Dec. 27, 2007
Washington Post editorial writer Ruth Marcus has written a column that says so much about what is wrong with today's parenting, that it is hard to believe. Of course, she doesn't intend to say it. But her response to her daughters' telling her that actress Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant is, well, priceless. Jamie Lynn Spears is the 16-year-old sister of Britney. I only know this because my local newspaper has an article on Britney every single day, for some reason.
So anyway, Marcus' daughters, 10 and 12, tell her the latest news and Mom asks, "So what do you think the lesson is here?"
Her 10-year-old says it must be not to have sex until you get married. Oh, but no, that could not possibly be the lesson. Marcus even goes so far as to say - in her column - that abstinence before marriage would be a mistake. But she's not comfortable saying that to her children "because that conversation gets so complicated so quickly."
The reason for that is, she's wrong, of course. Historically, people have believed in abstinence before marriage. There are all kinds of practical reasons -- health, stability of family, importance of child-rearing.
Marcus says the Spears news is actually a welcome development because it reinforces to teen-agers the need to use birth control.
Gee, I'm sure that Jamie Lynn could've gotten access to birth control. But, as others have pointed out, teen-agers are about as good at remembering to take their birth control pills as they are at picking up their socks and doing all their chores.
Birth control hasn't done much to control unplanned pregnancy. In fact, out-of-wedlock births have increased dramatically since the U.S. Supreme Court in 1965 struck down state laws that made use of birth control by married couples illegal. The court made it legal for unmarried people to use contraception in 1972. In 1970, 10.7 percent of live births occurred to unmarried mothers; in 2001 33.5 percent of live births occurred to unmarried women, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Simply put, The Pill has given the illusion of removing the consequences of sex. And that leads to a statistic cited by Ms. Marcus: more than 60 percent of high school seniors report having had sex at least once.
Ms. Marcus thinks she'll take her older daughter to an edgy movie about a teen-ager getting pregnant in high school to teach her that "it can happen to you."
It certainly can, as long as parents are afraid to tell kids the truth. Sex should be reserved for marriage for your own physical and emotional health, and that of your children.
When my kids ask me, I'll tell them the truth. My husband and I lived together before we were married, and it's not the best way to start a marriage. We are fortunate that our marriage has lasted, and it has benefited a great deal from our conversion to Catholicism nine years ago. I will encourage my kids to take things in the right order and to make sure they know their own minds and hearts before they make such a commitment, because that is what sex is whether we acknowledge it or not.
A better take on the whole issue of sexual activity and teens can be found in an interview with Dr. Meg Meeker, who has written the books: "Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know" and "Epidemic: How Teen Sex is Killing our Kids." That interview can be found at zenit.org.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Thursday, December 20, 2007
School's Out!
Dec. 20, 2007
School's out, school's out, teacher let the monkeys out. My monkeys went out and played in the mud when the bell of freedom rang.
I paid bills and wrote out Christmas cards. I'm glad for a break, I have to admit. Homeschooling is great, but sometimes you just need a break.
We learned about constellations this week, thanks to Prima Latina. It is really interesting. I find that I learn a lot along with the kids. I never knew the zodiac was in Latin, or even how to define the zodiac -- the constellations through which the sun passes.
I read an article this week that said only 47.8% of parents read to their children, ages 0-5, daily. What a shame.
I remember going out to buy some of my favorite children's books to read to Olivia when I was just pregnant with her. And then reading one to her when I was on maternity leave, so I'm sure she did not get the gist of it. But she listened as I rocked and read.
Although my kids read really well for their age, I do read to them for at least 30 minutes each day - usually on a topic we are studying. Maybe it is a Greek Myth or Story of the World.
Our latest is The Jesse Tree by Geraldine McCaughrean. I can't say enough positive things about this book. It presents the major Bible stories in an engaging and extremely well-written way. My kids always want two chapters, if not three, when we sit down to read it.
And I learn. I never knew much about the prophet Elijah, but we read about him today. And his great faith really captivated me. Knowing you are but a tool in the hands of God, and that with God anything can be done.
Good to know.. if only we can believe that when the rubber hits the road.
