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Coffee Talk is meant to be an open, charitable conversation — a source of information and encouragement for Catholic families of all kinds. As always, be nice or be deleted.
[tags]catholic family life, coffee talk, catholic moms[/tags]
to Schooler: I hope that you weren’t offended by the long school days as one of our reasons to homeschool. I didn’t mean to imply that everyone should homeschool if you felt school days were long or anything like that. I was simply stating that as a reason that our family has chosen to school at home for now. Believe me, I’ve struggled back and forth with our decision, since our kids are very spirited kids so the challenge may be exponential but for us, it’s the best decision we could make.
Ellen
I did a similar project, a heat gun with a tough scraper (not a flexible paint scraper) really helped. Plenty of elbow grease too.
Good luck!
China –
My sister “came out” to me a few years ago. She thought I would be the most understanding family member, but I did not handle it well in her opinion. (She failed to note that she shared this info on my anniversary while I was busy taking care of 3 sick kids….) Nevertheless, I have made it a point to always stay in contact with her. My other sister and I both spoke to priests who wisely advised us to continue to show Christ’s love to her. Since my sister shared with me, I felt I could discuss her lifestyle one time with her. We had one discussion about our different beliefs, but no longer bring it up. She knows what the church teaches and what I believe, so there is no need to rehash the issue.
Instead, my focus is showing Christ’s love which is true love. As Catholics we have hope for change and Christ’s mercy. St. Monica is a good saint for this. I pray that God will put someone in her life who can minister to her because it seems most difficult for family members to do so. She has always been respectful of our differences and does not require we we share in her private life. So, continue to reach out to your brother. I try to call her weekly so she can never use the excuse that her family members abandoned her. I love her and have hope that Christ’s love will call her back to the faith. I also have shared this story with a few close friends and it is surprising to learn that most everyone has a close family member struggling with homosexuality. In this fight, we are not alone. We can all pray for one another.
Regarding drug enhancement in the Olympics…at this time I am going to just believe that Michael Phelps has been blessed with a great measure of talent. I’m hoping that someone who is center stage in the athletic world would know that his accomplishments would be scrutinized and he would be drug tested. Watching him swim is just too much fun for me. My 10 year old and I are really into watching the Olympics.
Michael Phelps is an incredible athlete who is benefiting from amazing technological advancements.
Regarding the drug enhancement question:
I watched a segment on Fox News either during or before the olympics games began. Anyway, it was about how many of the athletes in the Olympics this year, are voluntarily urinating everyday and giving it to officials to be tested, as well as doing regular blood tests. Michael Phelps is one of the athletes volunteering. Just wanted to let those of you hoping the athletes were all talent and no drugs =)
Children’s Books: Michael O’Brien’s book A Landscape With Dragons has an excellent section (it’s nearly half the book!) dedicated to listing good literature for various ages. The book itself is very good. I recommend it! http://books.google.com/books?id=Qje-jDI1FzgC&dq=a+landscape+with+dragons&pg=PP1&ots=9268K1326U&sig=2xpUYQVmK_UUFk_DlBlgaaDlLRA&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result
Thinkin’ of Slingin’, I had a Baby Bjorn carrier for my daughter and loved it! I also had a sling (an adjustable one with two metal rings) which I used every Sunday during Mass, but I found it hard to maneuver without the help of my husband. I’ve also heard great things about Maya wraps–they’re just looong pieces of fabric that you wrap around you and put the baby in. You can use them in various ways. Next time around, I plan to get one of those!
I would also recommend community college if your son doesn’t feel ready for the big four year school. There are numerous advantages to that route. First of all, even if he goes full time to community college it will almost certainly cost less than the four year school so it’s less money wasted if it turns out that college really isn’t for him. Secondly, community college is far more career focused than most 4 year colleges. The community college offers the basic gen ed classes, but it also offers tracks that will get you into a career after only 2 years. Not only does it save money all the way around, but you are actually employable. It is a myth that just having a college degree will land you a high paying job. My daughter graduated magna cum laude and is currently working for under $13 an hour after several years of experience. I know numerous young adults (some with education degrees) who simply can’t find anything other than service industry jobs or low level office jobs. Meanwhile one young man in our homeschool group became a journeyman electrician and is currently supporting a family of 3 and has his own home.
Community college may not look as prestigious to you as parents, but it can be a far better choice for a young person who doesn’t have a specific direction. Also he wouldn’t be wasting 2 hours a day of study time in his commute. I would really recommend that you listen to what your son is really saying. He may have good reasons for not wanting to do the 4 year college thing at this time.
My nephew did community college before going to the University of Missouri. He had had a spotty high school record and his parents wanted to make sure he was mature enough to handle the 4 year college. He did community college part time and worked part time. He transferred to the University as a sophomore and ended up graduating with a B average. He’s now teaching English in Japan. The community college experience was vital in his maturing process, yet he was nearly 19 when he graduated from high school.
Trust your son and your own heart, and remember that other than degrees that prepare for a specific field (such as nursing or engineering) a college education doesn’t necessarily train you for a job. Even the degrees that do train for a specific job can’t prevent gluts from happening where there are too many of a certain profession. It’s happened to teachers, it’s happened to engineers, it’s happened to MBA’s. College is only one route to a successful adult life. You could take the money that would go to college and set him up in a business and he might actually be further ahead in 4 years than his contemporaries who spent their time in the classroom. We know a young man who now has his own woodworking business (very successful) who never spent a day in a college classroom. It all depends on what your son’s passion is.