Friday, May 22, 2009

What do you want to be, my lovely?

Can we have it all? Great careers, wonderful families, sparkly personalities, clean and shiny homes and, if you want Popcorn's opinion, Rapunzel's hair? The debate rages on and there is an awareness, at times, that "having it all" was more of a campaign promise which has to give way to the stark reality of running the country. So, should we teach our girls the stoicism of our ancestors? Suffer in silence, that's the way it is! Or just watch them trying to multi-task their lives off till they explode? Many commentators today seem to be saying its stupid of women to try to do it all, they need to scale down their expectations. Even Helen Fielding, the creator of that woman of our times, Bridget Jones, has been reported to say so. But I found the response to that, given by Helen Burch in The Telegraph, to be uplifting.

What set me thinking along these lines was watching Peaches select a T shirt for soccer. She chose one with a soccer ball on it that said, in pretty colors, "I play like a girl. That's why I play harder, faster, better." As we read it together, I laughed in acknowledgment while she seems baffled. To Peaches, there is no difference between her and the little boys in her soccer class. Its a great day when "plays like a girl" loses its meaning. So, Peaches go ahead and try to have it all!

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

What does your garden grow?

The answer, at the moment, is a few annuals which managed to survive the journey from Home Depot. But, great plans are afoot. Peaches, much inspired by Earth Day at preschool, proposed growing vegetables. Somehow (the mechanics were not exactly clear) but somehow this was going to clean the air and save the planet. Popcorn had no such noble motives. She had made her plans for the summer and they consisted of wearing pink skirts and eating strawberries. And how much easier it would be to follow this simple plan if Mom bought skirts in every shade of pink and grew strawberries at home! All these grand ambitions have to be fulfilled by a couple of planters on our deck so with some freshly bought potting soil at hand and faith in nature in our hearts we have embarked on our adventure. If anything grows, photos will follow....

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The Problem of Mr. Cheney

So there we were, on January 19th, congratulating ourselves that we were finally out of the woods. Mr. Cheney was no longer a part of the administration and would fade away, writing his memoirs and giving speeches, but not lighting up our radar any more. But that did not happen. Here he is, criticizing President Obama: there he is, staunchly defending torture. Our radar is ablaze!
The whole time Mr. Cheney was vice-president,we heard his health was delicate. Did no one prescribe a restful vacation, far from the madding crowd? Where, oh, where is a secure, undisclosed location when you desperately need one?

Monday, May 11, 2009

What's in a name?

For the first time in history England has a woman poet laureate, Carol Ann Duffy. This is great not simply because she is a woman but because her poetry speaks so directly to us. I especially liked "Name" . While I was reading all the articles on her, I discovered Ursula Fanthorpe for the first time and could not believe that I had never read her! Oh, how she writes!! This poem about a painting is as close to perfection as you can get. When you read these two wonderful poets, you see the world from a different angle. A bit like our craft time today when Peaches and Popcorn gave up their beloved castles and princesses to draw rockets in space and then added glitter outlines to every object, celestial or man made.