I’m really now just starting to understand the meaning of John Bradford’s quote. For a long time I dismissed it as not relevant to my life since I had no real religious beliefs and I got hung up on the God part until I realized that the phrase could just as well read: There, but for circumstances, go I. Then it all kind of clicked. The meaning, to me, is a call to expanded empathy; an understanding of life and its vagaries. A prayer, offered quickly, to the gods of circumstance and uncertainty to pass you by. A gentle reminder to me that kindness and compassion are actions, not words. That …

TV is one of the defining technologies of my generation. I can’t remember a time in my life when we didn’t have one. I will admit to remembering, vaguely, having a black and white set and I definitely remember rabbit ears and the VHF/UHF dials. Ha, dials. I also remember being a human remote control. Dad was a constant channel changer. I believe one of the happiest days of our lives was the day he got his first remote control. I’m only kidding a little. I loved, loved, loved rainy Saturdays. If it were raining I wouldn’t feel guilty about staying in and watching Saturday morning cartoons …

I was watching the Olympics with Emma Sunday morning when the story broke about the shooting in Wisconsin. I made some noise of disgust and outrage and Emma looked at me with a question in her eyes. I looked back at her and said "Again. Son of a biscuit-eater (not really but I can’t print what I really said) when is this going to end?" She wisely chose not to answer. A little later when details about the gunman came out, she asked me why it happened. I told her I wish I knew but that I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the shooter believed that he was somehow defending America and trying…

Recently the Boy Scouts of America reaffirmed its ban on homosexuals and non-religious folks that want to be involved with their organization. That’s within their rights. Recently, the Plymouth School Committee voted to allow the scouts to use the schools without a fee. I can’t help but wonder if this violates the anti-discrimination policy of the Plymouth Public Schools. Would we tolerate another group to use our facilities for free if they discriminated against color or religion? Many will argue that the scouts teach community and other skills that are good and necessary; that they make a …

By the time it’s all said and done, millions of words will be expended on the Penn State debacle. Who knew what? How long did they know it? How deep was the cover up? Who’s going to prison? What of Joe Paterno’s legacy? Should the burden of “punishment” fall on the entire Penn State community? How much will this cost the taxpayers of Pennsylvania? What role, if any, does the NCAA have in this case? I’ve been following the story, peripherally, as it all started to unfold. First, when Jerry Sandusky was arrested and through his trial and subsequent conviction and then I was curious as to what …

I spend a lot of time on the Internet. I read the news; I read political websites; I read the comics; I socialize; I email; I… well you get the picture. I love it. I love the Wild West aspect of the whole World Wide Web from the sprawling political arguments to the random twists of Facebook conversations to catching up with fans from my favorite shows. The Internet has really made the world a smaller place. I’ve seen the Internet used for good. I’ve seen it used to rally a cause and to bring friends and family together to experience each other’s lives in new and innovative ways. I’ve been …

I don’t know when it happened but it seems like all of a sudden I can’t stop thinking about the March accident involving the four juniors from Silver Lake High School. I read all the coverage. I check for updates. I can’t put it out of my mind. I think about it at least once a day. I have been trying to understand why I’m so preoccupied with it. It hasn’t touched my life in any significant way. I don’t know any of the families involved.  I just know that I can’t stop thinking about it. Perhaps it’s because my son and his friends are high school students that are just starting to drive and I …

Not going to lie, I’m a union girl born and raised. Dad was very active in his union (AFSCME) and he instilled in me that it’s not enough to work hard at what you do but you have to work to make certain that you put in place the mechanisms for everyone to be able to work hard and prosper. For him, that meant strong, robust unions. I remember when I was a kid, Dad was always supporting some union or unionizing effort somewhere. At various times I remember not being able to eat grapes and peanut butter. I think he gave up coffee for a bit. All of our clothes and cars had to be not just union …

My family and I don’t always get along. Shocking, I know but there it is. Sometimes it’s Pat and I; or the kids; or Dylan and me; or Pat and Dylan; or Emma and, well, everyone. It seems that the more stressed we are, the less likely we are to get along. When one of us is in a bad mood or feeling upset, there’s a lot of arguing, snapping and nit-picking. By-standers get dragged into it and then they get frustrated and irritated. A vicious cycle ensues and next thing you know, everyone’s involved. I’m pretty sure we’re not alone. We don’t plan on it; we don’t even like it when it happens. This …

Summer! Summer! Summer! Although the weather we’ve been having lately is more reminiscent of Autumn! Autumn! Autumn! My DNA knows it’s summer, it senses it. Craves it. I have one thing to say to summer: Bring on the heat! I love warm. Hot really. The hotter the better. You will never, not once, hear me say it’s too hot. Ever. In fact, should I end up not in heaven, I’m pretty sure my conversation with the head dude would go something like this, “Hey, S-Dog (I would totally call him that ‘cause we’d be tight, I’d probably be on a committee or two since that’s what I do), why so cheap with the …

