Stay-At-Home Feminist

I’ve watched a few great videos about feminism lately, including one by UN Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson and another by Laci Green.  They both made powerful points about gender equality and stereotypes, and sought to de-vilify the word feminism in order to move forward with the necessary work that still needs to be done to improve the condition for women around the world.  Both were excellent, and you may be wondering what someone like me can add to the conversation?  Hasn’t everything already been said?

Busy Week

We're finishing up our fourth week of school, and this week has been the busiest so far.  They won't all be so crazy, but right now I'm enjoying the freedom of being able to pick up and do things a little bit easier than I could this time last year, when I still had a little-ish baby to work around.  This week, for the first time since school started, we had something to do every single day.  On the average week I try to make sure I only go out two days of the five, and I try as best I can to make sure they aren't in a row.  Today we were out on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, today and will be again tomorrow.  It's been exciting and exhausting.

If you let your children touch Jesus

A friend recently asked me if I had any tips for bringing very young children to Mass.  Immediately it brought me back to the days when all of my children were little (when my oldest was four, and I had a two-year-old and a baby at the same) and I remembered just how difficult that was.  I thought of all the things that kept me going in those years, when Mass was such a trial for me, my children, and anyone sitting around me.  I worried that I left more sinful and flustered than when I came.  I worried my kids had no clue what a gift the Mass was, and that my lack of patience was not teaching them.  I worried we were ruining the Mass for everyone around us.  But always, I knew Jesus was there.  And for me, that trumped everything.  I knew this was good, and that even if I couldn't see it, there were so many graces we were gaining, for us and our children, every time we came here.  This is the only place we can bring our children to see Jesus in the flesh.  That was the only thing that got us through those difficult years.  And so, we persist.

Not Worthy

As the parents of many children, at any one period of time we find we're having one or more issues with one or more children.  Sometimes it can be overwhelming (and they're still little - I can only imagine what it will be like when they're bigger!) And sometimes you feel defeated, like you're just not up for the task.  This week, God has really helped me to take a look at that and be thankful for the the crushing weight of this burden, and the realization that this is a job that's bigger than I am.

Back to School (Thank Goodness!)

Back in July I wrote about how much I needed summer vacation.  And it's true, I did.  For a multitude of reasons July ended up being super-busy, and there was no way I could keep up the pace of the many months that preceded it.  I always enter the summer with the realization that I need this break, and I always leave it with the realization that I need my routine back.