hiatus. I have been incredibly busy and although my goal is to find a way to blog daily, I'm not sure where I am going to find the time! A quick update: Jake and Teddy had their first full day as Junior...
21 Years Ago
Twenty-one years ago . . . I'm feeling like blogging about marriage, but possibly at least this evening I should spend time with my husband instead. 🙂
Don't Give Up On Me . . .
I'm still here. I still have a lot to say. I am not finished with Liturgical Music "Week," and I will respond to the many thoughtful comments I have received lately. However . . . In the next two weeks, I have to help Emily get her things together and transport her...
Roll Call
This has certainly been a busy week or so on the blog, according to my stats even if not evident in the comments. I owe most of the new traffic to posts I made on my friend Katie's blogs (and to those of you who came here first, you should go read her, because she is...
Is It Just Me . . .
or is this extremely tacky? My husband received a pamphlet today from TACDL (Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers) advertising a Continuing Legal Education class with the following title: The Terrible Twos: Representing Clients Charged with Physical and...
Liturgical Music V: Performance Issues
So I had to say it some time. It's not always the song's fault. The songs don't pick themselves. They don't perform themselves. No, I am not going to criticize individual choir members. Not only would that be ugly, I don't have the right to do that unless I am...
East Tennessee's Best
The Knoxville New Sentinel is holding its annual vote for the best of everything in East Tennessee (the best of almost EVERYTHING is in East Tennessee!). Included in this year's categories is Best Blogger. My friend Katie has been nominated! Click here to read all...
A Busy Day
It's almost midnight, and I am having a hard time keeping my eyes open. It's been a very busy day. Today I Got up at 6 a.m. to get Teddy up for football and put in another load of laundry before sneaking back to bed; Got up again at 9:30 to take Emily to pick up a...
World Breastfeeding Week
According to Mothering Magazine it is World Breastfeeding Week. So I need to take a little break from musical topics to wax lyrical on the joys and the benefits of breastfeeding. Except surely by now you know the benefits of breastfeeding, right? If you don't, click...
Strange Sighting at My House
Poetry Blogging : To a Fat Lady Seen from a Train
A couple of years ago one of my children was studying poetry in middle school English class, learning different types of rhyme/rhythm schemes. The following poem was given as an example of a triolet (a form I had never heard of before). TO A FAT LADY SEEN FROM A...
Liturgical Music and Inclusive Language
When I was a freshman at Georgetown, Father von Arx, a history professor, handed back my first paper marked with the following: "May I suggest you try using inclusive language?" Now, I didn't have the slightest idea what he meant by that, and I didn't find out for...
Liturgical Music III – The 80s and after
Continuing with my post about the development of my own perspective on liturgical music brings me to what seemed like an exciting time to me music-wise: the beginning of the Glory and Praise years. For us at St. Joseph this actually began, I'm guessing, around 1978,...
Whose Judgment?
Here's a column reprint from 2003, which I was inspired to run today by a Facebook post by my friend Amy (you can see her here) whom I have known since first grade. She said: "The difference between a flower and a weed is judgment." It was a rare sunny day, and...
Liturgical Music II – The 70s
Before I expound further on this topic I thought it would be appropriate to set the scene with a brief background of what my experience has been with church music. If you, like me, were born in the late 60s, you will probably relate to this. If any pre-Vatican II...
How big is big?
A lot of people think our five-kid family is really big. Actually, nowadays parents seem to feel threatened at the idea of being outnumbered and think a three-kid family is big, not to be sought after if you are lucky enough to get "one of each" after two tries. But...
Liturgical Music
I've contemplated writing about liturgical music for some time. I think I will make this "Liturgical Music" week (remember "Education Week" back in the first days of this blog?) although I am not promising to write every day! I am only a lay person, with a lay...
Carnivores
A couple of months ago I was stopping at the grocery store on the way home from wherever I have been (I am ALWAYS stopping at the grocery store, no matter where I have been or what time it is!) and I got the following text message from my 15-year-old stating his...
More about Cornelia
My cousin Ward sent me a copy of a letter today, written by my great-aunt Bodae Hagan Saxe to a cousin some time in the 1970s, in which she recounts some of her family memories and stories. Here's what she had to say about Cornelia, my great-great-great grandmother's...
