The Mom Weekly Volume 98: June 24, 2025
You can read this, or any other previous Mom Weeklies, by going to the home page here.
Good Morning, Destroyer of Worlds
Many years ago, perhaps a decade ago? Our youngest child for some reason gave me an additional name on our Apple account—Destroyer of Worlds. I think he was in 8th grade or 9th grade, and it was doubtless a goofy thing to do for his mom.
It seemed funny at the time, and it still does. I thought about changing it back, but I never did. After a short time, I enjoyed seeing it pop up.
“Destroyer of Worlds, your AirPods are no longer with you. They were last seen at …”
When I want to text myself something from my phone to my laptop or vice versa (for some use cases, better than AirDrop), I type in “Destroyer of Worlds” because while there are several Nancys in my contacts, there is only one Destroyer of Worlds.
The other morning, I was up extra early, and I saw my watch say, “Good Morning, Destroyer of Worlds.” This only happens once in a great while, but when it did a few months ago, I took a photo. It makes me smile, every time. Yes, I am a Destroyer of Worlds.
It’s become common advice to mind your inner monologue—to avoid negative self-talk, because it can be so damaging to ourselves and our relationships. Like most people, I have been prone to this over time. And I try to nip that negative self-talk in the bud, as much as possible.
You know what helps? Being Destroyer of Worlds.It helps a lot.
It helps me recognize that two things can be true at the same time. One can make mistakes, but good qualities, especially strength and fortitude, are present.
Destroyer of Worlds may have burned a batch of cookies in the oven, but knows that she is in general, an excellent baker.
Destroyer of Worlds may not have the perfect thing to say when a friend or loved one is having a hard time, but she also is a thoughtful person in the lives of many that she knows.
Destroyer of Worlds may occasionally feel like she is a “bad mom” or has failed in some parenting choices. (Though, as I like to tell other moms—if you think you’re a bad mom, you’re not. Bad moms don’t think about that). But she is Destroyer of Worlds, and Destroyer of Worlds is a good mom.
Anyway, I just want to say thank you to that 12 or 13-year-old son, who had the whimsical idea to add the moniker “Destroyer of Worlds” to his mom’s name. And that mom has found it a very helpful and affirmative name.
Remember how much I loves you,
Destroyer of Worlds
Notes
As I prepared this, I thought, I better lightly research “Destroyer of Worlds.” Eek! I am virtually certain that the middle-schooler did not realize this when he named me thus, but who knows?
It’s actually a line from the Hindu sacred text, the Bhagavad Gita. It was something that Robert Oppenheimer famously said after the Trinity nuclear test explosion at Los Alamos. You can read about it here.
And here is a video of Oppenheimer describing the moment.
How odd is it that Oppenheimer died when he was just a little older than I am right now (of throat cancer, from chain smoking for decades)? And also, he was not the greatest human. I listened to this podcast episode when the movie came out, and I would not have liked to have met him.
Interesting/Notable
Pope Leo XIV carries Eucharist in procession—loved these photos!
First of all, did you know it is only a one mile walk from St. John Lateran to St. Mary Major? Remember we stayed in a hotel very near to St. Mary Major when we were there in 2019. I would have guessed it was much farther from St. Mary Major to St. John Lateran.
An Action Item: Proper Push-Up Form
G sent me a video that I couldn’t find for the longest time, (update: found it here) about doing proper push-ups, and why it is really important for general health. The video creator said that you can start with wall push-ups, and progress. I enjoyed her gradual approach (as well as her line at the end: “It’s fun to be strong!”)
Anyway, I’m going to challenge myself to do this. I think I can move directly to the counter push-ups, and I will try to do one set of 10 every day. (I’ll work up to the three sets of 10!). Give it a try!