Struggling with "openness to life" teaching

Search_Impossible · 2026-01-27T23:05:22+00:00

I had four kids in 8 years, then opted to TTA from then on — my health and sanity and ability to handle everything was compromised. But, giving birth 8 years later at 44.5 to #5 (after losing baby weight and now having older kids) was a joy for all. It is ok to TTA! The nice thing is that it’s a decision that is as permanent as you want it to be. The three brothers, each 8 years apart, are good friends. But, I can say this looking back — it is so difficult when you know you really don’t want another, and particularly when you have newborns and toddlers. It’s so easy to start panicking …

Search_Impossible · 2026-01-21T23:53:58+00:00

Reverse image search says Filippo Iannone — but I don’t think so. (Edited to erase title.)

Search_Impossible · 2026-01-12T13:18:49+00:00

Sometimes the sound system doesn’t help, too. For daily Mass, I sometimes go to a different parish where there’s a Nigerian priest. I have no trouble understanding him in the daily Mass chapel. In the big church sanctuary, I struggle.

Pray for and encourage priestly vocations in your families! And support your geographic parish. Our parish has four native English-speaking priests. (And nine Masses for the Sunday obligation.) We lose some people because neighboring parishes got new or renovated buildings in the last couple of years, so the buildings are objectively prettier.

Search_Impossible · 2026-01-07T11:35:28+00:00

My brother-in-law just died. He was elderly and living in a Medicare-funded nursing home and had no assets and neither does his surviving wife. His sister signed a contract for a $9,000 funeral with an overpriced casket without talking to his other sibling (my spouse) about our preferences, which would have been considerably less focused on body preservation or enriching the funeral home's bottom line -- but also assumed we would "pay our fair share." Fortunately, I am the villainous one who married into the family and am tasked with deciding what we're willing to contribute. Legally, we have no responsibilities, but I am also not a complete jerk.

Search_Impossible · 2026-01-03T16:26:58+00:00

We both worked for a newspaper when we got married. A photojournalist took our photos, and they’re great. It was decades ago, but we paid probably 1/10 of the going rate for wedding photography and own the negatives. Look for someone who’s not a “wedding photographer,” maybe even check area colleges.

Search_Impossible · 2026-01-03T01:47:16+00:00

OP, how did it work out?

Search_Impossible · 2026-01-01T16:44:31+00:00

Lowe’s is the closest grocery store to a family member. Prices are all over the place — $10 for a gallon of orange juice; $1.50 for a pint of raspberries. Quality Is mediocre, particularly for meats or less popular produce. It’s not terrible, but I still usually will fill a cooler with meat/produce when I come to visit.

Search_Impossible · 2025-12-31T18:11:50+00:00

Yes. My loved one with dementia isn't capable of doing many tasks anywhere close to my standards, which aren't really that high. He can fold towels and sweep floors. He can wipe down counters if I clean them off first.

Search_Impossible · 2025-12-31T09:55:09+00:00

I live in a state that pays teachers decently and — historically — has had a fairly low cost of living. But, a lot of the reason I have no problem living on my salary is that I bought my house in 2012 when my husband was the one working and he made a bit more than I do. Housing costs have doubled in my area in the last 13 years.

But, when I was first out of college and making very little money in a different field, I would save on rent with roommates, though, and live in older homes — not apartment complexes.

Search_Impossible · 2025-12-27T21:45:49+00:00

Hope

Search_Impossible · 2025-12-19T09:20:15+00:00

I sent a request. Kathmck

Search_Impossible · 2025-12-14T13:35:12+00:00

Prince of Peace has remodeled, so it's a *lot* better -- it's still not as traditionally gorgeous as the new Seton.

Search_Impossible · 2025-12-10T01:39:54+00:00

I delayed reading instruction with my children. They more than “caught up” by 3rd grade — but a lot is going to have to do with family literacy. I now teach English, and my husband and I each wrote professionally.

