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An Easy Morning with Pope Leo in Indianapolis
When Christina Lamas called me in August and invited me to moderate the conversation with Pope Leo XIV at the National Catholic Youth Conference in Indianapolis, a phrase immediately came […]
Perspective
‘Bluey’ Is Teaching Me to Be a Better Catholic Parent
During the COVID pandemic, my husband and I took turns watching “Cocomelon” with the then two-year-old. A brightly colored show with apparently animatronic humans singing not quite catchy (nor easily […]
Perspective
Sitting in grief
We went to Hobby Lobby. It just opened up, you see. Brand new store. Because back in August 2020, the old one was blown away in Hurricane Laura. And so […]
Perspective
A death we can be happy about
My husband’s grandfather, Leo Zawatsky, passed away just before Easter. He was 99 years old, a World War II veteran, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather. Dziadek, (“Dodju” or “grandfather” in […]
Perspective
Think you’re ‘failing’ at Lent?
Think again. I really wanted the Sonic drink. It had been a very long day – with grocery runs and sniffly kids and two hours of live radio and attempting to […]
Perspective
Jesus and a Peloton bike
“You are brave. Thank you for showing up!” I am brave, I thought. I did show up! “You are here for a reason. What’s that reason?!” I am here for […]
Perspective
Resolutions for today
I think New Year’s resolutions are silly. Under the guise of “get healthy” and “better yourself” we establish arbitrary and often unrealistic goals to eat less, move around more, spend less […]
Perspective
This Advent, focus on presence, not presents
I ordered our matching Christmas pajamas in early October. Worried about supply chain issues and shipping delays, I picked the Nordic blue print we liked best and bought them 11 […]
Perspective
The grace to endure
“Mommy, I don’t feel good.” Heart sinks. Grab the thermometer. Say a quick prayer it isn’t COVID-19. Call the pediatrician and see if we can get an early morning appointment. […]
Perspective
Learning all about Jesus
Over the summer, we took a family road trip to Pennsylvania, breaking in our new minivan by putting 4,000 miles on it in just under a month. As we drove […]
Perspective
Let the consumer beware
Within 24 hours of the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, my almost 4-year-old daughter asked me if she could take a gymnastics class. Then she wanted to begin swimming […]
Perspective
Going places and doing things again as lockdown ends
We were running food to a friend who just had her fifth baby — I’d made an extra pan of enchiladas the night before — and dropping it off with […]