1: The secret is out

Well, I just about let the cat out of the bag yesterday on Twitter, so I guess, though it’s early, I might as well share it with my closest friends on the Internet: we’re expecting Baby #3. He or she is due in early December, so we’re very much in the toilet-hugging, looking-for-the-light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel stage of things.

Our five-year-old is ecstatic. She’s also convinced that Hershey’s Kiss is a viable name option. Our two-year-old will be ecstatic once she has a baby to carry. (No, we won’t let her carry the baby…intentionally. But something tells me we’ll have to have our eyes peeled for that little fan of all things baby.)

Prayers appreciated. Hugs welcome. Ginger ale not optional (it seems to be the secret ingredient to my mornings).

2: Recent reading

Last night I finished Mary Mother of the Son, Volume III: Miracles, Devotion, and Motherhood, by Mark Shea. Wow! It completes his Mother of the Son trilogy and I am so thrilled that we’ll be giving this set away as part of the May giveaway at CatholicMom.com, courtesy of Aquinas and More.

Everyone should read these books. They are among the few books I’ve read about Mary that are focused only on the facts, not on trying to win you over or convince you to love Mary with bells on your shoes.

Mark Shea has long been a favorite writer of mine, though this is the first of his books that I’ve read. As far as I’m concerned, he earns his place by Patrick Madrid and Scott Hahn as a Catholic writer for his work in these books.

I’ll be sharing a more in-depth review in May, but let me just say, real fast, that these are FABULOUS books.

3: The “s” word

It started as a humorous little post on Twitter and Facebook.

My mom just told me one of my first words was…sh*t. Does this explain my lifelong battle with saying it when I’m frustrated?

The reason I bring it up here is that I think a few of you need to know that you’re not alone in your struggle with language. (And, really, this isn’t the worst offender — not by a looooooonnnng shot — in my line-up.)

A few moms replied to me on Facebook and expressed relief that other moms used this word.

There was something in that that made me so…sad. I hope, y’all, that I don’t seem that holy or inaccessible or, well, inhuman. Language use is a special struggle of mine. In fact, it seems to be like a bit of a virus for me; when I’m around people with language I don’t necessarily want to emulate, I have to consciously restrict myself from falling right back into the habit of “f” this and “d” that and “oh ‘s.’”

I’m not proud of this struggle, and I don’t share it here to say that it’s OK. I share it because we can gain strength together, and though there are worse things, I find that so many of my sinful thoughts — the things that lead me into real trouble — start when my language heads down the toilet or into the gutter.

4: Speaking of language…

In fact, this week’s Mary Moment, on the Catholic Moments show, talks about how Mary remains a help to me in my language struggles.

5: Potty training

We’re serious. We’re committed. And…we’re not losing our mind (speaking for myself and the two-year-old only).

6: New on my playlist

My sister-in-law’s parish is hosting Lorraine Hess next week, and I’m thrilled to be able to attend the concert. I downloaded her album and am loving it.

7: Mississippi, here we come

For the weekend, we’re going to a part of Mississippi that, from my understanding, does not have internet. (Well, that’s not completely true: they have dial-up.) Though I spend large portions of my weekends offline when I’m at home, I’m out of town right now and things are all out-of-whack with my routine. I think an offline weekend, spent with some of my favorite girls and a pile of reading, will be therapeutic.

So, that said, I’ll see you Monday! Have a great weekend!

Go to Conversion Diary for the full collection of Quick Takes posts.

The word I used was “sucks.”

“Change SUCKS,” I wrote.

(And, for me, it does.)

Maybe that’s not the best word choice.  But it’s the one that resonated with me, the one that spoke best to what I was trying to get across in that post.

I am not writing here to defend or explain my word choice, but to explore something else, something that fascinates me endlessly as a writer and a reader, a mother and a friend, a woman and a conversationalist: the topic of the words we use.

People who know me well and have known me for years know that my use of words has changed over the years.  I used to have quite a potty mouth, and in the right amount of stress, I often default to some of the slang and violent language that was such a habit in the past.

“Sucks” is one of those words.  I don’t like it.  I would prefer to feel challenged or pushed or tested.  The truth is, though, that sometimes words like “sucks” explain exactly how I feel and make exactly the point I want to make.

I realized this morning that I had revealed to you something I didn’t necessarily intend to reveal.

That is a bit of truth about myself.  It’s also a bit of what makes a writer or a personality approachable and real, isn’t it?

I’m not perfect.  I know I say that a lot, but in yesterday’s post, you had a glimpse of it in a way you rarely do.  You can believe, now, that I have ticked family members off (often), that I have let people down (frequently), that I have failed (and will fail again).

So often, people tell me that they struggle with devotion to Mary.  I so understand this.  I’ve looked at her from across the church, holding a squirming toddler.  I’ve punctuated my struggles with Miss Five-Year-Old Attitude with glances at her.  She looks so flawless, so unapproachable.

Mary probably didn’t use words that make me wince in the “I shouldn’t say that” part of my mind, but she must have felt those feelings that inspire me to use them.  The feelings are human; the response is where my choice to sin or not to sin comes in.  (Is using “sucks” a sin?  Probably not.  In fact, I’d say No.  Some of the other words I might use, though, I wouldn’t say No with such confidence…)

The reminder, the lesson, is to let Mary be my guide in word choice as in all else.  She never fails to lead me to her Son, if only I’ll look to her and get over the hurdle of what I see as the distance between us.

The distance, you see, came from me.  I’m the one who walked away, who imagined it there, who grew it to the size it is.

She’s been over my shoulder, trying to hold me closely, all along.

May she hold you closely too, in your word choice as in all else.

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