LESSONS FROM MY SUMMER JOB: Eighteen things I learned while teaching private swimming lessons at a wealthy country club:

1. There are some things that others deem important that I consider completely unnecessary.  Such things include: a gated entrance with a man wearing a long-sleeve shirt and tie in the 100-degree heat, make-up at the pool, pretty ( Read more... )

Today I had the rare privilege to participate in a young priest's first Mass.  Father Dan has been a deacon at our church for the last year and chose our community to be where he celebrated his first liturgy.  How amazing ( Read more... )

Well this was a crazy week ( Read more... )

Lately, I think, there has been a surge of people wanting to be perfect.  It's what we all strive for, right ( Read more... )

Can I just say that today was a pretty crummy day (with the way this week has been going, there wasn't much hope for Thursday).  Two less-than-productive meetings, a chilly wind, and the necessary evil of laundry (which i didn't do) made today just downright blah.

So I sit here at 11:42 PM playing on the internet, facebook-stalking people I would ( Read more... )

It's sad to see that some people's moral compasses point straight to the letter I.

Having encountered someone who is probably like this, I'm trying to rise to the occasion: Maybe this is my one and only opportunity to be a saint.

And maybe this is her only opportunity to encounter the love of God.

(Tall order, right?)

I'm going to assume the best of ( Read more... )

to follow the recent trend on my friends' page, i thought I'd awaken from my LJ slumber.  i still read pretty often, but don't typically find the time to write and/or don't know how to make the ins-and-outs of my life interesting to read.  but here goes ( Read more... )

"In the world you will have trouble; take heart, I have conquered the world." - John 16:33 ( Read more... )

At 4:00 today, the first day of a new school year, I was surprised at my classroom door by a wonderful man who had flowers and Godiva chocolate to share.  I'm so constantly amazed at him and the over-the-top things he does for me.  Things that I'd never ask, or even think of, for that matter.  He's such a selfless and honorable man (and not just ( Read more... )

Just before the first of the year, I could run for a minute and a half and was out of breath.  Now I can run for a solid five minutes, or 15 if I'm allowed a few walking breaks in the middle.  In a few more weeks, I should be able to run 25 minutes with no walking, and I hope to do an 8K in March.  I've been jogging about three times a week, and ( Read more... )