This is just a simple post. A note of gratitude, really. To Mother Nature. For creating dandelions and giving children something beautiful to pick and appreciate and delight in.  How lucky are we to live in a world where weeds are truly beautiful! Did you like this? Share it:Tweet

I couldn’t fall asleep last night. Just before Chris and I went up to bed, we heard a woman yelling in the courtyard behind our home. We live in a busy part of a big city, and occasionally people who don’t live in our development stroll through, picking through trashcans or perhaps taking a shortcut.  [...]

My parents recently called my siblings and me to their house for help with a rather daunting task: pick up all our crap.  Bins full of grade school art projects and high school year books. File folders with report cards and college acceptance letters.  Tiny shoes and faded photos and personal journals filled with the [...]

My heart is breaking for Boston.  Now that the smoke has settled and the initial shock has left us numb, the news is introducing us to personal stories of devastating loss and inspirational heroism. Like most Americans, I am particularly saddened about the death of 8 year old Martin Richard.  He was just a boy.  [...]

We recently spent 8 glorious days and 8 restful nights on the tiny Mexican island of Isla Mujeres. Well, actually it was only 7 restful nights because one midnight halfway through the trip poor little Mack awoke in distress. His ears hurt.  Bad. None of my kids had ever endured an ear infection, but based [...]

I’ve been having a hard time falling asleep lately. Later this month, Vivian and Mack will celebrate birthdays which means that another year has flown by. Life is going too fast. I could live to 150 and still not check off everything on my to-do list.  I want to stop time and live without distractions [...]

I don’t think I’ve ever had an *amazing* Valentine’s Day. Its always been a Hallmark holiday for me.  When I was in high school, the booster club sponsored a carnation delivery – boys would buy carnations for girls, and the flowers would be delivered during class.  Every year I wished for a carnation. And I [...]

Here in Chicago, the most urgent news story lately surrounds the tragic death of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton.  She was a sweet and beautiful high schooler murdered while she took cover from the rain in a southside Chicago park.   Just days before her death she had performed at President Obama’s inauguration.  And now she is a [...]

My brother recently sent me an article about research from Notre Dame professor Darcia Narvaez that suggests “modern” parenting practices are bad for babies.  The professor believes feeding babies infant formula, living apart from extended family, sleep training, choosing medicated childbirth, etc hinder the moral development of children. In short, she says that our modern [...]

I know there are many pressing issues in the world today that are very deserving of my concern and attention, but right now at this moment I can’t help but think about the big game tonight. Notre Dame, my beloved alma mater, is playing for the national championship.  Its more exciting and nerve-wracking than I [...]