People | Losing My Religion

Almost: On Catholicism, Belief, and Belonging

“I wanted to be the one Father Tom winked at, the one whose hair he gently touched with his large, sturdy hands.”

turn the other cheek

Bryanyou’ve got to understand. Anyone can fight back when they get hurt, but only a real man would look a bully in the face and let him do it all over again. The next time some kid tries to mess with you, I want you to remember that.

I need you both to see what she did to me

you’ve gotten so big, thank you for being the man of the house, for taking care of your mother and your sister while I was away, I’m so proud of you.

believing in somethingbelieved in something greater than yourself

I knew I would find God when I was studying at the seminary, I just never expected her to look like your grandmother.

I was going through paperwork this morning, and do you know what that man did? When he went to the courthouse to file our marriage license, he also paid a dollar to license me as a dog. For fifty years, my name has been on a dog license in a locked drawer in that man’s study.

One thing I learned is that it doesn’t matter what you believe in, just as long as you believe in something.

could

Unplugged

sososo

Don’t be so hard on yourselfI’ve been reading this one book, over and over for years, and sometimes I still need to keep crib notes

Over the summer I got my sister into big troubleOne daywhen my grandma said to come in for lunch, I disobeyed her and did the biggest cannonball of the summer. She came rushing out of the gazebo, over to the side of the pool, and pulled me by the ear up the ladder. I knew I was in big trouble, but my sister didn’t want me to be the only one in trouble, so she climbed up the bench and launched herself into the pool too. My grandma really let her have it. She grounded her for the rest of the vacation.

Daniel’s too much of a baby to stand up to his old man

bitter envystrife in my heart

His name has been changed out of respect for his privacy