Personal
The Evolution of Anna
“Never say never whatever you do…” —An American Tail Throughout my life, there are many things I never wanted to do. I had a mental list of 8 things. You might find this shocking—okay, no one who knows me will find this shocking—but my Never List was a way of protecting myself from re-living old trauma. Sort of a mental buffer to avoid facing my … [Read More...]
On this, the Anniversary of Your Death
When you died so many years ago, I felt that I cheated you and myself because my grief robbed me of the capacity to say the true but unacceptable words at your funeral. You can’t speak ill of the dead at a Southern Christian funeral. And so, the words remained buried because the majority of my memories of you were not good. They were not kind, but they were true. The … [Read More...]
A Tale of Two Stories
Preface: I’ve been trying to write the story of our adopted kids and how that came about, but I’ve found it to be an impossible task to separate their story from the parallel story of our former foster sons. In my heart, their stories are not only parallel, but strongly interwoven and nearly inseparable. It is a two-sided coin: love and joy on one side and … [Read More...]
5 Years Later: On My Catholic Conversion
Never for one second have I regretted my decision to become Catholic. Within its theology, I have found more challenge, more vastness, more embrace of the whole of me. And I’m not exaggerating when I say that the last five years have been the most challenging of my life and if I had not become Catholic, I don’t know how I could’ve made it through. The … [Read More...]
Rejoicing and Mourning: Rambling Reflections on 2020
Sometimes you just need to grab a hand and leap through the flames. “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” In so many ways, this seemed to be 2020’s tagline. I witnessed those thriving more than ever before, and those struggling more than ever to survive. It was a both/and kind of year. And as it drew to a close, I thought … [Read More...]
