Introducing: Gillian’s List
Some background: I love the song “Gillian” by The Waifs, an Aussie band. I listen to this song when I need to work hard but am tempted to feel sorry for myself or do things with a bad heart. Listen to \”Gillian\” performed live Here are the lyrics, shortened: Oh Gillian, you’re up with the sun You’ve done a hundred things before half past nine By the time most folk are up and gone You’ll be starting on one hundred and one There’s not enough hours in a day To do all the things she’s just got to do When the daylight fades and the night invades She’s only just begun Weary as you lay at night waiting for the sun Planning out tomorrow now before this day is done ‘Gillian you work too hard’ But don’t you try to slow her down –...
Read MoreThose Poor People Really Bug Me
Just a quick note on how my new examination of conscience is going…. Because our government has such a massive, frequently-abused, and addictive welfare system, it is easy to get suckered into discussions on poverty that focus on social policy, taxation, and generational cycles of poverty. And while those discussions need to happen, and they should impact the way we vote, I realize that I feel called to look at poverty in a more personal light. It will always piss me off that a sizable portion of my paycheck goes to subsidize abortion, failing schools, high government employee wages, etc. It will also piss me off when I hear the latest welfare fraud story. But the reaction that is more important is how I react to the plight of those who have done nothing...
Read MoreBest Marital Advice
I think the best advice I received when I was getting married was, “Leave five things unsaid each day.” Five nagging, judging, pestering comments about things that really don’t matter in the scheme of things. The reason this is so important is that it takes about seven positive interactions to make up for every one negative. Five negative comments left unvoiced means that 35 positive interactions don’t have to be lost to whatever process makes our brains place more emphasis on negative experiences than on positive ones. I easily have five opportunities, or more, each day to leave things unsaid. And the days when I don’t? When I unleash my inner nag hound of Hell? Once I start, I can’t stop. If I say something about...
Read MoreA New Examination of Conscience
As I stated in a recent post, my days are frequently so full of chaperoned tutoring time and/or so exhausting that I have fewer-than-normal opportunities for my favorite sins and little memory of all of my daily falls. Rather than examine my conscience from just the “have I committed this sin? How about that one?” angle, I am going to try applying the corporal and spiritual acts of mercy to my day. The Corporal Works of Mercy: Have I fed the hungry? Have I given drink to the thirsty? Have I clothed the naked? Have I given shelter to the homeless? Have I visited the sick? Have I visited the imprisoned? Have I buried the dead? The Spiritual Works of Mercy: Have I instructed the ignorant? Have I counseled the doubtful? I have I admonished...
Read MoreHoliday Traditions
Today, Simcha Fisher had a nice post over at the NCR entitled, “Ten Things I wish I Had Known As A New Wife.” For #4 she wrote, “Don’t be anxious to prove that you have a happy home by producing instant traditions. Traditions take time to develop. It’s hard to have a complete-feeling holiday with just two people, especially with no kids around. Also, newlyweds are often poor. (Yes, the best things in life are free. Christmas trees, however, are expensive; and so are the other trappings of the holidays.)” This is an apropos topic, because this year we will 1.) have a 3.5-year-old, who will totally understand the holidays, and be able to form permanent memories of them, 2.) have a second child and not feel like there is insufficient...
Read MoreParenting Style: ehhhh…..?
I’m 5/8 done with this pregnancy, and gearing up for a daughter. Our son is very excited about his baby sister, although considerably confused on certain key points, like the fact that she is not growing in whatever part of me he is currently pinching. We are enjoying many elements of preparing for a baby, especially choosing a name and preparing for a home birth. The thing I’m not enjoying? Thinking about parenting styles. With Wolfie, we really didn’t know what we were doing and didn’t want to mess the poor little guy up. So we read lots of parenting books. Certain things really resonated with us, and other things made us cringe. We said yes to cloth diapering, breastfeeding, homemade baby food, and getting the baby on a sleep schedule....
Read MoreGreat Article, If Your Readers Are All Morons
In honor of being healthier, I have read some really terrific articles on health and fitness lately, including this masterpiece over at Babycenter.com. It is entitled, “10 fast foods a pregnant woman could love (and five to avoid).” Before you get all excited, let’s note that their version of fast food is different from everyone else’s version. We think, “Something I can buy through my car window when I have 10 minutes between clients.” They seem to think, “Something you can plan for, buy in advance, bring with you, and then eat if it hasn’t spoiled in your car by the time you want it,” which is not so much a fast food, as a food-food. Here is why their list bites: Fruit! Oh my gosh! I’m such a...
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