A surprising twist to my Mother’s Day

“I cannot save this world / But look how it’s trying, / once again, to save me"

No greater gift than to hear how your preschooler views you. He’s not wrong.

1. As a mom of boys, I continue to be delighted by the new pope’s siblings. “He was my stupid little brother!”

2. Lately I’ve been enjoying the thoughtful interviews on the No Small Encounter podcast. I especially loved this episode with Ayana Elizabeth Johnson: What If We Get Climate Action Right?

3. In case you missed it, Marie Howe won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Her work has been such a light for my own, and once I got to fangirl at the Festival of Faith & Writing when she and

   Pádraig Ó Tuama
   spoke together (I know!). Check out Prayer for a taste of Marie’s genius.

4. Look. I know poetry is not everyone’s jam. But spring is the perfect season to try it. Here are two reasons why. “Instructions on Not Giving Up” by Ada Limón and “This Spring” by James A. Pearson: “I cannot save this world / But look how it’s trying, / once again, to save me.”

5. In a surprising twist for Mother’s Day, I was invited to speak at a press conference with Senator Amy Klobuchar—and more importantly, my favorite midwife!—in support of a bipartisan bill that the Senator is co-sponsoring to increase funding for midwifery training. I am a huge fan of how midwives care for women, so I was honored to share my story in the same hospital that has held so much grief and joy for my family. Here’s a clip from the local news.

I did not plan to color coordinate with Senator Klobuchar, but great minds think alike? Seriously though, in an era of such divisiveness, it was inspiring to hear about bipartisan efforts to do real good for local communities. Also the Senator was delighted by our kids and broke off twice from her prepared remarks to laugh at how funny the little ones were being in the front row. A breath of fresh air, to remember our common humanity across political divisions.