Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Rambling
Where to start?
My husband. He got an 'A' and and 'A+' for grades for his second half of summer session. The 'A' would've been and 'A+' too, except his professor didn't know she could give that for a grade. That professor, who's been a huge supporter of Erik in his return to college, officially got her doctorate today. Hubby went to her dissertation defense today and she passed. Yippee for her! Yippee for Hubby!
Hubby and I went shopping all day yesterday with Hubby's parents. Shopping takes a lot of thinking and a lot of walking. It's exhausting. Hubby's parents treated us to outfits for our upcoming trip to Atlanta. Aren't they sweet? Hubby looks fabulous in a suit, even though he isn't used to one and doesn't think so. (Trust me, he is stunning, knock-your-socks-off gorgeous. I don't think I'm biased on this in the least.) I got a couple of cute dresses and two smart, splashy jackets to go with them - all from Coldwater Creek. My biggest sticking point is shoes. I think I'm going to end up taking three pairs - THREE PAIRS! - with me on the trip. Good heavens, that's a lot of shoes for one trip. I'd like to get by with two, but I have to have the right combination of color, style, and comfort for the particular outfits. (Listen to me! Kvetching about fashion! Something strange is going on. I never kvetch about fashion.)
In other news, the children are getting ready to go back to school soon. Eldest Son finished his summer job last Friday. We went out to eat to celebrate. Daughter is back to practicing flute and readjusting her bedtime. She and Eldest get their schedules tomorrow. Youngest Son is probably not too keen on going back, but that's because he's never quite fit the system. We have to nurse him through it. He's still not happy that he no longer has recess now that he's in middle school. He has quite the cadre of friends and recess was their time to pal around.
I'd like to welcome Joanne of Poppy Seed Heart back to the blogosphere. She has posted a most thorough description of her baby's birth experience. So heart-warming.
My husband. He got an 'A' and and 'A+' for grades for his second half of summer session. The 'A' would've been and 'A+' too, except his professor didn't know she could give that for a grade. That professor, who's been a huge supporter of Erik in his return to college, officially got her doctorate today. Hubby went to her dissertation defense today and she passed. Yippee for her! Yippee for Hubby!
Hubby and I went shopping all day yesterday with Hubby's parents. Shopping takes a lot of thinking and a lot of walking. It's exhausting. Hubby's parents treated us to outfits for our upcoming trip to Atlanta. Aren't they sweet? Hubby looks fabulous in a suit, even though he isn't used to one and doesn't think so. (Trust me, he is stunning, knock-your-socks-off gorgeous. I don't think I'm biased on this in the least.) I got a couple of cute dresses and two smart, splashy jackets to go with them - all from Coldwater Creek. My biggest sticking point is shoes. I think I'm going to end up taking three pairs - THREE PAIRS! - with me on the trip. Good heavens, that's a lot of shoes for one trip. I'd like to get by with two, but I have to have the right combination of color, style, and comfort for the particular outfits. (Listen to me! Kvetching about fashion! Something strange is going on. I never kvetch about fashion.)
In other news, the children are getting ready to go back to school soon. Eldest Son finished his summer job last Friday. We went out to eat to celebrate. Daughter is back to practicing flute and readjusting her bedtime. She and Eldest get their schedules tomorrow. Youngest Son is probably not too keen on going back, but that's because he's never quite fit the system. We have to nurse him through it. He's still not happy that he no longer has recess now that he's in middle school. He has quite the cadre of friends and recess was their time to pal around.
I'd like to welcome Joanne of Poppy Seed Heart back to the blogosphere. She has posted a most thorough description of her baby's birth experience. So heart-warming.
Labels: baby, children, clothing, grades, husband, parents, poppy seed heart, school, shopping
Monday, June 25, 2007
Sibling Memory
It's great to have siblings. They help jog family memory. I talked to one of my brothers last night and he helped me to recall something I had completely forgotten. One of my goals in life is to write a song. It doesn't necessarily have to be the greatest song in the world, mind you. I simply want to figure out how to put words to music. My brother reminded me that I have already been involved with songwriting. He and I co-wrote a song called "Runaway" as kids, which we performed for our parents. My brother said they laughed at us. Gee, I wonder why I have an issue with my musicality. Very cool about the song, though, and once he mentioned it, I do vaguely recall having worked on it. I know we repeated the word 'runaway' in the chorus, but that's all I've got.
