This year I decided we should have something Irish for our door.

It started as an ordinary enough day. I was just starting the workday at my office when my phone rang. My new nephew had been born!

When I put dinner on the table, I told my children that I bought the placemats because “bee is for Buettner.”

This week, as we find ourselves marking the second anniversary of the day schools—and the world—shut down, I find my mind wandering back to March 2020. Our world turned upside-down.

I love having a prayer basket for Lent. I don’t know why pulling an intention out of a basket feels so ceremonial and important, but it does.

Two years ago, on Ash Wednesday, we went to Mass as a family. It was a beautiful service on what was otherwise a relatively ordinary winter day.

~1~ Sometimes when I run out of ideas for dinner, we make fondue. It requires a little prep—cutting up vegetables and meats and preparing the broth, but then John takes over the pot and handles the cooking. It always feels fancy and special, but there are never leftovers. I wonder whether people will expect dinner […]

This weekend, my sons and I road-tripped to New York to see my sister Maureen and her three youngest children. Spending eight hours on the road for about 36 hours together might seem a little intense, but I would drive further than that for the chance to hug my sister. We had a fantastic weekend. […]

One of my favorite writing techniques is to give myself a designated period of time to write and see how quickly I can go. I am currently racing to complete these quick takes before my sister Maureen and niece finish baking brownies for my nephew who turns 13 today. Here we go! ~1~ We are […]

We’ve never missed the bus, but we’ve come close.