Poetry Blogging: Nancy Hanks
From time to time I would like to share some memorable poetry in this space, as I have already done here and here. I say memorable because I am only going to post ones I know by heart, or almost by heart. Very rarely have I actually set out to memorize a poem for...
Word Rant
I love words. I spent many, many years studying them for spelling bees. I understand diacritical markings. Besides being an English major, in college I took linguistics and Latin as electives for fun! In grad school I took American English, Old English, and the...
Only 150 years ago . . .
Only 150 years ago, if you had enough money, you could purchase another human being. Can you even begin to comprehend that? I am not a fan of the modern trend of judging our ancestors according to today's more enlightened standards, and I've always been proud of my...
Looking on the bright side . . .
After all my ranting about how miserable I am living in a house devoid of central air conditioning, I feel compelled to mention the benefits. Just as I used to say back in the days when living without AC myself only a theory, having air conditioning does keep people...
I hate change
Anyone who knows me knows this. So I was distressed to read this just now. You see, I'm one of those rare Knoxvillians who did give up downtown as a bad job in the 70s, or just discover it in recent years. Our route from Knoxville Catholic High School when it was...
Legacies
I call her Grandmother, even though I never knew her, because that is what my mother called her, but her name was Mary Becker Hagan Higgins. She was born in 1891 in Mobile, Alabama, and she died in 1960. My grandmother had a picture of her framed on the antique...
Doctor Elvyn "Doc" Davidson 1923-2010
After Bob Dewine died at Easter, I was talking to his son-in-law about how sad it was to see many of the pillars of our church community growing older and leaving us. I knew then that Doc Davidson had not been doing well, and I was dreading his loss. I'm not sad for...
Influencing on the Web
So I was reading today about Fast Company's The Influence Project: In roughly 24 hours, nearly 6,000 people have registered to participate in an experiment we started called The Influence Project. It's been written about by TechCrunch, The Huffington Post, The New...
Good morning, Baltimore!
Baltimore, Maryland was not a place I ever thought much about growing up. I doubt it was on my list of places I wanted to visit. But I married a man who was born and raised in Baltimore, where his mother and other relatives still live, so I have spent a lot of time...
Got baby?
Because I'm on vacation (where I envisioned I would have uninterrupted to hours to blog, but that isn't happening) here is another column reprint for you: Billboards. They are everywhere in our town and in our state. Their unsightliness mars the beauty of rural...
Everlasting Laundry
My favorite part of going on vacation is getting away from housework, cooking, dishes . . . all of the everyday chores that cannot be put off or ignored. When I am at home, if I am not doing those things, I am feeling guilty about not doing them. The only way I can...
New Life
Congratulations to my friend Katie and her husband Jon on the birth of Georgia Allison Hickman, who has brought a gigantic dose of joy to a family sorely in need of it after the loss of the big brother she will never meet in this life. Georgia arrived a month early...
Simple Pleasures
On day one of our vacation, I spent four hours in the motel pool. I think I was in there longer than any of the children. I have not felt so good in over a month. Between cold water and frigid motel air conditioning, I think I've died and gone to Heaven.
My son, the chef
I remember when Jake and Teddy were about two and three, and the mailman saw them standing together outside the house eating a snack. He told me, "If you think they eat a lot now, just wait until they are both teenagers!" (Why do parents love to scare other...
It's been quiet . . .
Please don't give up on me and keep checking back for new posts. I've had a lot of office work to keep up with, and the heat (90s for days on end, and as you know our AC is limited) is sapping my energy so that I've resorted to daily siestas! I have two pages of...
Can we talk . . . about abortion?
I have to tell you, I'm excited by the thoughtful responses engendered by my last post. For one thing, as I happily blog away, it's hard to know if I'm making any impression at all if no one responds. For another, I have always been discouraged by the lack of...
It’s a baby, stupid: Why personhood is moot in the abortion debate
Time for another reprint from the ETC--yes, and I know, time for some NEW life issues writing; I have ideas, and I promise a new one is germinating. This column appeared, I believe, in 2007. Anyone who has been really involved in the abortion debate for a long time...
Stranger than Fiction
Left by the prior occupant of our table at Books-a-Million this evening: A stack of seven books. The bottom six were all about marijuana, where and how to grow it, how to cook with it, you name it. And the top one?
