This was supposed to be Opening Day across the country, throughout Major League Baseball. It didn’t happen. A very dangerous virus interrupted play. Lots of people were sad, angry, disappointed and maybe a bit confused. If it’s not Opening Day, then what is it? And what do we do now? There were wonderful replays of …

Opening Day…not Read More »

In the movie, “Bull Durham,” Annie says to Nuke Laloosh (is that a great baseball name, or what?) to breathe through his eyelids while he’s on the mound. She also wants him to wear a garter belt under his uniform. She was concerned that he was overthinking, trying too hard, and the thoughts rambling through …

Overthinking Read More »

I have a Christmas cactus that is just now breaking out in blooms. It’s the middle of February. Two months off. I might have liked it to be in bloom as part of our seasonal celebration, adding to our decorations. But then I thought about the blooming now, as pitchers and catchers report to Spring …

Odd timing Read More »

     I ran as fast as I could to the bottom. When I got there, she was breathing hard, shaking and holding on to her handlebars. But she was still upright on her bike. “Boo,” I said, “you look scared.” “Oh, very much so,” she replied. “But you made it!” “I did!” “Tell me about …

It just takes a spark Read More »

     Looking back before looking forward is a good practice. Where did I put my energies last year? What turned out to BE my priorities (not just what I CLAIMED they were going to be)? It’s relatively easy to determine priorities, by the way: look at what you spent money on, where did most of …

Goals, Reviewed Read More »

As a parish priest or pastoral counselor, one of the saddest things I heard people say was that they don’t belong. They felt so utterly unconnected to others and from the world around them they would often talk about not fitting in, like they don’t matter, no one would miss them if they were not …

You Belong Read More »