Well, the rubber is hitting the road. My sister does have cancer -- papillary carcinoma. It apparently is very treatable with a radioactive iodine that you drink. But it's just a terribly hard time for her with a new baby and her husband in a new job and in one of those very Northern states where it snows all winter.
I'll be flying up sometime in January, whenever she says she needs me to come. I'm glad I get to go, but I pray that this road to recovery is not too trying for her, because she has hit a lot of rough spots in the past few years. None of them of her own making. That is where faith comes in. We never know why difficulty comes to certain people, but we know always that God is with us in our trials and in our triumphs.
School's out, school's out, teacher let the monkeys out. My monkeys went out and played in the mud when the bell of freedom rang.
I paid bills and wrote out Christmas cards. I'm glad for a break, I have to admit. Homeschooling is great, but sometimes you just need a break.
We learned about constellations this week, thanks to Prima Latina. It is really interesting. I find that I learn a lot along with the kids. I never knew the zodiac was in Latin, or even how to define the zodiac -- the constellations through which the sun passes.
I read an article this week that said only 47.8% of parents read to their children, ages 0-5, daily. What a shame.
I remember going out to buy some of my favorite children's books to read to Olivia when I was just pregnant with her. And then reading one to her when I was on maternity leave, so I'm sure she did not get the gist of it. But she listened as I rocked and read.
Although my kids read really well for their age, I do read to them for at least 30 minutes each day - usually on a topic we are studying. Maybe it is a Greek Myth or Story of the World.
Our latest is The Jesse Tree by Geraldine McCaughrean. I can't say enough positive things about this book. It presents the major Bible stories in an engaging and extremely well-written way. My kids always want two chapters, if not three, when we sit down to read it.
And I learn. I never knew much about the prophet Elijah, but we read about him today. And his great faith really captivated me. Knowing you are but a tool in the hands of God, and that with God anything can be done.
Good to know.. if only we can believe that when the rubber hits the road.
Well, the rubber is hitting the road. My sister does have cancer -- papillary carcinoma. It apparently is very treatable with a radioactive iodine that you drink. But it's just a terribly hard time for her with a new baby and her husband in a new job and in one of those very Northern states where it snows all winter.
I'll be flying up sometime in January, whenever she says she needs me to come. I'm glad I get to go, but I pray that this road to recovery is not too trying for her, because she has hit a lot of rough spots in the past few years. None of them of her own making. That is where faith comes in. We never know why difficulty comes to certain people, but we know always that God is with us in our trials and in our triumphs.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Dec. 12, 2007
Today is one of those good days of homeschooling - so far. To finish Latin, math, religion and history before lunch is always good. But to enjoy doing it is even better. I am reading to the kids This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall, an older history of the United States that is written in an adventurous and articulate style. They enjoy the wild stories of early colonists and learn words like fetters and gibbet.
With the freedom of schooling at home, I am able to teach them the story of Our Lady of Gu adalupe and then give them a picture of her, free from chcweb.com, to color. They are practicing saying the Act of Contrition and Joey is learning many verses in his copybook, where he also draws illustrations.
We are 3/5 of the way through Prima Latina and are reviewing for the unit 3 test. I am so proud of their progress in learning all of the vocabulary and three whole Latin prayers. Better still, the lessons in Prima Latina support what they are learning in First Language Lessons -- all those parts of speech.
During free time, Joey made about 20 paper "bullets" for his homemade slingshot and Olivia drew a complete picture of Santa's Workshop, even though she has learned the truth about Santa this year.
So now we have some reading aloud to do and our grammer lesson. I hope to take them to Tinker Creek so that we can do more observation of our water environment. We are making a little scrapbook about it as we learn about water. They also have piano lessons today.
All of this sounds great, yet I still worry they are missing things like being in the school Christmas play and meeting lots and lots of friends. We have friends here but don't see them every day because that isn't how it works when you homeschool. Ah, well, to enjoy the beauty of the day you have - that is one of the keys to a happy life, I'm sure.
What follows is a prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe, which I pray for the special intention of my sister who is awaiting a pathology report following thyroid surgery. My prayer is that she is cancer-free.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, we find you among the poor, the small, those the world counts for nothing. You remind us of how precious each of us is to you and to your Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ. You comfort us in our suffering. You challenge us to use our strengths. You call us to do whatever He tells us (John 2:5).
