Author Archives: Rhena

Tiny Kitchen

Our kitchen is tiny. With a toddler, it’s almost impossible to eat out at restaurants. And so take out is something of a habit. Or, I should say, in the “time before” it was becoming a habit. But our tiny kitchen and reliance on carry out has betrayed the actual truth: we love to cookContinue reading “Tiny Kitchen”

Six Spring Considerations

This jewel in DC’s spring floral crown, the cherry blossom, is a family favorite in spite of its moodiness, or perhaps because of it. “It looks like a weeping willow!” Ms6yo exclaims, affirming her father’s declaration that this particular specimen is one of the prettiest on our neighborhood walks.

The Visitation

Would my mind be working, overtime, deep into the night to make sense out of fear or other senseless emotions and experiences. Better, I suspect, to consider the words, “Hail Mary, full of grace,” and the messenger angel who spoke them. Better to picture two cousins, John and Jesus,: one pouring baptismal water over the head of the other. Better, even, to contemplate the pillar and what was perpetrated there.

Ten Tips for Thriving Through School Closures: Lessons from Homeschooling Parents

1. All human beings, including kids, are hard wired to learn. Every single person is made to take in their environment in whichever way or ways they can and to process their experiences. That’s all that learning is. I used to be a classroom teacher so I’ll let you into a little (actually, big) secret:Continue reading “Ten Tips for Thriving Through School Closures: Lessons from Homeschooling Parents”

Four Family Friendly Things to do on a beautiful sunny day in Montgomery County during a potential epidemic

Let the children make fairy houses. They are going to do it anyway. They will search the yard for materials, assess their resources and needs. They will experiment with different construction and design techniques. They will negotiate with each other and their younger brother as he threatens to stomp it all out, delicate little earlyContinue reading “Four Family Friendly Things to do on a beautiful sunny day in Montgomery County during a potential epidemic”

Faith Renewed Part 2

Two weeks ago, this blog post blew up. OK. Blew up is a relative term. As I checked my stats through the day, the view-meter kept climbing upward. Prior to this day, the views on my posts were in the single digits; but here they rapidly climbed into the tens. It was a heady dayContinue reading “Faith Renewed Part 2”

Let Your Yes Mean Yes; Let Your No Mean No

Estelle recently told me of an evening within the past few weeks when her daughter, Elizabeth, received a phone call from a friend of hers in distress and needing to talk. Elizabeth went immediately to her friend, another high schooler. When her daughter returned to Estelle in a few hours she also was upset. HerContinue reading “Let Your Yes Mean Yes; Let Your No Mean No”

Days 4 and 5: Feasting and Resting

One of the biggest challenges as a stay at home parent during lent is that I still have to make sure my kids are eating and that they have food even when it’s things I’m not eating. In order to have someone who understands this is the reason why God gave some spouses telework daysContinue reading “Days 4 and 5: Feasting and Resting”