• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Bishop Robert Barron
          • George Weigel
          • Question Corner
          • Effie Caldarola
          • John Garvey
          • Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Suzanna Molino Singleton
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Paul McMullen
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Father T. Austin Murphy Jr.
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
  • Advertising
  • CR Radio
  • Printing
  • Subscribe

A fun gift on an ordinary day

Rita Buettner October 8, 2019
By Rita Buettner
Filed Under: Blog, Open Window

Our kitchen renovation concluded more than three weeks ago, and the space still feels so new to me.The other night after dinner I said, “Can we just all stop and appreciate how amazing it is to have a utensil drawer where you can see all the utensils?”

Yes, we took down most of a wall and installed cabinets that go to the ceiling. But sometimes it’s the little things, like being able to find a soup spoon, that can take your breath away.

Like with many aspects of life, however, the kitchen is not entirely complete. My husband has been adding curtains to the windows. And he and I have been talking about how and where we might add a few swatters from my flyswatter collection to decorate the walls.

Deciding where to hang flyswatters is a big decision—maybe bigger than figuring out where to cut the dining room wall. There’s also no deadline for deciding, so we haven’t been focusing on it much. Whether you are a collector who owns hundreds of flyswatters or happen to be married to a flyswatter collector, you’re probably a person who knows how to be flexible and find beauty in the little things. The flyswatter decorating will happen in its own time.

Then today when I met a friend for lunch, she handed me a polka-dot gift bag. I was surprised because it was just an ordinary day.

I looked inside, and I was bowled over.

Inside were—unbelievably—a set of flyswatter-themed towels.

They’re extraordinary. The design is distinctive and stunning. The colors go beautifully with the blank slate of the kitchen. And they say, “Swat team,” on them, which I had never considered as a way of referring to our family. Suddenly, I think we may have found the next name for our wi-fi network.

This morning when our younger son said, “Is it a special day today?”, my mind went completely blank. I couldn’t think of a saint’s feast day or a person in our extended family with a birthday or anniversary. I told him about a colleague who has a birthday, but I came up empty otherwise. I think he was disappointed.

But it was a special day—just as each and every day is. And it was made even more special by this unparalleled gift from a friend.

We do have other kitchen towels, of course. And we certainly have flyswatters on hand to add to the décor.

But you can never have too many flyswatters, too many kitchen towels, or—and here’s the real truth—flyswatter-themed kitchen towels.

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

Rita Buettner

Rita Buettner

Rita Buettner is a wife, working mother and author of the Catholic Review's Open Window blog. She and her husband adopted their two sons from China, and Rita often writes about topics concerning adoption, family and faith.

Rita also writes The Domestic Church, a featured column in the Catholic Review. Her writing has been honored by the Catholic Press Association, the Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association and the Associated Church Press.

View all posts from this author

Recent Commentary

Haiku Highlights from Easter (7 Quick Takes)

An Easter full of hope

What if Eucharist is stolen?/ Still mortal sin to miss Mass?

The Fourth Nail

Victory over death

Recent Local News

St. Ignatius, Hickory, answers call as COVID vaccination clinic

Archbishop Lori invites parishioners to pray, learn more during Child Abuse Prevention Month

Sister Dolores Hudson, OSU, served in Cumberland hometown as teacher and principal, dies at 82

Two bills that would limit Maryland’s role in immigration enforcement get final push by advocates

RADIO INTERVIEW: Archbishop Lori on Easter, Evangelization and the Eucharist

Catholic Review Radio

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • Haiku Highlights from Easter (7 Quick Takes)
  • London cardinal leads Catholics in mourning death of Prince Philip
  • Priests’ dogs are more than just parish mascot: They’re ‘good for the soul’
  • Pope ‘moved’ by registry of nighttime adoration he attended
  • St. Ignatius, Hickory, answers call as COVID vaccination clinic
  • ‘Profound evil’ of abuse must be eradicated, Pope Francis tells symposium
  • Archbishop Lori invites parishioners to pray, learn more during Child Abuse Prevention Month
  • Sister Dolores Hudson, OSU, served in Cumberland hometown as teacher and principal, dies at 82
  • An Easter full of hope
  • Two bills that would limit Maryland’s role in immigration enforcement get final push by advocates

Search

Membership

Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2021 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED