It's Time for a Reboot

The years have gone by since my last post.  It's been over seven years since I've last written on here.

I purchased a house in 2017.  I worked about a month of evenings & weekends getting it fixed up and we moved in in October.  Then I was laid off December 7th.

2018 Sucked:

1. I was laid off when the year began.
2. Bills kept coming even though the money wasn't.
3. I secured a part-time, temporary job to helps make, but the strain continued.
4. Found out my dad had cancer in March.
5. My wife left me in April.
6. I got in a car wreck and total my car in May.
7. The dog stepped on my eyeball and I was blind in that eye for about three days.
8. My dad went into a nursing home in June.
9. I started teaching high school chemistry in August AND three college math classes. (7 new preps)
10. My son started daycare in August and we did our best being dudes on our own most of the time.
11. My dad died in October.  I found out about it on my break between teaching two of my night classes.
12. My house was in foreclosure in November and less than a week away from being auctioned on the court house steps.
13. On Christmas day my wife asked me for a divorce.

Moving On

Things got better from there, but every month had its punch.  My faith in God and His sacraments through the Church have strengthened me through the ups & downs.

We have a new pope and my diocese has a new bishop.  That's exciting for a Catholic man.  I've been praying for years for a growth of the Catholic Church and I pray good things are on the way.

My son's mom moved six hours away and he no longer sees her on the weekends like he did for seven years.  It was difficult for him to spend much time with her during the 2025-26 school year.  He often asked me if he could be homeschooled so he could spend time with her.  So, I early retired at the end of the 2026 school year and we started homeschooling.  I love retirement.  Homeschooling started out stressful, but we're getting the hang of it now.  Our program has daily objectives with check boxes and now he does a good job of keeping himself on track.  He likes it because he can get through the day quicker.  He has been able to spend more time with his mother.  That's important for a boy.

Influencers and "Confusers"

I've noticed a growth of Catholic voices on social media and the anti-Catholic voices soon began to follow.  I think the anti-Catholic voices are barking loudly because the truth of Catholicism is finding a home in hearts and minds.

It almost always takes many more sentences to refute a lie that the lie itself contains.  Some of these anti-Catholic "confusers" can spew 15 falsehoods in a 10-second clip.  It's difficult to respond in truth & respect in the comments section of those videos.  It's even more difficult for a boomer like me to respond on my phone's keypad.

So, my intention is, during my "free time," to give some of these incorrect anti-Catholic statements a proper response on this platform.  It's easier for an old guy like me to put a response in print than to try to make a podcast or social media videos.

So.  Let the games begin!