um hi can I please preorder that book of Christy's Reflections on the Amy Sherman-Palladino Universe? I love both these shows but agree that some of the messages seem really off. I do think TMMM ended on a slightly more self-reflective note than GG, both on the feminist taking back of the manic pixi dream girl ("not everyone's going to get me...and that's fine" ...also her kids being critical of her whole schtick later in life), and on the second wave feminism (that last scene where she's rich and famous, but wandering alone through that great big apartment...). Also, after rage-quitting two shows recently for their you-go-girl depictions of abortion, I thought TMMMdid a better job with that plot-line than I would have expected. Depicting Joel's devastation and the ripple effects on his parents, for instance - not a sympathetic viewpoint you often get from the pro-choice crowd!
anyway, yes please to the Christy manifesto on this - or better yet a big zoom conference call where you and all your followers can work out our complicated feelings about these shows!
Haha, it would be more like its own separate newsletter that would systematically go through every episode of both shows and dissect feminist ideas and how every episode presents contrasting views! I think both GG and TMMM show real realities of single motherhood and the cost of sex, but also are completely unrealistic in other ways in a completely infuriating way!
Hey there are whole podcasts where dudes break down the wire, the sopranos, the office....all those shows ep by ep. I think you’d have a built in audience for something similar with these two shows!
Thank you Antonia! I wouldn't give Emily Henry books to my teenage girl yet, mostly because she's still a pretty innocent teenager, there is some sex in every book, and way too many mentions about the state of main characters nipples.
This was an awesome piece. We have to model what we want for our children. And prayer... definitely not passive... more of call to action, even if people don’t realize it sometimes.
I love reading your thoughts on prayer! Especially the part where you mention "non-activist prayer" being important. YES! When teaching your kids about prayer, is there a good way you've found to invite them to personal prayer each day? My husband and I have been mulling this over; we pray together as a family every day (a set of prayers in the morning, Rosary and Compline in the evening) and here and there, we've has sporadic occasions where we tell the kids to find an area of the house to do 5 minutes of personal prayer, but it is not a regular practice or anything. Even though my kids are young (oldest just turned 7), we'd love to help them cultivate this practice regularly in some way. Do you have any advice on when to work that kind of thing in?
Also, I really love that article on Madonna House! Catherine Doherty is one of my favorite spiritual writers but a lot of people in my area have never heard of her-it's always fun to hear about her and her legacy. That article makes me think about all of the hours that my kids and I have spent at our next-door neighbor's house over the past several years that we've lived in our home. When we first moved in, the elderly couple next door gave us an open invitation to "have a cup of coffee" whenever we want, we haven't done it in a few months (due to their health and energy levels, they can't have us over like they used to) but I cherish all of the hours we've just sat in their house sipping on coffee and not even talking much, just being together as neighbors.
I hesitate to give any advice because my general feeling surrounding all things parenting is still the persistent terror of having no idea what I'm doing! I hope I can at least somehow tell and emphasize and encourage my kids to understand prayer as a relationship over a performative action, or even a way towards prosperity. We do have daily prayer times, but there is not spontaneous spoken prayer involved, we try to get our kids to adoration once a month, and hopefully our example as parents. But I'm not sure if that's doing enough or providing enough!? I'm still working on it obviously.
I love Catherine Doherty so much and spent a week at Madonna House in my long lost youth. I've always been attracted to her spirituality and while at Madonna House it really was beautiful to see it fully lived out. I love your example of just having a cup of coffee with people. I really overthink reaching out to new people.
Thank you so much for sharing your prayer approach! It's so helpful to me to learn about how other families approach those types of things. It sounds like you are doing a beautiful job! And WOW! That is so, so cool that you got to spend a week at Madonna House! That's just amazing. And I often overthink everything (including reaching out to others) but I'm trying to work on that. It's a process!
