From Attitude to Gratitude
Features | Posted by Karen Edmisten in Family on Sunday, November 20, 2011
“Why do I have to wear braces?” my daughter complained. “I’m so tired of them.”
“Well, y’know, you don’t have to,” I snapped. My teen battened her emotional hatches for the coming storm of lecture.
“You should be happy that you get to wear them. You have parents who love you, care about your teeth, and your health, and work hard to provide for you. If we lived in different circumstances, with no... READ MORE
Memo From God
Features | Posted by Karen Edmisten in Homemaking on Sunday, October 23, 2011
“But that’s my birthday!” my daughter protested. “How can you go on my birthday?”
My husband and I teach baptism classes in our parish, and I’d signed us up for June, oblivious to a date that should have been uppermost in my mind: the day my second daughter would turn 13.
“Ummm,” I fumbled, “well, you know we never seem to do parties on the actual day. We already talked about having the slumber party... READ MORE
13 Things ...
Features | Posted by Karen Edmisten in Family on Monday, September 12, 2011
1. When something is really irritating you, ask yourself this: “When they are grown up and gone, am I going to care that they _____________? Or will I look back and wonder why I made such a big deal out of that?” Then decide if it’s really a big deal or not. Answers will vary.
2. Seventeen years pass astonishingly quickly.
3. The cliche about how different your children are from one another is a... READ MORE
Things I've Learned From Doubt
Features | Posted by Karen Edmisten in Faith on Wednesday, July 20, 2011
“Faith is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted.”
~~ C.S. Lewis
The most valuable things I’ve learned in times of doubt are these:
1. Doubt comes and goes. It is not a permanent state of being. Don’t treat it as such.
2. Don’t make lasting decisions about anything important—a friendship, a career, a marriage, the Catholic Church, God—in times of doubt. (You may make decisions... READ MORE
How Facebook is Like Swingset
Features | Posted by Karen Edmisten in Family on Tuesday, July 05, 2011
When I was a new mom, I had visions of meeting other new moms at the neighborhood park. On television and in the movies, moms were always at the park.
They went to the park with their friends, like Hope and Nancy did in Thirtysomething. (Hey, I know I’m showing my age but my oldest is 17 ... my ideas of motherhood were formed in the late eighties and early nineties ....) Or like Dustin Hoffmann and... READ MORE
How Facebook is Like a Swingset
Features | Posted by Karen Edmisten in Family on Tuesday, July 05, 2011
When I was a new mom, I had visions of meeting other new moms at the neighborhood park. On television and in the movies, moms were always at the park.
They went to the park with their friends, like Hope and Nancy did in Thirtysomething. (Hey, I know I’m showing my age but my oldest is 17 ... my ideas of motherhood were formed in the late eighties and early nineties ....) Or like Dustin Hoffmann and... READ MORE
Is Art an Extra?
Features | Posted by Karen Edmisten in Family on Friday, February 18, 2011
Recently our family visited a local art museum. We wound our way around Van Gogh, roamed past Renoir, ambled by Bouguereau and Breton, and soaked up Sargent. Lost in our impressions of the Impressionists, I hadn’t even thought that our museum stroll could “count” as art class (in our homeschool).
It was apparently “counted” by teachers from brick-and-mortar schools, too, as I noticed a number of students... READ MORE
Every Mom Needs a Re-Charge
Features | Posted by Karen Edmisten in Family on Thursday, September 16, 2010
He does it a couple of times a year. Packs the kids up and loads them into the van. As I deliver a final hug, I whisper to my husband, “Drive carefully—you’ve got my whole life in that van.”
He indulges my concern, smiles, promises to be careful, and tells me to enjoy myself. Then he whisks my girls away for an overnight father/daughter getaway. I shut the door and face an empty house.
Then I do... READ MORE
Practice Makes Perfect
Features | Posted by Karen Edmisten in Faith on Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Years ago, my then-seven-year-old daughter struggled to make straight stitches on her first sewing project.
“This is too hard!” she complained.
I reminded her that every new skill takes practice. With a sigh, she jabbed the needle through the fabric and muttered something. A moment later she cried out, “Oh! I bet before Adam and Eve ate that apple, nothing took practice!”
Wow. I wanted to give her... READ MORE
No Contest
Features | Posted by Karen Edmisten in Family on Wednesday, June 02, 2010
Recently, I babysat five kids for the weekend, temporarily upping the number of children in my house to eight. Chasing a two-year old, keeping him safe, and discovering his outstanding climbing abilities wore me out. It also reminded me that I am living in a completely different phase of life.
I remember chatting with some other moms a few years ago. As some of us complained of perpetual exhaustion,... READ MORE