Ascent into Hell
It was with great relief that I walked into the air conditioned church this morning, but I remember when it wasn't that way. Summer at Immaculate Conception meant that the stained glass windows (now permanently closed and sealed with protective outer coverings) were...
Wishful thinking
Yesterday a Facebook friend was trying to convince others, via her status, that Pepsi was debuting a new can that included the whole Pledge of Allegiance except for the words "under God" (the HEATHENS!). We were all supposed to put this in our statuses and NEVER EVER...
Improvisation
I never did get around to having a family May Procession like I had meant to. Looks like my little people improvised.
Private pain
A WONDERFUL FACT to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that...
In lieu of flowers
Henry's mama has asked friends to publicize the scholarship fund his family has set up in his memory, which will pay for treatment for other addicted young people whose families could not otherwise afford it. Henry's guitar teacher wrote a lovely song in Henry's...
Enough with the bugs, already!
Now we have ANTS. The little bitty ones. The exterminator was out here just a few days ago, and it did not one lick of good. They are everywhere--crawling on the counters, over the dishes in the sink, in the garbage, and--need I add--all over me!
Roll Call
So, who's still here? Quite a few people seem to be dropping by, and I'd love to know who you are. Please introduce yourselves in the comments. What brought you here? If you've stayed, what sorts of posts do you enjoy? Any suggestions for future posts? It gets...
Whither ideas?
My last semester in college I took four English classes (guess what my major was?) and one Health class. Two of my English classes (20th Century Catholic Fiction and Southern RenaissanceFiction) were four-credit classes with three five-page papers and two ten-page...
Why do writers write?
Like picking a scab, I keep returning to the most recent News Sentinel article on Henry's death, the one they decided to run as the LEAD STORY on the morning of his funeral. As if the statement by the Sheriff wasn't upsetting enough, when you read stories online you...
Joy mixed with sorrow
I might as well confess that I enjoy a good funeral. The singing, the eulogizing, the visiting with rarely seen friends and relatives, even the catharsis of tears. But implicit in my notion of the "good funeral" is that it is a remembrance for one who lived a full...
The boy can eat!
For years my oldest son, Jake, was a skinny fellow. Last summer he grew. And grew. He spent most of his time eating and gained 40 lbs. It looks like all "training" paid off, as this afternoon he won the biscuit eating contest at the first annual International...
Remember
This is a favorite poem of mine--I have it almost by heart; but I did Google it to make sure and found it on a wonderful website with a collection of quotations and other resources for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one. Remember me when I am gone away,...
Discouraging
I am extremely upset to hear the latest on the investigation into Henry Granju's death. I hope that the celebration of his life that his family has planned for tomorrow morning will not be overshadowed by this latest controversy. Their already impossibly difficult...
Fearful parenting
Pictured above is the Weigel's on Fox Lonas, a frequent post-school stop for our family. We are also daily--or more--patrons of the Weigel's at the corner of Morrell and Northshore. It's one of the perks of moving--for the first time in several years (since our...
Misunderstandings
Emily, while reading a book, to me: "I hate linen." Me: "Why? Because it wrinkles?" Emily: "No, because he was a terrible person." (Holds up book: Nicholas and Alexandra) John, walking into the room: "I thought she was talking about the singer."
A mother's plea for justice
Nothing can make up to his family for the loss of Henry, of course. But that doesn't mean that they don't want justice to be done. News of his death finally hit the Knoxville paper this morning. He was assaulted over a month ago. Up till now I would have thought...
Scary
Years ago, John and I were Hillary and Bill Clinton for Halloween. For some reason, the little people love to pull out the Hillary mask and chase each other around laughing madly. I thought it looked interesting discarded there on my "antique" porch furniture.
Just for fun
Once again I have pulled out some random pictures from my bottomless box for some quick inspiration: This was taken in February 1996, at Teddy's first birthday party. I remember it well--an Italian dinner for 27, followed by cake and presents. Watching the cake...
The Circle of Life
Here's a column I wrote in August 2007, that seems especially appropriate today. “The circle of life” isn’t just an idea dreamed up by Disney. Every day we are confronted with its reality–births, deaths, and every stage and milestone in between. Rarely, though, has it...
