When you have a friend in Heaven July 3, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window “Do you want these left out of the bag?” the cashier says, holding up two bottles of water. “That would be great,” I say. “We need those for the flowers. We’re stopping at the cemetery.”
Getting our classic arcade on like Donkey Kong June 30, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window Although I grew up way back in the 1900s, as my children like to say, I often feel I failed to absorb much of the pop culture of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. And arcade games are definitely on that list.
Praying after tragedy and remembering moments from our week (7 Quick Takes) June 29, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window Please join me in praying for all those affected by the tragic shooting at the Capital Gazette.
Embrace the fullness this summer June 27, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window Summer doesn’t always match the picture-perfect image of summer in my mind. Often, instead, it’s full of dripping popsicles, scraped knees, and overtired children who are up way too late giggling under the covers. But it’s full. And there is a richness to that.
Staycationing, card playing, Buettner bucks for summer reading, and more (7 Quick Takes) June 22, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window Going away on vacation is always amazing, but I am a huge fan of staycations, which is how the boys and I have spent our week.
Making a tiny discovery at the Shrine of St. Anthony June 20, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window As we were walking to our cars, our children were running ahead—the way children do. And we saw them stop to look at what seemed to be a brown leaf floating across the sidewalk.
7 Quick Takes started at 30,000 feet (featuring beer-shaped salami, a button sculpture, a yard sale purchase, and more) June 16, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window I started writing these while on an airplane yesterday, but then I didn’t manage to finish them until today. But it felt a little like being in Green Eggs and Ham. “Can you write takes on a plane? Can you write them on a train? In a car or on a tree…?”
The passenger next to me on the plane June 13, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window As I was boarding, a flight attendant said, “This is a crowded flight, so we are going to make some friends today.”
When St. Anthony helps you find what’s missing June 13, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window Sometimes we ask St. Anthony to help us find something that is missing. And sometimes we don’t realize what we are missing until we find it.
We need to be more equipped to combat mental illness June 9, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window Mental illness isn’t always something a person can navigate even with a strong, wonderful family and a compassionate friends. It often requires professional help and medication and sometimes switching to different professional help and different medications.
Tears at parent-teacher conferences, science experiments, pantry discoveries, crab cakes, and more (7 Quick Takes) June 8, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Blog, Open Window The night our new cousin and nephew was born we went out to dinner to celebrate—and also, maybe more accurately, because I didn’t want to make dinner. We went to Pappas, where I had the absolutely delicious crab cake.
Of spilled juice, and joy June 7, 2018By Rita Buettner Filed Under: Commentary, The Domestic Church I make messes by accident and on purpose over and over and over, and God continuously offers forgiveness and strength and peace.
