Happy 11th Birthday to sweet Mack today. This is one of my favorite photos from my phone that I snapped in July 2012. I was actually trying to take a photo of the cool orange couch and Mack slid across the couch and gave me two thumbs up, “Missin’ somethin’ […]
Mack’s Mom
28 posts
I was so struck by this reflection on Christmas by Brent Strawn of Emory University entitled “A Pale Blue Christmas” I had to share it. He is challenging the trend in some churches of adding a new service into the regular Christmas fare to invite all who mourn. But, Strawn […]
One of the spiritual dynamics of death that is hard to describe in daily, polite conversation is the continued love, presence and spirit of the loved one if we’re willing to acknowledge them and our inner lives. My latest essay for Open to Hope posted October 10 speaks to this […]
I’m really pleased to share that my first essay for Open To Hope, “Another New School Year Begins,” was posted on their site earlier today. Open To Hope is the kind of resource that you don’t know exists until you need it. After Mack died, I began to read every book on […]
We always light a candle for Mack in the various churches we visit. Today we each lit a candle at Michaelerkirche circa 1217. The ancient church was a hub of activity today; you can see a guy carrying a ladder in the background of the photo, he climbed up to change […]
One of the delicate balances of our new life is celebrating Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, first and last days of school, birthdays, Easter, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Groundhog Day…you get the picture, the list of celebrations is endless…how do we celebrate life with Izzy and honor Mack as an important and […]
This Lent I have been using the Magnificat app on my phone. I appreciated this reflection from Pope Benedict XVI: Holy Saturday is the day of the ‘death of God,’ the day which expresses the unparalleled experience of our age, anticipating the fact that God is simply absent, that the […]
“Something quite unexpected has happened. It came this morning early. For various reasons, not in themselves at all mysterious, my heart was lighter than it had been for many weeks…And, suddenly, at the moment when, so far, I mourned H. least, I remembered her best. Indeed it was something (almost) […]
When I was 8 months pregnant with Mack during Advent 2003 I read the Luke passages with renewed appreciation. Mary went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John. After Mack was born I read these passages to the kids and we always got a good chuckle out […]
Luke 1:13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he […]
We had a wonderful time with Elizabeth’s family over Thanksgiving. We were at Isle of Palm, South Carolina and while the temperature was about 15 degrees cooler than expected the sun shone brightly. Two months ago I attended the funeral of a wonderful woman who had lived a full life […]
This is by Edgar Guest (1881-1959). I came across it this week and thought I would share. There was another similar story I heard told on a radio program that always stuck with me: A woman meets her husband at the door upon his arrival home from a trip. She […]
The only thing missing this morning was Mack. His great friends, teammates, and school mates, were there. His favorite pancakes: chocolate chip and banana. The morning was crisp and bright. And, “Mack’s Teepee” was dedicated; a permanent addition to the playground at Park Forest Elementary school that was funded by […]
I heard the announcement for the upcoming “Mack Brady” night September 13 at the Penn State Men’s soccer game last Friday and it struck me. What has happened the past 8 months since Mack suddenly died on New Year’s Eve? This “Mack Brady” is our silly, sweet Mack who should […]