April 26, 2021
April 26, 2021
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Things that go “ring” in the night.

“Mom?!”  Bleary-eyed, I took my cell away from my face long enough to see the time. It was 4:15 in the morning. My heart leaped in my throat. “Christopher? Are you okay? Are you at work?” He had just started a new job, working 4:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Fridays through Sundays, at a bottle manufacturer about 40 minutes from our house. Although I had initial reservations about him driving that far, at that time of day, Craig and I agreed that it was time for him to start making adult choices. And so far, he seemed to be doing well. Now he was in […]
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September 26, 2012
September 26, 2012
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Healing Childhood Trauma

This week on CatholicMom.com, my column deals with the signs parents should watch for in their children that may indicate they are experiencing trauma and need professional help. The source of the trauma varies from child to child and from family to family: divorce, death, separation, neglect, abuse, financial stress, the list goes on. For children touched by adoption or foster care, unresolved trauma from the circumstances that caused them to be separated from their birth families can affect them into adulthood, even if they are loved and supported by their new families. Love, in and of itself, does not always “conquer all.” What I […]
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December 27, 2011
December 27, 2011
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Christmas 2011: A Year in Review

Despite my best intentions, Christmas cards did NOT make it in the mail this year. For the record, I also did not manage to bake a single batch of Christmas cookies. Which is why it’s a good thing that there are TWELVE days of Christmas. But I digress. This year has been a year unlike any other. It all started, appropriately enough, last Christmas, when in an unguarded moment, brought on by tremendous career and family upheaval, Craig turned to me and said, “If you find a job you like, we’ll move.” I didn’t need to be told twice. (I’ll spare you the details, except […]
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June 28, 2011
June 28, 2011
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Life’s Little Surprises

Yesterday afternoon I decided to take a break from thesis (yes, I’m still pounding away at it) to do some grocery shopping. I had PROMISED my advisor I would have the paper in Wednesday, and I figured that I’d need every spare minute to get it done. Just as I hit the produce section, a “text” alert came up on my Blackberry. “Mom and I are on the road. See you tomorrow at noon.” This was news to me. Ordinarily I’d be tickled, as we only get to spend time with my parents 2-3 times a year, especially with gas prices being what they are.  But […]
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June 7, 2011
June 7, 2011
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“Children’s Liturgy” During Mass?

This morning I received a note from a woman who belongs to a parish in which the parents would like to form a “children’s liturgy” for young children who have trouble paying attention at Mass.  I recently came across this informative article explaining the basis for such a practice, in particular affirming the legitimacy of such a practice: http://www.catholic.org/featured/headline.php?ID=1999     Not all parents will want to participate in this.  Some believe their children’s place is in the pew with them, learning reverent behavior by witnessing the participation of adults. And because parents are to be the first and most important educators of their children, this is absolutely […]
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December 31, 2010
December 31, 2010
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When a Soldier Comes Home for Christmas: A Mother’s Confession

This week the “Mebane Enterprise” posted a touching article about my nephew, Ryan Redner, who with his wife and daughter Bella (whom he adopted when he married her mom) made a surprise visit to my sister’s home this year for Christmas. You can read the article here. On the second page, my sister wrote a special “Letter to the Editor,” which she gave me permission to adapt here. There’s a commercial on the air right now for a certain brand of coffee. A young man comes home for Christmas where he is greeted by his anxiously awaiting sister. He hands her a gift, and she […]
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July 23, 2010
July 23, 2010
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Foster Families – How will your kids handle it?

The other day I received this comment from Jane, whose parents opened their home to foster children. She has recently started a blog about what it was like to grow up in a home with foster children. I have recently,(yesterday) started my blog about growing up a “natural” child in a family that took in foster children. As I became an older teenager, my mom had become a Foster Parent Trainer and would take me to the trainings so potential Foster Parents could ask me questions about how their children might feel throughout the experience. I know that was one of the most helpful times […]
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May 19, 2008
May 19, 2008
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In the Company of God … and Mary … and Mom

My parents were visiting with us this week. Dad put in the dog fence (thanks, Dad!) … and Mom roped me into one of “those” conversations. You know the kind: high in drama, low in resolution. This time, the subject was Catholicism … my practice of it, to be precise. I’ve had six years of intensive formal faith formation … but because in her mind I’ve rejected everything she taught me, she can only conclude I’ve been “brainwashed.” She accused me of considering her a pagan going to hell because she’s not Catholic (where she got that, I have no idea). Yet clearly believes that […]
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