The weekly “little of this, little of that” feature here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
You know how you feel weird for a few days and then you get a pain in your abdomen and you think, “hmm, seems like a muscle strain, but that's a weird place for it on the side there” and then you do a search and see before the autofill even finishes that google thinks it's gallbladder, so you think, “well, maybe it's actually something like your gallbladder but there is probably some sort of essential oil/bone broth/witchcraft solution because you are not going to the doctor, and then you consult with a friend, and then you talk to a nurse, who says “go in now and don't drive yourself”?
Or is that just me?
Anyway, it really did turn out to be a muscle strain, not related to indigestion that went before, I guess — at any rate, it's not my gallbladder.* I'm not mad that I went, because you just know that I would have spent all weekend being afraid to eat and regretting the fun things I need to make for the Superbowl (go Pats!) and knowing that I'd stay awake wondering if I had to rush to the hospital in the middle of the night.
*May I just say how grateful I am to modern medicine that this issue was ruled out really quite quickly. Go modern medicine!
All of which to say, I only have this picture from yesterday afternoon of me knitting while being driven to figure all this out.
But I do have links!
- Quick reminder: The Seven Sundays of St. Joseph start tomorrow. After many long years of praying this prayer, I am starting to see a pattern: It starts on Superbowl Sunday. That is good, because it's easy to remember; it's not so good, because it's easy to get all excited about football and forget to pray. I do love St. Joseph though, so I encourage you to check in with him well before the game.
- Fr. Schall has “retired” — he just celebrated his 89th birthday, as this appreciative and informative piece reminds us (and parents, take heart! according to the author, this paragon of intellectual insight had no interest in books of any kind at all until he was a young man!) — but he's still going strong and getting better and better. Here he muses on “The Goodness and Humanity of God.”
- A kind friend posted on our Facebook page the link to the Gutenberg file of this interesting and oddly comforting Jewish Orthodox cookery book of yore.
- This post by Matt Labash is a bit edgier than what we normally share, but actually, I think the tone is warranted, given the subject matter, which is the disappearance of masculinity among our elites: Boys Will Be Boys and Eventually Should Be Men.
Here's a pull quote, on the whining about how hard it is to raise boys to be sensitive and, well, more like girls:
“I not only don't condone Reiner's parenting approach, but actively advocate against it. I don't raise my own two sons to be mouth-breathing hooligans out of the Male Stereotype Handbook. I want them to respect women, to be gallant, to stand up for the weak, to neither count themselves bullies, nor to suffer being bullied. In short, I want them to grow up to be well-adjusted men. Which used to be considered a worthy aspiration, not a badge of shame.”
- I wanted to share with you the particulars of a conference coming up next month, on the subject of “Gregorian Chant in Pastoral Ministry and Religious Education.” There will be a special focus on music programs for children, especially homeschoolers. The conference will be at the St. Joseph’s Seminary (Dunwoodie – Yonkers, NY). Two good friends of ours will be presenting, including a keynote speech from the inimitable Mark Langley. Go and tell me how it went! Find it on FB here. (The registration deadline has been extended, so do plan on going!)
From the archives:
- Cabin fever? Homeschool burnout? I have a post for that!
- Early distant warning for wedding season! Here is my “read this not that” guide for marriage books.
~We’d like to be clear that, when we direct you to a site via one of our links, we’re not necessarily endorsing the whole site, but rather just referring you to the individual post in question (unless we state otherwise).~
Lisa G. says
Oh, my gosh – a few days after Christmas I suddenly had a severe throbbing in my gum area. I’ve heard of sinus infections, but never had one. I was sure it was because I’ve been stubborn about having my wisdom teeth out (at age 61, they are still coming in, having started very late) and it must be pain caused by these teeth pushing and crowding out the others. It was Friday night, and I couldn’t get anyone till Tuesday, Monday being a post-New Year’s holiday. Tuesday I got to the dentist, and it ended up being two things: the beginning of a sinus infection and also a crown needing to be filed down because it was too “long” and caused the nerve to really bother me (which gave me almost instant relief in that nerve). We don’t always make the right diagnosis on ourselves, do we? 😀
I’m glad yours isn’t anything really bad, although muscle strain must not be fun. (Do you have to avoid laughing hard?? – Hope not!)
Leila says
I mean, considering the alternative(s), it’s fine. I am trying not to laugh hard, so that is a tragedy 😉
Anamaria says
Thanks for the interesting round up! I look forward to reading as time permits.
For those in or close to Oklahoma, you may be interested to know the “retired” Fr Schall will be speaking in march at St Gregory’s in Shawnee. http://www.stgregorys.edu/leisure-and-labor-liberal-arts-and-professions
Unfortunately during the week. I have some of the conference times if anyone is interested!
Emily says
Dearest Auntie,
Your only flaw is that you love the Patriots! 😄
Leila says
Emily, I know — if it helps, I would not call it love. I would call it a sort of “your people will be my people” kind of thing… and liking winners haha
Emily says
I must admit to you that around our house, the Patriots are known as The Cheaters. Our 7-year-old daughter overheard my husband refer to them as such and very sincerely said, “Wouldn’t it make more sense to call The Steelers the ‘Cheaters’?” Har har har.
Josie says
The boy article just made my day. Oh how we needed to be understood with 4 boys in the house that article was balm for my soul…
Rachel says
I read this shortly before my midwife appointment in which we discussed an issue which, thankfully, turned out to be my gallbladder. And the cure is to have the baby. 🙂 So glad you’re well and the Pats won.
Mrs. B. says
Sorry to hear about your health scare, Leila – I think that Google is a double-edge sword: it can put scary ideas into our minds! It’s a good thing, though, if it makes you take things seriously and check with a doctor. My mother is just like you: she needs to be on her deathbed to be convinced she better see a doctor… Happy everything turned out ok. Even on the football front 🙂
Leila says
I think I strained my diaphragm? Has anyone had that happen? Painful!
Teri Pittman says
I think, sometimes, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
I had multiple supplements jam up in my esophagus two weeks ago. I could breathe but nothing liquid could go down. I was really worried it might block off my breathing. I had my husband call 911. They really couldn’t do anything. Told me they could take me to the hospital or I could have my husband do it. I went in the ambulance. They gave me muscle relaxers and I sat there for 2 hours to see if it would clear. It didn’t so they wound up going in with an endoscope. I was so happy to wake up with the block gone! Still don’t know why things blocked up as I’ve been careful about taking pills.
NY Mom says
What a scary experience that must have been. When I was young I used to think that the throat blessings on St Blase’s feast day was timed so that I wouldn’t choke on the inevitable fish bones that I nervously picked out of the cod my mom served us during Lent. That awful sensation of finding a bone in one’s mouth has never left me. Maybe you can ask your priest to bless your throat, if he hasn’t already. The Church has such wonderful ways of caring for us, however riddled with anxieties we may be…!