Lesson one: I had to buy more stamps.

Young Latinos are constantly negotiating who they are as people of faith and as members of our society. Some feel alone, others rejected, others not fully understood. Yet all carry in their lives an element of hope to which the church must pay attention.

I know of nowhere saner or more steadying, especially in a world of acceleration and contention.

If end-of-life care matters, surely it can be strengthened by beginning-of-life wisdom. On this first day of Lent and year-round, I want to model for my children clear-eyed acceptance of what we cannot control and agency in what we can.

Growing up, I loved my mother's traditional Guyanese pancakes but often was unsure why they were even called pancakes, as they barely resembled the American form. Today, I have renewed appreciation for her efforts and the tradition she continued.

Caring for my senior dog was a masterclass in that Lenten refrain: “Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.” It was my soul that she was training.