08.31.10
Posted in Articles and columns at 8:49 pm by ginny
Today in class, I was telling the students about one of my colleagues, who has amassed a fabulous collection of slides from his trips to England over the years. Then a belated awareness of my audience crept in.
“How many of you have ever seen a slide projector?” I asked.
In my class of 26 freshmen and sophomores, about four hands went up.
It was one of those moments when I felt like an absolute fossil. These kids have probably never seen a slide show, never used a phone with a cord, never listened to a record. It makes me wonder if certain references — like calling someone a “broken record” — will end up getting phased out of our speech. I sure hope not, because it’ s just too good an expression to give up. ( It’s also the metaphor at the heart of my latest column, which is all about the one sentence that I say over and over to my kids … and when I say “over and over,” believe me, that doesn’t even come close to expressing it.)
Somehow, calling myself a “scratched CD” doesn’t have quite the same ring, does it?
Turntable picture found here.
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08.18.10
Posted in Articles and columns at 2:20 pm by ginny
So today is my last day of summer vacation. Sigh. It was great while it lasted.
I really love teaching; don’t get me wrong. But it’s hard to trade the leisurely pace of summer for the early morning alarm, the daily commute, the chronic grading. I don’t think this is just a teacher thing, either; if you have school-age kids, you are probably feeling the same way.
But I do have a few tips to make the transition less painful. You can find them in my latest column. I hope they help you make the start of the school year a good one for you & yours.
P.S. As predicted, it’s finally getting warm around here.
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08.13.10
Posted in Articles and columns at 9:30 am by ginny
The rosary is one of the most powerful prayers I know, but I almost never pray it.
I explain in Beads on Call.
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07.20.10
Posted in Articles and columns at 9:55 pm by ginny
For many years, I taught with a woman who had a pithy, brilliant way of looking at summer. “June is like Friday, July is like Saturday, and August is like Sunday,” she used to say.
According to this formula, it’s currently about 3:30 on Saturday afternoon.
But don’t get fooled into thinking that summer is over! There is still lots of time to do the things that feed your soul, whether alone or with your family. You can read more about it in my latest column.
Happy Summering!
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07.04.10
Posted in Articles and columns at 12:44 am by ginny
I love the Fourth of July. I actually love it more all the time. Interestingly, having a child was the catalyst for looking at this holiday in a more positive light. I wrote all about this on BustedHalo last year; you can check it out here, if you’d like a little reading to go with your fireworks and parades and barbecues.
So Happy Birthday, America! It took me a while to realize this, but there really is nowhere else I’d rather be.
Flag graphic from Karen’s Whimsy
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06.28.10
Posted in Articles and columns at 9:02 am by ginny
Five years ago, I never would have thought that kids’ shoes could get me all choked up and nostalgic. Chalk it up to one more way that motherhood changes you.
You can read all about this in my latest column: Shoes in a Row.
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05.16.10
Posted in Articles and columns at 9:57 pm by ginny
I’m a big fan of marriage. It’s a terrific thing. It’s not always easy to maintain the romance, though, especially when you become parents and suddenly find that things like energy, time, and sleep are in short supply. You can focus so much on being a parent that you forget, first and foremost, to be a spouse.
But Scott and I have a little ritual that helps. You can read about it in my latest column, What I Love About You.
Photo of my wedding bouquet, now dried and hanging on the wall (I’m very into sentiment).
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05.04.10
Posted in Articles and columns at 8:08 pm by ginny
See this picture of Mary? The one that shows her transparent chest and visible, wounded heart?
This is the kind of picture I never used to like … until a certain little boy came into my life.
You can read all about it in my article “Heart to Heart,” in this month’s issue of U.S. Catholic.
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03.29.10
Posted in Articles and columns at 10:31 pm by ginny
It is Holy Week, isn’t it? Honestly, it’s easy for me to lose track these days. Between Lukey’s vomiting and my own raging cough and cold and the end-of-the-quarter stress, I have to keep reminding myself that, spiritually speaking, this week is different from all the other weeks.
It never used to be like this. I used to be a Holy Week junkie, going to every service I could. But then — well — I had kids. One’s observance of Holy Week changes a bit when there are little ones involved. It becomes less about attending the marathon Easter Vigil and more about looking for little slips of holiness in the midst of daily living.
Three years ago, when Matthew was six months old, I wrote about this transition. My article “Baby’s First Holy Week” appeared in U.S. Catholic in March 2008. It’s now on their website; you can check it out here.
Whether you celebrate your Holy Week in a hushed church or in a toy-strewn living room, I hope it’s a blessed one.
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03.27.10
Posted in Articles and columns at 10:25 pm by ginny
This morning, on my jog, I was struck suddenly by the smell in the air: it smelled like spring. I’m not entirely sure I could analyze the components of this particular scent — I think pink jasmine and freesia were in there somewhere — but it was heavenly. And as I jogged past yards with tulips and calla lilies in bloom, I realized how hungry I am for this season, for its sunlight and sudden warmth.
My latest column, Planting Faith, was inspired by these jogs, and by the flowers I’ve seen blooming around me these last few weeks. Lately, some of the best spiritual insights come to me when I’m running. Maybe that’s God’s way of making sure I exercise more.
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