Labels: brother, memory, music, parents, runaway, songs
Monday, June 04, 2007
Sex Ed - Who's Problem Is It?
Talk to your kids about the birds and bees, only don't call it the birds and bees, use the real-deal terms. Keep it scientific and natural. Don't let kids get their sex education from friends, who don't know diddle either. This is all fine and good, this advice . . . until it becomes chastisement, which it inevitably does. Why haven't you talked to your kids about sex? Shame on you! Leaving them all uninformed.
Let's just hold the phone for a moment. Has it ever occurred to the experts doing the chastising that maybe it's not the parents who are afraid to talk about sex with their kids, but the kids who are afraid to hear it from their parents? Whenever I broach any sort of sex education topic with my kids, they roll their eyes and stiffen. You can feel them steeling themselves against what might be coming. It's embarrassing for them because they don't like to think of their parents as sexual beings. Can you imagine your parents doing it? Even if you're an adult right now? Yuck, right? That's what kids bring to the table, no matter how much the parents are ready for The Talk (or the numerous Talks over the years). When met with this kind of resistance, it's difficult to speak in a way that isn't stilted or halting, which increases the discomfort all the way around. What then are parents supposed to do to ensure their kids know all they're going to need to know?
Let's just hold the phone for a moment. Has it ever occurred to the experts doing the chastising that maybe it's not the parents who are afraid to talk about sex with their kids, but the kids who are afraid to hear it from their parents? Whenever I broach any sort of sex education topic with my kids, they roll their eyes and stiffen. You can feel them steeling themselves against what might be coming. It's embarrassing for them because they don't like to think of their parents as sexual beings. Can you imagine your parents doing it? Even if you're an adult right now? Yuck, right? That's what kids bring to the table, no matter how much the parents are ready for The Talk (or the numerous Talks over the years). When met with this kind of resistance, it's difficult to speak in a way that isn't stilted or halting, which increases the discomfort all the way around. What then are parents supposed to do to ensure their kids know all they're going to need to know?
Labels: children, fear, parents, sex education
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Placed Expectations
When you have children, you try your darndest not to screw them up too badly in raising them. (For example, you'd like them not to leave cracker crumbs all over the computer keyboard, which is the current state of my keyboard, thank you very much.) I think one of the ways we subconsciously mess with our kids is by pigeon-holing them, placing expectations on them based on what they show us. Our oldest son showed a particular artistic genius early on, creating realistic drawings replete with foreshortening and correct perspective when he was five or six years old. He has so consistently shown this ability that he's been pegged as an artist and, of course, we brag about it. Our daughter is gifted with money managing abilities that would put most adults to shame. She's sensible and responsible, not only with money, but with many other things. Our youngest son is energetic and physical and has a sparkling personality that acts as a magnet and attracts people to him. He started talking when he was seven months old and has a magnificient gift of the gab. Innocently enough, and by following their original leads, we've come to expect these things of our children. We don't want to lock them into these molds, but it has happened without our quite realizing it. When I attended my youngest son's conferences and his art teacher said that he was really creative, I was pleased as punch, and thought, why, of course he is, but, honestly, I hadn't really attributed artistic creativity to him as much as I had to his older brother. This is silly. Traits can be mixed and matched between children and our kids can share qualities such as creativity. Sharing is good. I have noticed that all are good writers and interested in science and history. All are creative, but each expresses it differently.
This thought process makes me wonder if siblings from other families that appear to be diametrically opposed to each other in interests and personalities were shunted along these lines by the parents' placed expectations. It makes me want to try harder not to do this.
This thought process makes me wonder if siblings from other families that appear to be diametrically opposed to each other in interests and personalities were shunted along these lines by the parents' placed expectations. It makes me want to try harder not to do this.
Labels: artist, children, creativity, daughter, expectations, money, parents, personality traits, son
