A family follow-up warms the heart
I got an email a few days ago that had me walking on air. It was from the husband of the woman I wrote about last week. In case you missed that column, it was about a woman I saw in church the previous Sunday. She was at Mass with her four young sons, and I was impressed by them all – the boys, who were very well-dressed and well-behaved, and the mom, who was obviously a woman of strong [...]
A close-up view of a saintly woman
It was a few minutes before Mass was to start on Sunday morning. A woman and four young boys came in and sat in the pew in front of me. Two thoughts immediately struck me. The first was, “Wow. That woman must have her hands full!” The other was to note how well-dressed the boys were. They ranged in age from ten to two, which I know because I asked the mom after Mass. Each of the boys, including the [...]
Priorities change with a family emergency
“Where were you last week? I missed you!” This was what I heard from several people about the fact that I didn’t have a column in last week’s Villager. One person said, “I can’t even remember the last time your column wasn’t in the paper.” To tell you the truth, neither can I. And for those who are wondering about the reason, it was a family matter. My father-in-law was hospitalized with a life-threatening infection that required immediate surgery, so [...]
An old house is becoming new again
“So, you’re really an empty nester now,” a friend said to me shortly after my son’s wedding last month. Her comment caught me a bit off guard, since my kids have been grown and gone for quite a while now. But with both of them now married, that makes my husband and me empty nesters in a whole new way. And it got us thinking about our house in a whole new way, too. Our son left home when he [...]
A closer look can tell a different story
I was sitting in the hotel lobby with three friends. We had just returned from an early-morning walk, and were enjoying a cup of coffee before packing up, checking out, and heading back to Minnesota. I was facing the front door of the hotel, and absently watching the people who were checking out and leaving. “They certainly have a lot of luggage for just two people,” I said to my friends, nodding toward a young couple pushing a cart full [...]