May we heed your message given us at Guadalupe: to acknowledge God's love, to protect the innocent, to replace our fear with trust, to keep our priorities in order. We ask this through the mercy and grace of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today is one of those good days of homeschooling - so far. To finish Latin, math, religion and history before lunch is always good. But to enjoy doing it is even better. I am reading to the kids This Country of Ours by H.E. Marshall, an older history of the United States that is written in an adventurous and articulate style. They enjoy the wild stories of early colonists and learn words like fetters and gibbet.
With the freedom of schooling at home, I am able to teach them the story of Our Lady of Gu adalupe and then give them a picture of her, free from chcweb.com, to color. They are practicing saying the Act of Contrition and Joey is learning many verses in his copybook, where he also draws illustrations.
We are 3/5 of the way through Prima Latina and are reviewing for the unit 3 test. I am so proud of their progress in learning all of the vocabulary and three whole Latin prayers. Better still, the lessons in Prima Latina support what they are learning in First Language Lessons -- all those parts of speech.
During free time, Joey made about 20 paper "bullets" for his homemade slingshot and Olivia drew a complete picture of Santa's Workshop, even though she has learned the truth about Santa this year.
So now we have some reading aloud to do and our grammer lesson. I hope to take them to Tinker Creek so that we can do more observation of our water environment. We are making a little scrapbook about it as we learn about water. They also have piano lessons today.
All of this sounds great, yet I still worry they are missing things like being in the school Christmas play and meeting lots and lots of friends. We have friends here but don't see them every day because that isn't how it works when you homeschool. Ah, well, to enjoy the beauty of the day you have - that is one of the keys to a happy life, I'm sure.
What follows is a prayer to Our Lady of Guadalupe, which I pray for the special intention of my sister who is awaiting a pathology report following thyroid surgery. My prayer is that she is cancer-free.
Our Lady of Guadalupe, we find you among the poor, the small, those the world counts for nothing. You remind us of how precious each of us is to you and to your Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ. You comfort us in our suffering. You challenge us to use our strengths. You call us to do whatever He tells us (John 2:5).
May we heed your message given us at Guadalupe: to acknowledge God's love, to protect the innocent, to replace our fear with trust, to keep our priorities in order. We ask this through the mercy and grace of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
The Children's Saint
Dec. 5, 2007
St. Nicholas Verse
Upon his snow white steed
With wind and lightning speed
St. Nicholas leaves the sky
And comes a-riding by
The little hare hops nigh
And lifts his nose up high
The stag with pointing horn
Leaps over bush and thorn
And all the creatures dear
Are drawing quickly near
Before St. Nicholas bow
Their little heads so low
And we will learn a tune
Of sun and star and moon
And sing our happy lay
Sing on St. Nicholas Day
--Traditional German
Aah, we are truly counting down now! The feast of St. Nicholas, that generous bishop, is tomorrow. We are celebrating that for the first time this year. That verse and many other stories, coloring pages and games can be found at htt://www.stnicholascenter.org.
This is the year that my oldest, 8, discovered the truth about Santa Claus, that Santa's helpers do more than help. So I am emphasizing the origin of Santa's story and the real saint for her sake.
We are putting the kids' shoes by the hearth (with carrots for the saint's donkey) waiting to be filled with candy canes and tangerines (left over from Thanksgiving). And our assignment is to think of something kind to do for someone else but it must be done in secret. That is the hard part.
It snowed here for the first time today - big, fluffy flurries that thrilled the kids and the dog. But Joey is still recovering from his stomach bug so he was not allowed to play out.
My sister has a foot of snow in Wisconsin and is preparing for thyroid surgery on Friday. I'm praying with St. Blase for her complete recovery.
Thank goodness for the communion of saints, and for the quiet beauty of Advent.
St. Nicholas Verse
Upon his snow white steed
With wind and lightning speed
St. Nicholas leaves the sky
And comes a-riding by
The little hare hops nigh
And lifts his nose up high
The stag with pointing horn
Leaps over bush and thorn
And all the creatures dear
Are drawing quickly near
Before St. Nicholas bow
Their little heads so low
And we will learn a tune
Of sun and star and moon
And sing our happy lay
Sing on St. Nicholas Day
--Traditional German
Aah, we are truly counting down now! The feast of St. Nicholas, that generous bishop, is tomorrow. We are celebrating that for the first time this year. That verse and many other stories, coloring pages and games can be found at htt://www.stnicholascenter.org.