A life contains a million small moments; the times that slip between our schedules and obligations. I’ve come to realize that these moments are my favorite. Sure I like the big ones – births, weddings, etc – the spectacle moments but honestly I prefer the small ones. The ones that tend to get overlooked and pushed aside. The ones that reside between the lines of our lives. You know the moments I’m talking about. The ten minutes in the car between practice and home. The few minutes in the morning together before we head out to do our respective thing. I’ve been trying to identify these little …

What the hell is wrong with people? Seriously? That’s not a rhetorical question. Okay, maybe it is a little. Did a certain portion of this country sleep through the last forty years? Have they learned nothing from history? Back then we were fighting over color instead of gender. Guess what? Nothing they predicted has happened. Nothing. The world did not go spinning off its axis, hurtling toward the sun, to punish the sinners and miscegenators. God did not smite anyone. People of all colors and nationalities have been getting happily married and the world did not end. Just as nothing will …

As mothers, we share the honor and responsibility for raising the future. It is up to us to advocate for the best interests of our children. It also means that if a child does not have a mother who can support them – for whatever reason – the imperative then falls to us, the moms who can. I’d like to focus attention, however briefly; on the one issue that I believe is the most important opportunity we have to impact the lives of all children, everywhere. It crosses all boundaries. Education We, as a country, need to reaffirm our commitment to quality public education. We also need to reaffirm…

I have spent a good portion of my life thinking that everyone was normal and that I lived in a bubble of weird. However, as I've met more people and really started paying attention, I've realized that everyone is weird and it’s just a matter of degree and that some are more successful than others at hiding their weirdness. Recently, I was able to watch my kids do their favorite things. I was thrilled to watch my son play, once again, the sport he loves – lacrosse. I also got to watch my daughter dance her heart out at competition. It’s amazing as a parent to watch them practice and prepare to…

I will admit freely and loudly that I am not a parenting expert. Honestly, up until I decided to have my first child (in my late twenties) I never gave parenting or children much thought at all.   Seriously, I’m the person that won’t even hold your child until it reaches a certain age. Mostly because I’m not much interested in hearing how I’m doing it wrong or that I have to wash my hands or have any other nonsense heaped on me by over-zealous new parents. That being said, I get it. Being responsible for the creation of a brand-new person is an awesome and life-altering event and one you …

There was a time in my life that if you had told me that I would spend more than a decade of my life volunteering, I would have asked you what you were smoking. But, that’s exactly how I have spent a good portion of the last 10 years. I started on town committees and when the kids started school, I began volunteering in the classroom; I joined the Parent’s Council. I also joined the Parent-Teacher Organization, eventually serving as vice-president. I was a volunteering machine. Nothing though prepared me for my ultimate volunteering experience. A few years ago a friend asked me to join the …

I was talking to a friend the other day and the subject of 13-year-old girls came up since we both are lucky enough to have one. He looked at me and said “What happened?! Up until she was 12 she was my Princess and I was her Daddy. It was perfect. Then BAM! Thirteen and everything just changed!” I started to laugh and said, “Remember Jim? Yeah, he had five!” My friend just shook his head, a new found respect and kinship for Dad reflected in his face. We laughed and commiserated about it for a few minutes but later I started thinking about the stages of life and how to help our kids (and …

I’ve been writing now for less than two years between my blog and Plymouth Patch. In that time I have written thousands of words on a variety of topics but mostly family and politics. I have shared (some will argue over-shared) many aspects of my family’s lives as well as my own. I continue to do this for several reasons. I guess if I had to list my reasons they would go something like this: I like being the center of attention I like the accolades (of which there are many!) I like when people agree with me I like when people disagree with me I like watching Pat roll his eyes when I read the …

I believe in God. My husband does not. This leads to some very interesting conversations and debates in the Mulvey-Welsh household. The kids have decided that they are Switzerland on this topic and are content to sit back and watch us duke it out. My God has no gender but for the purposes of this essay I will be using the masculine form mainly because I want to call him dude. My God is not an organized God (shocking, I know); he’s more hands-off. Once the ball got rolling, a sit-back-and-watch-it-unfold kind of dude. He is the creator of beauty and elegance, the creator of sunflowers and …

I’ve spent the last few days thinking about activism and what, specifically, it means to me. I’ve also given a lot of thought to whether or not I consider myself an activist or even if I want to be considered an activist. This all came about from an online conversation with a friend. I update Facebook frequently and alternate between the mundane; “Lunch was yummy!” to parental pride “Wah Hoo! Great goal boy!” to the occasional off-color joke to political topics that I feel deserve more attention. The posting in question was a political posting; in the comment section, I was admonished to stop…