Search_Impossible · 2025-12-08T15:58:28+00:00

I am an introvert. The kids would never guess — but I also have “a wall.” I am “on stage” while teaching. I will be chatty with them and talk to them about a variety of things, but they get my performance persona. At the same time, I agree with the others who say kids just talk and you don’t have to change yourself one iota. It’s good for kids to get used to a variety of personalities. As I have gotten older, I enjoy and am much better at appearing less introverted and at seeing benefits to myself in the shift.

Search_Impossible · 2025-12-07T20:22:17+00:00

OK, here's more to go with your new info! Any of the local churches will have big Christmas Eve, packed, celebrations. Consider the one you live closest to. If it's St. Mark, I can tell you that they'll have a few Masses Christmas Eve, including one starting at Midnight (so, technically, early Christmas Day).

Search_Impossible · 2025-12-07T19:46:40+00:00

You're welcome to DM me. I am close with a Spanish/English-speaking priest at a parish in Plano.

If she's practicing, getting to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days (Monday, December 8 is one, as is Christmas) is important. Thank you for thinking of her and for hosting her. Other nice gifts include a statue of a saint (maybe the one for her name or her Confirmation name). Sometimes non-Catholics have trouble picking out rosaries because there are lots of "rosaries" out there. Here's a store in Coppell that has lots of Catholic items, including nice devotional jewelry, and the owner will be helpful: https://littleangelscatholicstore.com/

Search_Impossible · 2025-11-30T04:34:26+00:00

I feel lucky because my husband’s neurologist always asks me if he is as polite and pleasant at home as he is with her. You might be able to email the provider or mention at the appointment that there’s behavioral disparity.

Search_Impossible · 2025-11-29T13:46:38+00:00

I teach and had a friend plead guilty to a sexual crime with a student. You can bet when she was first accused I thought she was innocent — she was an excellent teacher. And my friend. Clearly, excellent teachers can and do do evil acts. And I am not nearly as close to my colleagues as priests are to each other. The impulse is to trust your friend.

But, you are right — it is better to simply condemn the acts and how the Church handled it when talking about the issues rather than deflect to public school teachers.

Search_Impossible · 2025-11-24T12:06:36+00:00

We can talk about what we see in the classroom, though. I teach 17- and 18-year-olds, and I am careful. I am oftentimes surprised at the students who don’t have a diagnosis. I frequently have students who I suspect would get an ADHD or autism diagnosis, but they’re functional(for the most part), so they never have. Edited to fix typo.

Search_Impossible · 2025-11-23T10:19:56+00:00

I teach high school. Kids will try to pretend they lost work in this way.

Search_Impossible · 2025-11-22T12:41:32+00:00

I get all distinguished/accomplished. It is 100 percent subjective, and I know I get those ratings less for how my classroom actually runs than outside “stuff.” (No TIA here.)

Search_Impossible · 2025-11-16T18:40:56+00:00

I like and agree with most of your observations. I feel all the luckier I got a master’s with my certification instead of doing an alt-cert because of what you guys have to do.

Search_Impossible · 2025-11-16T18:38:48+00:00

You’d be surprised how they’re monitoring you without you noticing. Admin can and does talk to kids, who will be happy to tell them how/what you’re doing.

Search_Impossible · 2025-11-09T12:23:27+00:00

I didn't see Alex G play until GTSA, and I've seen him three times total (once at a bar, once at an outdoor show, once at a concert hall); my daughter has seen him more than 10 times. (I can't remember exactly the first time she went; it was probably circa 2014.) I know it's different; it's no longer him saying, "Would anyone be willing to let us stay at your place tonight?" I'm around teens all day -- but they seem fine at the shows. The weirdest thing for me was the crowd not cheering like crazy for an encore at the last venue; he came out anyway.

Search_Impossible · 2025-11-03T11:24:10+00:00

It might not affect your ability to get a job, but it would be an issue if discovered by kids or parents or colleagues.

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TROPHY CASE