December 8th, 2006 — 10:39pm
Day 38
Mood: Mellow
Well we have wonderful news tonight. There’s going to be a wedding!!! And we’re invited!
Yes, yest it seems that the
Mad Hatter popped the question and Jen from
One Plus Two said yes! They’ve asked us all to join them in this marriage of the minds, and all we have to do is take some time out to discuss social justice on our blog.
Social justice? THAT I can talk about–though you might not think so if you knew some of the people I work with these days. BUT, you see, Mamma moved to DC thinking she was going to save the world for women. I spent the first seven years in DC working for NARAL Pro-Choice America (at the time just NARAL).
The “choice” issue has, for me, always meant so much more than the right to get an abortion but the right to self-determination on issues pertaining to one’s body. I’ve always felt that a person’s position on the abortion issue told me so much about their whole outlook on the rights of all humans. The right to have sex with the consenting adult of your choice, the right to abstain from sex, the right to decorate your body, the right to change your body in some way, the right to prevent someone from changing your body…the right to make decisions for oneself and for the body your soul inhabits while on this planet is that too much to ask?
There are plenty of decisions folks may make under this precept that I don’t agree with or wouldn’t pursue myself, but I’ll defend their right to make those decisions till the end. I don’t ask for all people to condone abortion, but to leave the decision up to the woman who must face that decision herself.
Would that we had a world where every pregnancy was a wanted pregnancy, unfortunately that is just not the reality. We should all be working to make it a reality, yet those organizations (and their supporters) who label themselves as “pro-life” aren’t necessarily concerned with this. The National Right to Life organization clearly states in their mission statement that they do not even have a position on sex-education or contraception! How can they claim to want to reduce abortion in this country but not even engage in a conversation about how to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies?!
As a mother, I know how awe-inspiring bringing a child into this world is. As a mother, I also know the patience, resources and love needed to raise a healthy child. How many children would be raised without those things if we were to outlaw abortion? And please don’t send me a comment about all those unwanted babies being adopted…I’m adopted. You know how many kids in this country go unadopted every year? Being adopted has never once affected my feeling on this issue because of the very premise this post began with–the decisions about one’s body need to be made by the brain inhabiting that body.
I hope this post wasn’t too rambling. I hope it counts as a post about social justice.
Weddings are such happy times. I hope you all decide to take part in this wedding too. I’ll look for your posts.
6 comments » | Motherhood, Politics
December 3rd, 2006 — 8:34pm
Day 33
Mood: Gettin’ in the Christmas Spirit
There are certain things your two year-old can say that just wouldn’t fly if it came out of their mouth at 15. Tonight I heard one such thing.
Mr. 2 was in his pjs and I sat him on the edge of the counter to get him up to face level so we could talk and hug a bit. For some reason, he decided I was too warm and began pulling on my sweater and urging me in a very insistent tone to “take it off!” “Take it off! Take it off! Take it off!”
I think the last time I heard that I got pregnant with him.
2 comments » | Living with Boys, Motherhood
November 21st, 2006 — 9:18pm
Day 21
Mood: Hitting the homestretch
Some days I worry that I’m not cut out to be a good mother. That’s quite unfortunate since I have three small children. Now don’t get me wrong…I LOVE my kids. They do mean more to me than anything else. But some days I just can’t channel that Julie Aigner-Clark perma-smile everlasting patience for my liebchens. Does this make me a bad mom?
When I’m willing to have my 10 year-old read stories to his little brothers because my headache just won’t go away…does that make me a bad mother?
At what point do you have to seriously question whether or not you’re just setting them up for years of therapy?
There are so many messages out there about how to be a good mom. So many items on the checklist…always a new standard.
- Nurse them for the first 12 months…but the longer you go the better (even if you don’t get any sleep for a year as a result).
- Don’t work, don’t let anyone else be their primary care-giver (even if they do become bilingual through their day care experience).
- No TV (even though are whole world is moving toward a multi-media mode of communication).
- No sugar, no fats, everything organic (cause it’s too late for us twinkie-eating, soda swilling parents).
- Public school v. private school (you haven’t started worrying about preschool yet?!)
- Never ride anything without a helmet or at least seventeen protective straps (because that reinforced big wheel with the parent handle that you never release may tip over).
- A bath every night, right after an early balanced meal and then fourteen bedtime stories all before 7:30 because routines are great (even if you don’t get home until 6:30)
If you’re reading this list and saying I can’t believe she’s complaining about any one of these things, please DO NOT leave a comment. Instead, relax have another kid or two and realize that it is not possible to follow ALL of the rules.
PLEASE leave a comment if you’ve felt at all frustrated as a mother. I NEED to hear from you. I tend towards the dramatic and often jump to awful conclusions about myself (cause who else is going to look down on you if you don’t look down on yourself?). Tonight I’m wondering if my children would be better off without me.
Do you think I might be tired?
3 comments » | Motherhood
November 10th, 2006 — 10:36pm
Day 10
Mood: Tired
I’ve decided that once I’m done with this whole raising kids thing I’ll be all set to work as a personal assistant to the stars–the bigger the diva the better.
At 3:10 a.m. this morning I was ripped from my slumber by the sound of Mr. 2 and Shakey having a conversation about the need for apple juice. Then, for some reason beyond my comprehension, Shakey yelled to me (laying in the bed next to him mind you) that I had to get juice for Mr. 2. My first thought was that something must be wrong with Shakey as he was obviously awake since he was having this conversation about midnight snacks with Mr. 2. However, I soon realized that that was not the case and that I was expected to get up to and serve my two year-old–post-haste.
Mr. 2 got right in my face and demanded not only apple juice but Goldfish as well. I grumbled okay and then waited for a moment. My brilliant thought here was that if I took my time maybe he’d forget and fall asleep. A few moments of quiet passed and then, “I need apple juice and goldfish and cheese!” He was not going to fall asleep.
So I stumbled downstairs, somehow found all three requested items and made my way back up to my bedroom where Shakey slept and Mr. 2 reclined on my pillow anxiously awaiting his fare. After a few bites of cheese, I was handed the rest of the cheesestick and told to hold it while he drank some juice. I ate it. Luckily for me he had lost interest in the cheese and had moved on to the bowl of Goldfish. Sure enough he ate that whole bowl of the little swimmers and sucked down all the juice.
I say who needs the discarded goodies from the Grammy bag when I can get my own half eaten cheesestick right here.
And with seven minutes to spare…
3 comments » | Motherhood
