Opportunity

Now Is The Time

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday so my parents and I went to church in the afternoon. The deacon gave a short, but powerful reflection. He started by reminding us that we are in a spiritual battle. Every day we see evidence of a struggling world. We face our own challenges and decisions as well. We need […]

Knew My Father-In-Law

When my mom attends her Parkinson’s exercise class, I usually visit with the other caregivers. As we were talking today, one of the men mentioned that he was a retired police officer in the city. My ex-husband’s father was also a city police officer. I asked the man when he was on the force and […]

Blessed by People

This evening I went to another party – 2 in 1 weekend. Today’s was a soup tasting party with the group from the pool exercise class that I attend. When I started going to the class a couple of months ago, I never would have guessed it would be such a social group. One of […]

Thoughtful Teens

Today I went to a monthly cooking event with high school youth who are in the Foster Care system. The group split into teams to prepare a chili dinner with cornbread, corn jalapeno popper salad, and pie. I have seen these kids for several months now – a couple for over a year. It is […]

Non-violence

I read the scripture readings for Mass today and thought it was interesting and timely that the Gospel was about the apostles asking for vengeance. Then I read the reflection by Bishop Robert Barron, which I always find insightful. These are the words that struck me most: “James and John (the sons of thunder) cry […]

Prayers for Attacker

Yesterday I heard about some students from Boston College currently studying in France who were attacked. A woman who has a history of mental illness threw acid into their faces. The girls were reportedly doing ok and would recover. Today I heard the rest of the story. As the girls wrote on social media to […]

YMCA

During the past year, I have been going to physical therapy for problems with my hip. One of the places I went to had a swimming pool and it felt great doing the therapy in the water. Since then, I have been wanting to join the local YMCA that has exercise classes in their pool. […]

Meaningful Old School

Today I went to a BBQ with the Fostering Hope program. The event was held at the Catholic school that I attended when I was in first grade. I have driven by it a couple of times but this is the first time I had actually been back on the grounds. As I looked around, […]

Becoming Men

My son called me bright and early this morning. We talked about his plans after college graduation and started to put some things in place. We actually spoke several times during the day as we worked out some details. Later in the morning, my sister came for a visit. She also received a call from […]

Fighter Plane

The other night I volunteered with the Fostering Hope Foundation at the monthly cooking events. I noticed that the young woman who organizes the event had a new tattoo of a WWII airplane. She shared the story of the unusual work of art. Her grandfather was in the Air Force and flew a fighter plane in WWII. […]