I sat in the chair, one I hadn’t occupied for far too long, and enjoyed the feel of being pampered a bit.  Never mind that I hate having my hair straightened: this was adult conversation, and my hair was finally cut and styled.

In the last four years, I have come to a realization that I have a new favorite color.  Though I tend to like all the colors, favoring for scarlet and gray during football season, I feel almost guilty confessing that I’ve started to almost like the color pink.

I never have a problem finding my car in a parking lot, despite it being a popular make and model.  I have my four-year-old to thank for that.

I love to sing, though I won’t claim to be able to carry a tune in a bucket.  My kids and I sing in the car, and we make up silly songs of our own, and that’s as far as I thought it would ever go.

I’ve been Christian most of my life, though I tend to count the last eight years with a different weight, since becoming Catholic was more intentional than the Christianity of my youth.

Though I feel very called to pray the rosary — even as often as daily — I’d be lying if I told you I found this easy.

It was early January of this year when I realized, without a shadow of a doubt, that I HAD to say the rosary daily.

A while back, Deacon Tom Fox wrote a column in this space called “The Gift of Tears.”  I’m a dry-eyed gal most of the time, and I have always prided myself on that trait.

It’s the Month of the Rosary, and thanks to a group of generous sponsors, we have an October Rosary Giveaway!  To enter, you must leave a comment on this post with a valid email address (which won’t be published or shared) before Midnight PST on Saturday, October 31, 2009.  (Even more new items added since [...]

Most mornings find me cradling a cup of coffee and holding a rosary or a prayer book.  I’ve tried praying at other spots in my house

I was minding my own business, really, talking to a mom friend and pushing my toddler on the swings.

Lately, I find myself constantly on a quest for the perfect purse. 

Sometimes you have to do things you just don’t want to do.  Sometimes you have to deal with people you just don’t like.  Sometimes you’ll work your tail off for…nothing much. 

Did you look around at me when you heard the shrill scream after my daughter bit her finger this morning?  Yeah, that’s right, it’s my kid who interrupted the homily

While I was mowing, I couldn’t help but reflect on the success of dandelions in my yard.  I mean, they’re EVERYWHERE! 

Living in an old farmhouse takes care of my free time.  There’s always something, and whatever you have to do always leads to two other problems. 

I am kneeling.  There’s a squirming child somewhere nearby.  If she’s not on my lap, she’s sitting right beside me.  Her sister is whispering to me, or looking through my purse, or reaching for something on the other side of me.

Something jarred me today, and I realized that although I hear the word “no” a lot (and sometimes in very strange contexts, proving she doesn’t understand it quite yet), and even though I feel my patience level tested anew each day,

Celebrating Mary’s motherhood has become a celebration of my motherhood. The obligation of Mass has turned into a thanksgiving for a blessing I didn’t think I wanted.

I used to think praying a daily rosary was too hard, but I got started with it anyway.  I’m glad I did, too, because it turns out that it’s one of the best therapies a high-strung Type A personality could happen upon!