Summer Fun Update
I’ll be honest–it’s getting harder to come up with something to do every day, and now I am laboring under Lorelei and William’s expectations as well. It’s not that I don’t have plenty of ideas–I have a page-long list, in...
More Summer Fun
Well, this has been a busy week! John and I got back from Georgetown Sunday evening, and I was right back into summer adventures with the kids the following day, when we visited McClung Museum. This is a mostly unsung treasure on the University of Tennessee campus. ...
Thoughts from a Reunion
Though one cannot always remember exactly why one has been happy, there is no forgetting that one was. (from Good-bye to the Mezzogiorno by W.H. Auden) I am writing this in the blessed coolness of my hotel room as I recover from a long, hot, and humid but nevertheless...
The Summer Fun Continues . . .
The first full week of summer break is coming to a close so I thought I’d give y’all an update on our summer of fun. Sundays are already busy, with the day half gone by the time we get home from 11:30 Mass, plus John and I have a standing meeting on Sunday...
Why We Can’t Have a 70s Summer and What We Are Doing Instead
You’ve probably seen posts like this and this extolling the virtues of the summers of yore and planning to recreate them. Heck, I might even have written a post like that myself. Now, don’t get me wrong–I loved my childhood summers. It sounds...
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Very interesting article, but what strikes me most is the idea that the reason we have kids is to make us happy. I am not saying that my kids don't make me happy, but that's not what my primary motivation for having children was.To me, the opportunity to be a co-creator of unique human beings is the primary reason to have kids. What do YOU think?
Since I share a post yesterday sharing what I DON'T know, today I will tell you what I DO.I wrote this many years ago, and nothing has happened since to change my mind.My basic parenting philosophy for ALL kids, from birth to adulthood can now be boiled down to just this: Love them and make sure that they KNOW you love them.That much, I know I did right.
THINGS I KNOW: Raising Teenagers - Life in Every Limb
lifeineverylimb.com
In an uncertain world, there's a certain appeal in believing that there is anything we are sure about, and pride in celebrating and sharing lessons learned and wisdom gained. And I do know a lot of th...
I first wrote this when my boys were 15 and 16. Let's just say that I had no idea then just how terrfying teens could be.Having by the grace of God raised five children to legal adulthood (my baby is 21), I can tell you that I still know very little. I have regrets and things I wish I could go back and do over. But my kids survived, and they still come home.
The Terrifying Teens - Life in Every Limb
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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 t...
This falls into the annoying category of "they grow so fast" posts (spoiler alert: I have MORE), but, y'all, they DO.The "baby" in this story was 19 when I first posted this well over ten years ago, and my actual "baby" is 21 now and spending July in Germany. I've got one grown son in Philadelphia and one in San Francisco. I have no clue where all that time went.
She'll Be Gone - Life in Every Limb
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It's late, and I haven't had time to post anything today, so I thought I'd share something I wrote a long--VERY LONG--time ago (about 15 years ago). [edit: this happened in 1993] The incident I recoun...
I wrote this a long time ago, and I stand by it today. Maybe I am not 100% sure about the secret to a happy life, but I definitely know what it isn't.
The Secret to a Happy Life - Life in Every Limb
lifeineverylimb.com
The following is a reprint of a column that appeared in The East Tennessee Catholic in 2002. When I was pregnant with my third child, friends, family, and strangers in the mall all seemed desperate to...