A celebration
Henry's mama has shared the details of the services for him, and a way those who wish can honor his memory, on her blog, which is back up after having crashed earlier today from the traffic of the hundreds of people who came to wish the family well.
One way to help
Katie's co-workers at Ackermann PR have asked friends to pass along this link which has information on how people can contribute to a fund to help the family with the financial burdens which they will be facing on top of everything else after Henry's 37 day...
Sad News
Henry has died. Please pray for his family. Just as God gives us loved ones and does not lose them in giving, so we do not lose them in returning them to Him. For life is eternal, love is immortal, and death is just a horizon beyond which we cannot see with narrow,...
Sick of Farmville
I didn't get what the big deal was when I first started playing Farmville. It seemed like a poor imitation of Farm Town, which I was already playing and enjoying. In fact, I still think that most things about Farm Town are superior--the graphics, the speed, the...
The Terrifying Teens
The thing about being the mother of three preschoolers is that eventually you will be the mother of three teenagers. You hear a lot about the Terrible Twos, but what about the Terrifying Teens? With three teenagers in my house this summer, and with the tragedy of...
A Relapse
Please, please send up your most fervent prayers for Henry, who is back in the ICU and in extremely critical condition. Thank you.
Big Catholic Families
I'm posting this column reprint as a followup to my "Why Stop at Two" post of a few weeks ago. In that post, I talked about why we've chosen to have a big family; this post focuses on the Catholic Church's teachings on family size. This was too long for the East...
Blasts from the past
O.K., here is a Bad Mother confession: I have not put any pictures of my kids in albums since #3 was brand new. He is now 15. There is a large box next to my desk full of picture envelopes, and it's not the only box I have. So I think I will turn a negative...
School's Out!
Yesterday was the last day of school. So we welcomed in summer with our traditional last day treat: a trip to the Fountain City Creamery Park Grille for ice cream cones. We followed this with a walk around Fountain City Lake, a.k.a. the Duck Pond. I have to say,...
He's a Poet and We Know It
My oldest son, Jake, has had a challenging semester, to put it mildly. Tomorrow is the last day of his Sophomore year, and boy are we glad! He took his Chemistry exam today, and for extra credit, wrote the following poem--which demonstrates that his true talents lie...
Another guilty pleasure
I really dislike most children's programming of the educational variety--it has a didactic tone that grates on me. Every story may have a moral, but do we have to beat kids over the head with it? And that's why I love the Teletubbies. I don't feel like they are...
For one of those days when you were wondering about God's plan
Another reason my kids are so healthy
Dirt is good for you! No, really, it is. So now I can stop feeling guilty about Lorelei and William's dust covered exteriors and dirty puppy dog aroma that they get from being outside just about every waking hour.
No expert here
I am not a parenting expert. I am not a parenting expert. I am not a parenting expert. I want to make sure that I make that perfectly clear! It can be dangerous to be thought of as a parenting expert, because then you are expected to have perfect children. Then...
The Little Black Boy
Most of my classes my first year at Georgetown were part of the Liberal Arts Seminar, an interdisciplinary course taught by renowned professors of English, Theology, Philosophy, and History. Our English professor, Wordsworth scholar Paul F. Betz, introduced us to...
Talking to Kids about Race
Update: I wrote this five years ago. I think many of us hoped racism would die simply die out along with elderly racists. What happened in Charleston makes it clear that racism persists even in the young. So those of us who are parents have a responsibility to try...
Through my window
I wrote a couple of days ago about how much I enjoy the ability to easily open the windows in our new house. I also love what I see when I look out. This is what I see when I am working at my desk: The windows in my office provide a feast for almost all the senses. ...
Crazy dreams and the wisdom of children
Last night before we fell asleep I was telling John about an upsetting dream I'd had that morning and of course Lorelei was right there listening. I have a lot of anxiety dreams, and this one definitely fell into that category. I'd invited two of my best friends...
Keeping Christmas all the year
Christmas was anything but peaceful this year, since we were in the process of moving. I love to collect new decorations, but this was the only one I bought this year. And when it was time (past time) to take them down, I decided to leave this one. Our house is...