I really appreciate these thoughts from Christy on Catholicism and handing on the faith. It is easy to fall into a performative Christianity that has, as one of its many parts, a knee-jerk tendency to outrage. It's important to remind ourselves (and model for our children) to stop and listen quietly for our first responsibilities, including to respond to all things with charity and prayer.
um hi can I please preorder that book of Christy's Reflections on the Amy Sherman-Palladino Universe? I love both these shows but agree that some of the messages seem really off. I do think TMMM ended on a slightly more self-reflective note than GG, both on the feminist taking back of the manic pixi dream girl ("not everyone's going to get me...and that's fine" ...also her kids being critical of her whole schtick later in life), and on the second wave feminism (that last scene where she's rich and famous, but wandering alone through that great big apartment...). Also, after rage-quitting two shows recently for their you-go-girl depictions of abortion, I thought TMMMdid a better job with that plot-line than I would have expected. Depicting Joel's devastation and the ripple effects on his parents, for instance - not a sympathetic viewpoint you often get from the pro-choice crowd!
anyway, yes please to the Christy manifesto on this - or better yet a big zoom conference call where you and all your followers can work out our complicated feelings about these shows!
Haha, it would be more like its own separate newsletter that would systematically go through every episode of both shows and dissect feminist ideas and how every episode presents contrasting views! I think both GG and TMMM show real realities of single motherhood and the cost of sex, but also are completely unrealistic in other ways in a completely infuriating way!
Hey there are whole podcasts where dudes break down the wire, the sopranos, the office....all those shows ep by ep. I think you’d have a built in audience for something similar with these two shows!
Really love this on prayer!!!
Thanks Nell! Love you!
Loved you comments on prayer - thank you!!
I haven’t read Emil Henry... Book Lovers sounds like your favorite. Are her books pretty clean? Okay for tweens/teens/adult?
Thank you Antonia! I wouldn't give Emily Henry books to my teenage girl yet, mostly because she's still a pretty innocent teenager, there is some sex in every book, and way too many mentions about the state of main characters nipples.
This was an awesome piece. We have to model what we want for our children. And prayer... definitely not passive... more of call to action, even if people don’t realize it sometimes.
Thank you so much.
I love reading your thoughts on prayer! Especially the part where you mention "non-activist prayer" being important. YES! When teaching your kids about prayer, is there a good way you've found to invite them to personal prayer each day? My husband and I have been mulling this over; we pray together as a family every day (a set of prayers in the morning, Rosary and Compline in the evening) and here and there, we've has sporadic occasions where we tell the kids to find an area of the house to do 5 minutes of personal prayer, but it is not a regular practice or anything. Even though my kids are young (oldest just turned 7), we'd love to help them cultivate this practice regularly in some way. Do you have any advice on when to work that kind of thing in?
Also, I really love that article on Madonna House! Catherine Doherty is one of my favorite spiritual writers but a lot of people in my area have never heard of her-it's always fun to hear about her and her legacy. That article makes me think about all of the hours that my kids and I have spent at our next-door neighbor's house over the past several years that we've lived in our home. When we first moved in, the elderly couple next door gave us an open invitation to "have a cup of coffee" whenever we want, we haven't done it in a few months (due to their health and energy levels, they can't have us over like they used to) but I cherish all of the hours we've just sat in their house sipping on coffee and not even talking much, just being together as neighbors.
I hesitate to give any advice because my general feeling surrounding all things parenting is still the persistent terror of having no idea what I'm doing! I hope I can at least somehow tell and emphasize and encourage my kids to understand prayer as a relationship over a performative action, or even a way towards prosperity. We do have daily prayer times, but there is not spontaneous spoken prayer involved, we try to get our kids to adoration once a month, and hopefully our example as parents. But I'm not sure if that's doing enough or providing enough!? I'm still working on it obviously.
I love Catherine Doherty so much and spent a week at Madonna House in my long lost youth. I've always been attracted to her spirituality and while at Madonna House it really was beautiful to see it fully lived out. I love your example of just having a cup of coffee with people. I really overthink reaching out to new people.
Thank you so much for sharing your prayer approach! It's so helpful to me to learn about how other families approach those types of things. It sounds like you are doing a beautiful job! And WOW! That is so, so cool that you got to spend a week at Madonna House! That's just amazing. And I often overthink everything (including reaching out to others) but I'm trying to work on that. It's a process!
I really appreciate these thoughts from Christy on Catholicism and handing on the faith. It is easy to fall into a performative Christianity that has, as one of its many parts, a knee-jerk tendency to outrage. It's important to remind ourselves (and model for our children) to stop and listen quietly for our first responsibilities, including to respond to all things with charity and prayer.
Thank you so much, Dixie!