Chet Collins's Blog: Catholic Husband, page 14

Free

It’s hard to not be grateful when we realize the blessing of being born into this country. For all of its faults, we’ve built a Republic that thrives on pluralism. In South America, poverty, gang warfare, and narcoterrorism rule the day. In Europe, a land war rages on. In Asia, autocrats squeeze out dissent at home and abroad. Slavery, violence, oppression and subjugation are themes of human history, and the continue today unabated. And yet, in North America, we are at peace.

The stability and pr...

More

Our sense of timing is incredible. Consider the level of comfort that we experience daily, with technologies and services that our predecessors could never have imagined. You might even be reading this article on a computer that fits into your pocket.

Although we have many vices, through the benefit of history books and the Bible, we can see that these vices have always existed. The prophet Jeremiah wrote about troubles all around him, and the troubles are still with us. Hatred, violence, and inj...

Fatherless

A decade ago, at the height of the third-party mobile app ecosystem, I was trying tons of shiny new apps. One was a greeting card generator, that you could design in the app, and which would be printed and mailed to the recipient. It was fine, but I quickly moved on. I hadn’t given that app much thought until three weeks ago. They emailed me, letting me know that Father’s Day was around the corner, and that know that it could be a painful day for many. They wanted to give me the opportunity to o...

Symbiosis

Nature is a constant teacher. So many of the natural things that occur in our lives and in our relationships are mirrored in the animal kingdom. I find that the symbiosis that occurs between species is a great analog for marriage.

Every family has their defined roles, each member taking on a share of the tasks required to keep the household running. But in times of stress or crisis, those roles can be up for grabs. This is an undersold and poorly remembered attribute of healthy marriages. Spouses...

Empty

Halfway through my kids’ summer vacation, and I’ve hammered through my to-do list. Projects, tasks, and ideas from late 2022 are finally percolating to the top, and getting done. I’m eating great, working out, and watching movies in broad daylight. My schedule is my own, I am the Master & Commander of my schedule. My house is empty, and although I appear to be doing all the things that I desire, I, too, am empty.

It’s not a mistake for a father to share a piece of his identity with his family. My...

Quiet

Summer vacation is finally here, and the kids are off with their grandparents for two weeks. Alison and I drove home yesterday and, for the first time in nearly three years, are home alone.

Although we slept in this morning, and were slow to start our day, we were unbelievably productive before lunch. I made it through my whole list for the day, and the house feels clean and refreshed.

Life with small children is never easy, but it’s always full of great meaning and beauty. I’ll enjoy the quiet ti...

New Beginnings

Growing up in a military family, moving was always a fact of life. Now with a family of my own, we’ve certainly moved a few times, but never like before.

A new beginning is just around the corner. After six years of life, and conquering Alison and I’s number one goal, it’s time to move on to new opportunities, and new right steps for her career and our family.

We're starting to take things off the wall, preparing for painting and putting the house on the market. As I took that first hook out of th...

Garage Doors

In my ideal world, our house would be clean all the time. Things pulled out for play would be put away, and I’d stay on top of the dishes in the kitchen and the bits of paper that always seem to float around.

Late last month, our garage door gave up on life and broke on a Friday morning. About to run errands, I was unable to get the car out. Some crafty strategy and I got Alison’s car home, so we were at least able to get moving.

Late last week, the repairman came and fixed the current door, wit...

Checkpoints

The cold days of winter are behind us as the days grow warmer and spring fills all of us with a sense of newness. As we near the end of the school year, in the midst of this newness, my thoughts are turning back to my family’s daily rhythm.

At the beginning of the school year, we were very dedicated to our routine. Although it was familiar each day, we checked things off our list in the same order each morning. Among those routines were clear opening and closings for our school day. As the year d...

Fruits of Labor

The feast of St. Joseph the Worker is an important reminder in our modern era of the holiness of work. As the pendulum swings back from the worship of workaholics, we’re in danger of losing sight of the fruits of labor.

In the past few decades, as the Internet changed the workplace, the lines between life and work became blurred, almost to the point of extinction. The pandemic of 2020 ushered in not only remote work, but a faux focus on mental wellness that looked a lot like laziness.

It’s true t...