In our family, when someone begins to dwell on worst-case scenarios, we call it “catastrophizing.” It’s hard not to “catastrophize” our current situation.
Posts About Life
A New Normal: Finding Our Way Forward
I have to continually remind myself that we each find our own way forward, but the reminders help me need fewer naps & appreciate the gifts of this time.
Picking Our Way Through Advent
Rather than the pressure of trying to find Advent traditions that are perfect and promise to stand the test of time, I’m trying to see this season as an opportunity to pick the ones that work best this year for this season. So, without further ado, here are our best ideas for how to point to God’s in-breaking of light and love in ways our three-year-old can begin to see and understand.
Remembering the Saints
Four years ago Adam and I lost twin boys. I suspect that it is grief’s nature to be surprising as well as devastating. Yet, there is comfort in the grief if only because I never want to forget.
Spiritual Formation with Toddlers (Or Lectio in Nature)
Playing “I Spy” offers the opportunity to notice our surroundings and to pay attention to what might be calling out to us, both of which are key elements of spiritual formation. All disguised in the form of a fun game!
In Which I Count Spiders to Save My Sanity
Most of the time I kill my own spiders because I’m grown-up like that, but in order to convince Adam of the enormity of our problem, I began keeping track of the number of spiders I was killing …
Conversations with Dog
We all know how much a look can communicate and The Dog has perfected many looks over the past seven months since we brought The Baby home. Also, I think we can safely say that I’ve lost my ever-loving mind.
Cultivating Contemplation
I know he’s too young to learn about stillness & contemplation, but I still hope these moments are formative, if only because his introverted mother is going to need some quiet moments with her son as he grows up.
A Life By Any Other Name
Some refer to motherhood as a spiritual discipline, which is quite lovely & zen. I tend to think of it more as a Sisyphean effort. Perhaps there is another name for this life of mothering in which so little seems to get done.