This time of year is usually filled with traditions: both family traditions and liturgical traditions, which shape our experience of Christmas. Traditions serve a great purpose in our lives. We are creatures of habit, and circling back to favorite traditions year after year helps us focus on those things that are most important, and it… Read More Clinging to Tradition—Over at Ignitum Today
Today I am tired. I have a cold. Last week I was glutened. So there hasn’t been much of this Christmas break when I haven’t been sick in some way—never totally out of commission, but always a little under the weather. And yet I haven’t lowered my expectations of everything I’d hoped to get done… Read More In the bleak midwinter
1. Extreme Wood Floor Olympics When we first put down wood floors in our family room, my dad created a new pastime, which he refers to as the “Wood Floor Olympics.” This involves sliding in his socks in the open stretch of floor behind the couches, trying to get as far as he can without… Read More (Somewhat Untraditional) Family Christmas Traditions
Whenever I go to Starbucks or other such establishments that write down my name, the most common spelling I get is “Aaron.” Somehow it still surprises me how many people don’t realize that “Aaron” is a boy’s name and “Erin” is a girl’s name. Maybe it’s only obvious to me because it’s my own name? But more than… Read More Creative spellings of Erin
Lately I’ve been thinking of a tendency I sometimes have when I’m playing music, to stop whenever I make a mistake and start over from the beginning, in the attempt to have a “perfect” run-through of the song. It’s a terrible habit, really. I mean, the process of carefully going through a section of music… Read More A thought
6:30 AM: Alarm goes off. I hit snooze while still asleep. 6:40 AM: Still asleep, hit snooze; the action is incorporated into my dream. 6:50 AM: Same. 7:00 AM: Same. 7:10 AM: Kind of wake up, enough to walk to the bathroom in a daze. Brush my teeth. Start to get dressed. 7:20 AM: Alarm… Read More Morning in the life
Linking up with Kelly (new host of 7QT!) 1. So who else watched Peter Pan last night? As a lifelong fan of the musical, I thought it was nicely done for a live TV broadcast. When I was about three, for a long time if I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up,… Read More 7 Quick Takes: Peter Pan, squirrels, and Frozen things
I imagine angels to be like responsible teenagers asked to babysit their toddler siblings. I’m sure that my own guardian angel is often exasperated with me, as tends to happen when babysitting mischievous toddlers. Sometimes the kids are adorable, and sometimes you have to lure the guinea pig out from under the couch because the… Read More From the Realms of Glory—Over at Ignitum Today
work in progress 