This article in the Times demonstates something beautiful about parenting. It is not written by a Catholic Dad, as far as I know, but it advocates a type of natural, relaxed, and down-to-earth parenting which I can largely identify with, but also which I see prevalent in Catholic Homeschooling Families. I think it demonstrates some practical sequelae of being happy with the way parenting changes a couple, and embracing being a new Dad rather than pining after the ‘good ol days’!
Here’s an extract:
I have a quiet little bet with myself. A hundred years from now, people will look back on us the way we look back on the Victorians and many will find it astonishing that we treated children the way we do. The more extreme parenting strategies appear to deny the fact that we’re parents at all. The aim is to get back to our normal, child-free lifestyles as soon as possible.
Do have a quick read; you may not identify with everything outlined in the article, but it stimulates ideas and makes me realise how much we have in common with hippy-guru parents! Being parents as God intended us to be.
Recently, I posted a slightly snarky comment on Facebook regarding “10.2% unemployment” and “change”.
My sister responded with her own comment, which is decidedly further left than my own position. Now Thanksgiving is coming up and, as we do each year, we will all (my brother, my sister and her “partner” and all of our respective children, spouses and grandchildren) converge on my parent’s home for the hyper-calorie fest. There will be ham, turkey, scads of casseroles, a passel of pies and who knows what else to fill 48 hours of family fun.
What won’t be there? Religion and politics. Oh, I’ll be asked to lead the blessing at meals, but that will be my father’s token approval of my conversion to the Church. They aren’t an atheistic or agnostic lot, so that helps. But as long as we don’t cross those lines, we all get along just fine.
But when someone steps over the line, they really step into it.
So my new policy, beginning with last year’s ode to gluttony, was to reject any efforts to goad me broach these areas. No politics or religion. If they have a question, I’ll be happy to answer, but I won’t debate it or try to convince anyone of anything. It isn’t easy either–both subjects are near and dear to me.
This was a tough call. My kids love to visit the farm and make plans for “cookie week”–where all of the kids old enough to use the bathroom on their own spend a full week in December making cookies with their grandmother. My married children bring their kids and share their own joy from childhood. It is a special time for everyone.
Yes, clearly I DO have too much time on my hands…. I’m a teacher who’s off for the summer. What’d ya expect? Enjoy the second installment of the Tower of Binky… the Two Towers! (Coming soon, Return of the Binky!)
Well, what can I say? Give me a half day of school and a free afternoon while Rebecca runs some errands… and you get this piece of cinematic diversion! Me and the Boy gettin’ silly! PS – There’s no need to tell me I have too much time on my hands, by the way. I’m a teacher and the school year just closed! So I do!! Stay tuned for me random antics…
I wrote this last summer but I thought “Catholic Dads” would be a good place to post it again. It’s about family and having a dad and being a dad; hope it’s not too long…
I’ve been thinking a lot about my family lately. I’ve been blessed with a large one. My wife and I only have two daughters but I have four much older brothers and sisters, which by today’s standards would be considered a lot. “Breeders” my parents might be called now, but it wasn’t so long ago that 5 children was fairly normal, especially if you were Catholic. My parents had 23 brothers and sisters between them. And including their spouses and the children they produced, the population stretches into the hundreds just counting from my grandparents.
Such a large group naturally produces a wide array of differing personalities, careers, and interests. There have been engineers, artists, firemen, coal miners, bus drivers, airmen, soldiers, and merchant mariners. Nurses, bankers, writers, world-record holders, a nun. Drinkers, smokers, and gamblers. Intellectuals, world-travelers. Heroes and rascals. Poets. Singers, musicians, great cooks, and bad drivers. Republicans, Democrats, socialists and conservatives. Roman Catholics. I had an uncle who was Joe DiMaggio’s accountant and sat on the groom’s side for his wedding to Marilyn Monroe. One survived the Battle of the Bulge. Another (may God forgive him) helped develop the precursor to the bar-code. The accomplishments are never-ending.Family.
And whenever two or three or 20 of them got together, life became much, much more interesting. Fireworks usually, but often too enlightenment. It was truly a privilege to have grown up around these larger than life peoples. My adulthood has been brushed and polished by their stories, experiences, mistakes, and successes. By their love – for life and for
By Bill Donaghy on April 28th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized
“Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know, you can’t explain. But you feel it. You felt it your entire life. That there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there. Like a splinter in your mind… driving you mad.”
- Morpheus, The Matrix
The more deeply I delve into Pope John Paul II’s new sexual revolution (found in his teaching on the Theology of the Body) the more I come to realize the absolute insanity of the present state of things.
WARNING: The following words will either ruffle your feathers or unbind them so you can take flight.
Look objectively for a moment at the way the human body is treated today. Look at the magazine covers in your local
By Atom Heart Father on April 13th, 2009 | Category: Uncategorized
At the Easter vigil, I realized something. While I believe what we wear to church matters and reflects the dignity and solemnity of the liturgy, my dress clothes aren’t the most important things I wear to worship. It’s not the nice shirt, pressed pants, or tie that completes my ensemble.
By Rich on December 26th, 2008 | Category: Uncategorized
Christopher West of the Theology of the Body Institute has a nice piece on The Spousal Mystery of Christmas at his site which his linked here.
Christmas celebrates the marvels of the birth of the Son of God from the virgin womb of Mary. At Christmas pageants, at Mass, and in beloved Christmas carols we will hear the story told again and again this year: "The angel Gabriel was sent from God … to a virgin … and the virgin’s name was Mary. …And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus" (Lk 1:26-31).
Perhaps our familiarity with the story has numbed us to the breath-taking, astounding, incredible mystery that is Christmas. I’d like to turn to the mystical insights of a certain saint in the hopes of waking us up a bit to the mind-blowing reality we celebrate (or should celebrate) at Christmas.
By John Jansen on December 2nd, 2008 | Category: Uncategorized
A few years ago, my wife and I started making a conscious effort during Advent to celebrate it in such a way as to distinguish it from Christmas. (We had always had an Advent wreath, but we were looking for more.)
While I admit we have a long way to go in making this distinction at Haus Jansen, one of our family’s now beloved customs—courtesy of a suggestion from some friends of ours—is to adorn our Christmas tree during Advent with purple and pink ornaments exclusively. Come Christmas Eve, we take them down, and only then do we put up our regular ornaments.
And because they get to decorate the tree twice, our kids have come to love this custom we have in our home every year that begins during “pink and purple time”, as our five-year old daughter Teresa put it the other day.
We’re always open to suggestions, so I’d be curious to hear about any of the ways other families commemorate Advent.
By Rob Kaiser on November 19th, 2008 | Category: Uncategorized
Hey, Catholic Dads. My sister brought the website Grace Before Meals to my attention. I think this is could be a terrific resource for families. Here is what it says about the site:
Grace Before Meals is centered on one fundamental concept: the simple act of creating and sharing a meal can strengthen all kinds of relationships. Founded by Fr. Leo Patalinghug in 2003, Grace Before Meals has grown from a simple idea to a worldwide movement, producing a book, blog and even a pilot for a TV show endorsed by PBS.
Research shows that having frequent family dinners can reduce the susceptibility of teens to risks like teen pregnancy, smoking, drug use and depression. And these benefits don’t just apply to traditional families or people with kids. Stronger families foster stronger communities, and that’s the goal we’re striving for–one meal at a time.
Grace Before Meals it part of SPQN - the same group that brought us The Rosary Army . Check it out, and share with us any of your thoughts and experiences.
I wrote this last summer but I thought “Catholic Dads” would be a good place to post it again. It’s about family and having a dad and being a dad; hope it’s not too long…
Recent Coments