This is the year that my oldest, 8, discovered the truth about Santa Claus, that Santa's helpers do more than help. So I am emphasizing the origin of Santa's story and the real saint for her sake.
We are putting the kids' shoes by the hearth (with carrots for the saint's donkey) waiting to be filled with candy canes and tangerines (left over from Thanksgiving). And our assignment is to think of something kind to do for someone else but it must be done in secret. That is the hard part.
It snowed here for the first time today - big, fluffy flurries that thrilled the kids and the dog. But Joey is still recovering from his stomach bug so he was not allowed to play out.
My sister has a foot of snow in Wisconsin and is preparing for thyroid surgery on Friday. I'm praying with St. Blase for her complete recovery.
Thank goodness for the communion of saints, and for the quiet beauty of Advent.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Time to Slow Down
Dec. 3, 2007
Here we are in Advent and it is time to slow down even as the commercial Christmas season urges us to speed up. Nothing like a little stomach virus to slow you down, and that is what we have here at Mrs. R's house today.
Joey was miserable but is now basically asleep. He so rarely is quiet and still during the day; it is very unusual. Olivia is lonely without him.
Luckily, we have a doctor appointment tomorrow. It has been like pulling teeth to get in to a doctor in our lovely new town. If you are a new patient, you sometimes have to wait weeks - even if you are sick. I was sick all of last week and was told that I could wait until January for a doctor or go to Urgent Care. I finally went to Urgent Care and got my bottle of stomach-ripping antibiotics to cure my respiratory infection. Inspired by my own experience, I went ahead and made a check-up appointment for a pediatrician for my kids - and none too soon. The two largest pediatric practices on our insurance plan had closed to new patients - leaving me a choice of about four doctors in town for the kids. I dutifully made the appointment, hoping at least to get their flu shots taken care of. I'm just thankful that we found a pediatrician on our plan. Of course Joey will have to wait on his flu shot until he is over the virus.
Yesterday after Mass we enjoyed a nice presentation in adult education about the Immaculate Conception. I really enjoyed it and was glad my husband went because he learned a lot and enjoyed it, too. The presenter talked about Saints Bernadette, Catharine Leboure and Maximilian Kolbe, in addition to the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Both my daughter and I wear miraculous medals blessed in Lourdes, thanks to my friend, Mig, whose sister brings them back after each visit.
Well, must be off. One of our Advent devotions will be to say the Angelus at noon, starting today and that is almost now.
Here we are in Advent and it is time to slow down even as the commercial Christmas season urges us to speed up. Nothing like a little stomach virus to slow you down, and that is what we have here at Mrs. R's house today.
Joey was miserable but is now basically asleep. He so rarely is quiet and still during the day; it is very unusual. Olivia is lonely without him.
Luckily, we have a doctor appointment tomorrow. It has been like pulling teeth to get in to a doctor in our lovely new town. If you are a new patient, you sometimes have to wait weeks - even if you are sick. I was sick all of last week and was told that I could wait until January for a doctor or go to Urgent Care. I finally went to Urgent Care and got my bottle of stomach-ripping antibiotics to cure my respiratory infection. Inspired by my own experience, I went ahead and made a check-up appointment for a pediatrician for my kids - and none too soon. The two largest pediatric practices on our insurance plan had closed to new patients - leaving me a choice of about four doctors in town for the kids. I dutifully made the appointment, hoping at least to get their flu shots taken care of. I'm just thankful that we found a pediatrician on our plan. Of course Joey will have to wait on his flu shot until he is over the virus.
Yesterday after Mass we enjoyed a nice presentation in adult education about the Immaculate Conception. I really enjoyed it and was glad my husband went because he learned a lot and enjoyed it, too. The presenter talked about Saints Bernadette, Catharine Leboure and Maximilian Kolbe, in addition to the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. Both my daughter and I wear miraculous medals blessed in Lourdes, thanks to my friend, Mig, whose sister brings them back after each visit.
Well, must be off. One of our Advent devotions will be to say the Angelus at noon, starting today and that is almost now.
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