What's it take to be a good Catholic grandparent?
First, the comforting news: Being a good Catholic will help you be a good grandparent. Being a good grandparent will help you be a good Catholic. And, of course, there's also that tight relationship ...
Never-ending parenting
A dear friend recently became a grandma for the first time and now the baby is "already" a month old. How did that happen so quickly? In a couple of months, two of my three children will "already" be ...
Holiday grief
I was startled a few weeks ago when familiar feelings of grief surfaced. It was evening, mid-October, and there was a sadness I hadn't felt for a while. The same thing happened the next night. This ...
'Digital immigrants'
When I asked my daughter what classes my grandson was taking, she told me one was called "digital immigrants." "Are you sure?" "I think that's the name of it," she said. He's a sixth-grader. First ...
Little choices make a big difference
Car manuals say the dashboard's oil light may stay on for a few seconds after you start the engine. But mine had been lit up for longer than that as I sat in the driveway. Not a lot longer. Just a little. So ...
A tip of the hat to former seminarians
Soon after my grandson turned 11, I said to him, "Well, in three years you can move away from home." He looked at me. "That's what I did," I said. He turned to his mom. "Really?" he asked since he knew ...
Accepting what God has chosen for us
I've explained to God that he might want to rethink this free-will business. Yes, my generation can handle it, but those young people may not be able to handle it. "It seems to me," I've told him, "it's ...
Young and old in the family kitchen
When it comes to making gravy, there are two kinds of people," I said to my 10-year-old grandson this past Christmas. "Flour people and cornstarch people. We're cornstarch people." He nodded. At some ...
