Relationships

It was a Sunday afternoon when my eldest daughter, Ella, came upstairs to tell me in a worried voice, “Grandpa says he’s going to town. I told him that it was too dangerous, but he won’t listen to me.” I went downstairs dreading a…

Thirteen years ago I was a blushing bride dreaming of her happily ever after. After enduring a rigorous pre-Cana boot camp, I thought I knew a lot about love and marriage. I knew squat. Since then I’ve learned a lot — mostly the hard way —…

It is strange the way a cruel word can inflict a wound that won’t heal. Behind us at the pizzeria last week were a quartet of old ladies playing cards, and in the corner a group of teenagers clustered in a booth. At my table I was…

Q. Our family dog, Rory, is nearly 15 years old. When we got him, our children were seven, five, three, and a newborn. They have virtually no memory of life before we brought Rory into our family. He has been a great pet. His presence in…

Q. My 13-year-old daughter is begging me to be allowed to date. She claims all the other kids in her eighth grade class are allowed to go out with their boyfriends and girlfriends, and she is the only one who isn’t permitted to socialize…

The day Paul and I said, “I do,” was one of the happiest days of my life. I thought it was strange to talk about growing more in love, as my friend Fr. John said during our wedding homily. I couldn’t imagine loving my husband any more than…

Carolyn had sent her daughter, Sally, to college over a month ago. Carolyn used to be busy designing sets for Sally’s school musicals and coordinating her daughter’s teen youth group. But now that Sally was no longer home, Carolyn felt…

14 ways to perk up your marriage

Marriage is always a special occasion

I would like to be able to say that the “stunned” feeling that came upon my husband on the day he first thought of marriage was caused by me — by my exceptional beauty, loving ways, scintillating wit, and rare intelligence. It was caused,…