(A work perpetually in progress)

The San Diego Zoo

Needs no explanation. My parents bought us an annual membership so we could drop in for an hour or two as often as we like. Biggest hits so far: the snakes, the snakes, the monkeys, the koalas, and the snakes.

Mariam Mother of Life Shrine

This beautiful statue of Mary is over twenty feet tall and can be glimpsed from the nearby freeway. It sits behind St. Ephrem Maronite Catholic Church. Around the base of the statue, the Hail Mary is written in English and Aramaic. Mary stands at the top of a curving staircase; under her base is a domed alcove upon whose wall is painted a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Simply breathtaking.

Balboa Park: Japanese Tea House, Spreckles Organ Pavilion

Our first pilgrimage to San Diego’s famous Balboa Park (not counting zoo trips—the zoo is part of the enormous downtown park complex) was the occasion of a happy meeting among friends: our pal Stefoodie and her lovely family carved out an afternoon of their San Diego vacation to spend time with my gang and our friends the Sanchezes. We met for lunch at the Japanese Tea House (mmm, teriyaki bowl…) and then wandered over to the Organ Pavilion, a large outdoor amphitheatre, the perfect place for moms to sit and chat while the kids ran up and down the aisles.

Here’s a new post with lots more pictures of the Japanese Garden and other Balboa Park sights.

And here’s one about our visit to the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park.

Point Loma Lighthouse / Cabrillo National Monument

I wrote about our visit to beautiful Point Loma, with its views of San Diego Bay and the Pacific, here.

La Jolla Cove—harbor seals!

Coronado Bridge

Silver Strand

Birch Aquarium

 

The kids (with grandparents):

Legoland
Del Mar beach

Danielle Bean is as smart as she is funny, which is to say: very. Her popular blog is a treasure trove of hilarious kid stories and practical parenting advice. She writes with a candor and warmth that makes you feel like you’re relaxing at her kitchen table with a glass of lemonade in front of you and a toddler in your lap. You want to stretch out your legs, reach for a cookie, and stay all afternoon.

Danielle’s new book, Mom to Mom, Day to Day: Advice and Support for Catholic Living, is full of that same combination of warmth and wisdom. I had the great pleasure recently of interviewing Danielle about the book, writing, and other subjects (including, of course, blogging). It’s a long conversation, so click the link at the bottom to read the whole thing.

In the preface of
Mom to Mom, you mention that the book grew out of questions sent to
you by readers of your blog. Can you share more about what prompted
you to continue the dialogue in book form?

I started to realize
that I was getting many of the same kinds of questions from readers
over and over again. Moms in general, and Catholic moms in
particular, seemed to struggle with similar kinds of issues. I
started out trying to, but I pretty soon realized that I was never
going to be able to answer every email question adequately. I decided
that a book might be a good way to go “on record” with my
responses to some of the most common questions. Moms are talkers —
communicators extraordinaire — and I think we all can benefit
from bouncing ideas back and forth and coming together to share
thoughts and experiences. Mom to Mom is an attempt at that
kind of sharing in book form.

Your thoughts on
the division of housework ("Splitting Housework, Splitting
Hairs") might surprise many readers. The idea of a modern wife
assuming responsibility for all household chores, and looking upon
her husband’s contribution as a favor rather than "his
share"—this is not a message we’re hearing much nowadays. Have
you had much response to that section of the book? (My favorite part,
by the way.)

I really did expect some negativity, but the
response to that chapter has so far been overwhelmingly positive.
It’s crazy, but for some women, their self esteem has gotten
caught up in so-called “fairness,” a perfect 50/50 split,
and keeping score when it comes to household chores. Why are things
like vacuuming and scrubbing the toilet the only things that “count”
as a household contributions? Isn’t paying the bills a major
household contribution? Such unrealistic notions can turn any happy
woman into a bitter, angry, unhappy wife.

I had one woman tell me
that she felt “relieved” to read that chapter because she
realized that she need not feel like a doormat just because her
husband was not much of a help around the house. She felt pressured
by her friends to expect him to contribute more. Imagine that! She
was “enslaved” by the idea that her husband wasn’t
doing “his fair share” and after reading that chapter she
felt free to take on the housework all by herself. Talk about
liberation! It’s enough to make a 1960s-style feminist’s
head spin.

Continue reading Mom to Mom: An Interview with Danielle Bean →