parenting

Q. Whenever we ask our 13-year-old son what he wants to be when he grows up, he says, “All I want to be is rich.” Our son’s fixation on money and materialism bothers us. He never talks about how he’ll achieve his goal of wealth or what…

It had been a bacon-and-egg, aster-and-bluebells, children-hanging-on-every-limb kind of Sunday, five stars all around. By 3 p.m., I was comfortably buzzed on sunlight and motherhood, the grass looking a little greener than usual, my mood a…

Q: I’m the mom of three children — two boys ages 9 and 6, and a 4-year-old daughter. I wonder if I am unreasonably consumed by fear and anxiety about my kids’ safety and well-being. This issue is starting to be a source of friction between…

What did you say? I can’t hear you. Did you lose your voice? I never truly appreciated the Gospel story found in Luke 1 when  Zechariah doubted God’s plan for his life to have a son in his old age and the angel said, “But now you will be…

“Hi, Jesus! I love you, too, Jesus! Mmm …” my oldest daughter blows Jesus a kiss as we drive past a Catholic church on the way to a play date. Normally, I initiate the ritual, but she does it on her own today. The motion is natural to her,…

We’ve all got our temperaments and our children do too. It easy to pick out which of my children is the heart-on-her-sleeve mini-me of her father and which one is the spitting absent-minded image of myself. But our children don’t just get…

by Danielle Bean When my son Eamon was about 2 years old, we sat near the window together, watching a lightning storm. When one especially loud clap of thunder boomed in the sky, he turned to me with large eyes. “Papa!” he gasped. In our…

by Matt Archbold I recently told my wife it’s been difficult finding the money for our oldest to go to college while also paying for Catholic school tuition — as well as saving for eventual bail for our 10-year-old. The 10-year-old in the…

by Matt Archbold We were getting ready for my 10-year-old’s basketball game. She could not find her jersey or her right shoe. I’ll never understand how my children lose just one shoe, but it happens all the time. Do they come home, take one…

by Matt Archbold  Every story answers a question. The good ones do, anyway. In fact, the greatest story there is begins with one young wom­an’s response to the question of love and ultimate sacrifice. Mary, the Blessed Mother, said “yes.”…