In the last nine years, our family has tried five different types of elementary school:  home school, private school, parochial school, public school. and charter school.  We're extremely lucky to have found one that works very well for us, and it's hard to imagine switching for any reason other than, say, statewide devastation by asteroids.  With all that switching around from school to school, we've learned a few things about the basic marks of a good elementary school.  (There are often fewer options for high school; and older kids have different needs, and are more resilient than younger kids.) Since this is the time of year when parents are assessing whether or not their kids are...READ MORE

You may remember The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.  When she took office in 2006, she was interviewed by the New York Times, and had the following exchange:

Q: How many members of the Episcopal Church are there in this country?

A: About 2.2 million. It used to be larger percentagewise, but Episcopalians tend to be better-educated and tend to reproduce at lower rates than some other denominations. Roman Catholics and Mormons both have theological reasons for producing lots of children

So right away, we learn two important things about Bishop Jefferts Schori:  first, that despite her talk about inclusiveness and tolerance, she...READ MORE

In her illuminating post the other day, Jennifer Fulwiler describes going to a party where she knew hardly anyone, and conducting a little social experiment:  for the first half, she introduced herself as a stay-at-home mom, and got little more than a verbal pat on the head in reply.  For the second half, though, she introduced herself as a writer; and then conversation blossomed.

But this disparity in response, Jen says, is not necessarily because people don't value motherhood as a way of life.  It may simply be because saying "I'm a mom" can mean so many very different things that it doesn't really give much information at all.  She says:

I know that a lot of moms who are out of...READ MORE

I woke up this morning to an angry -- oddly, almost a tearfully angry -- letter, protesting my blatant racism, my inappropriately partisan tone, and my meanypants attitude in a post I wrote some eight months ago.  This was back when the "Romney 2012, I Guess" campaign looked like it had a good chance of eeking out a victory over Obama, so I offered a list of ideas for how the Obama campaign could bulk up their fundraising strategy.  (I remember writing this post, because I was doing that Yosemite Sam evil laugh so hard, I almost choked on my own tongue.  If there were some way I could pay myself for enjoying my own stupid jokes, I'd be out-fundraising all three parties put together.)

So you're in your car, you've got the windows down, and you feel like doing some very mild rocking out in your dorky, parentish way.  But of course the kids are also in the car.  What to do?

Some people just make the kiddies hitch a ride on whatever crazy train the parents are on:

(source)

It ain't pretty.  But it's also fairly depressing to realize that the last hundred tunes you listened to all had to do with little white ducks or the importance of eating veggies.

We never really got into kid music much.  Instead, we cherry pick the kid-friendly stuff from our favorite albums, and everybody's happy.  As a bonus, we have discovered a few excellent threats: "Do you want me...READ MORE

On Thursday morning, I had the following thought process.  Raise your hand if you can relate:

Let’s see, Thursday, Thursday.  Almost done with the week.
Let’s see, Facebook, Facebook.  Ha, look at that cat . .  Oh, poor lady, gotta pray for her . . . Ugh, MSM hypocrisy . . . Ha, look at that other cat . . .
WAIT.  Holy Day?  Of obligation?  Today?  Wait, no, they changed it to Sunday!  Or did they?  No, not in my diocese!  Phew.
Okay, but we really should go, even if we don’t have to.  I should go because I want to and because it’s a privilege, not because I have to!
But wait, I can’t, because I already made that appointment, and we were on the waiting list forever, and we already...READ MORE

Can you believe it's only been about two months since Pope Francis was elected?  We've been getting to know him through his papal homilies, and books about him are starting to appear on the shelves.  Pray For Me: The Life and Spiritual Vision of Pope Francis by Robert Moynihan was released a few weeks ago; and as of yesterday, you can pre-order Encountering Christ: Homilies, Letters, and Addresses of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio.   Encountering Christ will be released at the end of May.

My sister, Devra Torres, who blogs at The Personalist Project, did one of the many layers of translation and editing for Encountering Christ, so I asked her a few questions about her experience working so...READ MORE

We have a huge billboard on our property, and I can see it from my kitchen and bedroom window.  It's not an offensive image, and I'm so used to it, it barely registers.  I'm actually glad it's there, because the billboard company pays us rent right around the time our vehicles send each other that secret "Let's both break down!" signal.  Still, I am annoyed if a corner of the billboard gets into a nice photo I'm taking of the kids.  When I toddle down memory lane, I want to see little girls in sundresses frolicking in a field of black eyed susans, not a grinning blond lady with her shiny new SUV.

So I especially liked this image that's been floating around Facebook:

Okay, so...READ MORE