The other day I was finishing up something that seemed very important at the time when the baby woke up from a nap and started fussing. Chopping up veggies for dinner or writing the last sentence of an email, I can’t even remember anymore. In the moment I thought, “I’ve got to do this right now.” Hildie wasn’t all out crying. She was just starting to make “not happy noises” as my kids call … [Read more...]
How Can I Describe the Weight of You?
How can I describe the weight of you? Your warm cheek against my chest, limbs relaxed, eyes closed, breathing deep and even. The new baby smell from the top of your head that smells like heavenly bread. Your smiles in your sleep, the way your scrunch your face and stretch, almost waking and the relaxing again into my arms. I watch the soles of your feet touch together. I feel your fingers … [Read more...]
The Incarnation and the Pietá
The Incarnation of Christ, celebrated in the liturgical season of Christmastide, takes on a richer significance for me with each passing year. The story of the Nativity is fuller–but undeniably stranger. It loses the saccharine quality of greeting cards and becomes complicated. Christmas becomes more intricately connected to Holy Week and I’m reminded that the miracle of the Incarnation isn’t … [Read more...]
A Picture of the Incarnation on My Kitchen Floor
During this pregnancy (my third) my mood swings have been unreal. One minute everything is rosy and the next I find myself sobbing for no reason. And if I wait too long to eat or don’t get enough sleep, I am sure to be an insane hysterical basket case. The worst meltdown occurred for really no reason at all at about halfway through the pregnancy. We put the kids to bed, then Daniel ran some … [Read more...]
