This has become our modern family aspiration – now I begin! Mostly because we (mostly me) are always finding innovative ways to upset the tender peace which hangs over our home. As Saint Josemarìa once said, “To begin is for everyone. To persevere is for saints.”

My name is Jonathon. As a father five times over and the great usurper of my wife’s fan club, I am no stranger to struggle and chaos. Most of the time I have no idea what I’m doing. That’s OK! (Another family aspiration).

My wife and I spend a lot of time trying to figure out parenthood without sacrificing our marriage. Yes – we have weekly date nights. Yes, we know that probably means pushing out retirement. That’s OK. I’d gladly take another year of work in exchange for free ice cream at Jason’s Deli and three hours of scheming strategic planning with my wife.

We also know that we’ve been given certain talents, and that those talents don’t end when new life begins. Often I hear from new dads that they don’t have time for anything… that’s true! The bad news is that it doesn’t get any better. The good news is that you learn to make time.

There’s a story of questionable veracity which a friend of mine shared: when asked how he found time to read and write on top of the million other things he did as a father and chancellor under Henry VIII, St. Thomas More simply replied, “I sleep less.”

That’s precisely why I’m starting this blog: to remind myself that I can make time. I will, like I have for the last several years, appeal to Saint Joseph for calm in the storm. The King of “Do and Disappear” has helped me through a lot, and no doubt more to come. St. Joseph, Glory of Home life, pray for us!