Windows
My beautiful old Victorian house had the original double-hung windows. But most of them were stuck, painted, or even epoxied shut! Even when we managed to pry one open, most of the ropes that held the counter weights had broken long ago. So we had to prop them up...
Mary was a homemaker too
Sleeping Beauty
Most mornings, after I get up at 6:30 and wake the boys, prod Jake to get ready, make breakfast for John, and close the door behind the three of them, I go back to bed for an early morning nap. I try not to feel guilty about this, because I work hard all day long,...
Nature red in tooth and claw
The poison ivy saga continues. Lorelei and William are covered in it. I now have patches all over my body, doubtless from clingy Lorelei's little hands since there is no way the actual ivy touched me in most of these spots! To add to the fun, I also have enormous...
Peace
Just this morning, as my husband and I were rushing through breakfast and trying to wake our older kids up for Mass, I said, "Sometimes I envy those people who post things on Facebook like, 'Having a peaceful Sunday morning reading the paper,' don't you? Wouldn't it...
More on kindergarten
More bad news for those of us who have kids entering kindergarten (plus more dismaying news about education in general): Up until very recently, it was considered developmentally appropriate to begin serious reading instruction in the second grade. Now, however,...
April showers bring May flowers
If you love Knoxville . . .
. . . you will enjoy this site. I stumbled upon it when looking for illustrations for another post. It contains a variety of shots oh Knoxville--I especially enjoyed the downtown pictures and the Neyland Stadium shots. And if you don't know Knoxville, taking a peek...
Coffee: A Love Story
It all began in the summer of 1986. I was home after my first year at Georgetown, working as a waitress at Cracker Barrel, a thankless job if ever there was one. Each evening, around 9:30, my exhausted fellow waitresses would retreat to a smoky cubicle equipped with...
Finding Balance
Balance. Does anyone have it? You hear everyone talking about having too much on their plates. Of juggling all their responsibilities. Well, my plate overflows on a daily basis and I can't keep all those balls in the air (in my case, it's actually flaming...
Grace through Suffering
This originally appeared in The East Tennessee Catholic in 2006. It was late at night–later than a twelve-year-old should have been awake–when Jake discovered me crying in front of the computer. Like all children, he doesn’t like to see his mother cry, and he asked...
I'm gonna need an ocean of calamine lotion
I HATE POISON IVY. I cannot seem to escape the stuff. It encircled the backyard of our first house, right where I wanted to plant a border of daylilies. I wore gloves and long sleeves when I tried to pull it up, and still ended up with welts all over my arms. My...
'Tis the Month of Our Mother
Sitting outside this evening, I smelled the honeysuckle and looked over at our garden statue of the Blessed Mother and suddenly found myself launching into "'Tis the Month of Our Mother." (I frequently burst into song at the least provocation and have an extensive...
Why stop at two? Reflections on Having a Big Family
In honor of Mother's Day I am reprinting this column, which appeared in the ETC about two years ago. When Emily started kindergarten at St. Joseph School in 1996, the largest family at the school had four children. What happened to all the big Catholic families, I...
Books That Change Lives
I want to do some book blogging here from time to time. I'll share some of the books that have been important in my life, or that inspire me, or that I just enjoy. And I hope that in the comments you will share some of your favorites as well. The topic today is the...
Who Gave You Life?
This originally appeared as a column in The East Tennessee Catholic in 2006. Today is my “baby” sister’s 29th birthday. My mother reminded me today that Anne owes her existence to her two big sisters. I remember well how much we begged and begged for a baby. ...
Tennessee Tragedy
If you don't live in Tennessee, you might be unaware that heavy rains flooded Nashville. My cousin and her husband went canoeing around her neighborhood. The pictures from downtown are simply unbelievable. Read about one family's experience in my friend (and sixth...
This is the Time to Remember
This column reprint from 2007 seems especially apropos for a lovely spring day which I spent sitting at a desk drafting motions for continuances while my kids played outside in the sunshine. Over the past few weeks several people have mentioned that they haven’t seen...
Diaper Rant: The Case for Plastic Pants and Pins
Cloth diapers are trendy today, especially among the environmentally conscious. But over 19 years ago, when my first baby came along, I was the only person I knew who was using them. I wasn't trying to be a "green" parent; it just really had never occurred to me to...
