I can't begin to count how many times in my childhood my mother would do or say something I considered ridiculous. Whether it was an unreasonable curfew or an obscure dinnertime law, I'd make a mental note that I will never say that to MY kid. Some of the rules at my house ranged from restrictive to downright odd. There was no explanation attached; they were simply The Rules, and we were to follow them.
Fast forward to today, and I'm a married mom of two (a 9-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl) whose childhood promises to herself have gone the way of sticker collections and candy cigarettes. Well, some of them anyway. Here are a few mantras from my mother that, somehow, make sense to me today.
"I have eyes in the back of my head." Mom said this whenever she caught us lying about something, and it drove me nuts with the lack of logic. When I was little I used to ask her if I could brush her hair just so I could covertly look for those damned eyes. (Never found 'em.) I thought she was crazy. But today I do exactly the same thing today with my kids. It turns out to be a handy cover for the real ways I find out about their shit, otherwise they'll find new methods to sneak around. They're like little terrorists that way. I call it Momland Security.
"I don't need new clothes - mine are in perfectly good shape." As a teenager I spent every weekend at the Tri-County Flea Market buying a new pair of acid washed jeans or other pieces of 80s crap. So of course I thought my mother looked ridiculous in her decade-old blouses and jewelry. One necklace she had was a hoop pendant in varying shades of gray that always made me think of a marble toilet seat. She wore that thing almost every day and it fascinated me with its ugliness, and by my teen years I wondered what was wrong with her. And yet, last month I bought myself new clothes for the first time in about four years (and subsequently freaked out about the $80 I spent on them). Who gets the new stuff? My kids do. And I don't mind a bit. Now I see where she was coming from.
"No singing at the table." Yep, you read that right. This was actually a rule at my house. We were not allowed to sing or even hum at any meal for which we were gathered. If so much as one note escaped our lips we were met with the Mom Glare - and yes, the same Mom Glare I give now (although mine's mixed with the Eyes-Wide-Open look I inherited from my dad). But the other week my daughter decided that the Spongebob Squarepants song just had to be shared at dinner. Again. And again. And again. And I kind of hate that show, really, so I finally had to blurt out "NO singing at the table, please" - at which point I realized I needed a toilet seat necklace.
"This will hurt me more than it hurts you." I always thought this was the second-biggest line of bullshit that parents give (behind "because I said so"). Yeah, right - I'm sure your ass hurts just as bad as mine after that spanking, and you're not the least bit disappointed that I'm grounded for that party because of my grades. But when I had to tell my son that, sorry, you're not allowed to stay up for the National Championship game because you keep misbehaving at school... damn. That hurt to tell him, even if it was his fault he got in trouble. Poor little guy. Wait it was his fault. Yeah, all his! Aww, but look at how sad he is... (repeat ad nauseum)
So Mom, if you're reading this... yeah, I get it. And thank you.
(But I still won't say "Because I said so" - I have my standards!)
Friday, November 7, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Feelings after the election
I have to admit, I'm not feeling the afterglow of Barack Obama's election. I wish I did - it seems like quite the party! But because I'm not, some people apparently believe I'm a sore loser. Or a fearmonger. Or that I don't want to give a new administration a fair chance. But please hear me out, because I'm a bit tired of people insisting that I should be over-the-moon happy today.
I'll first say that I'm truly thrilled for Barack Obama and his supporters. The significance of his election is not lost on me for a second. To think that 40-odd years ago he couldn't have used the same bathroom as my husband, and now he waits in the wings to lead our country? It's a long-overdue achievement and it makes me genuinely happy in that regard. Combine that with the hope he has obviously instilled in millions of people across our country, and you've got something that's hard to ignore.
And yet, I'm sad overall today. Not because Obama was elected, but because John McCain was not. After he was railroaded by Bush during the 2000 primaries, I was thrilled to see him finally get his chance to give moderates a voice in government (a great remedy for the far-left and far-right leanings I see these days). I had great hope for the 2008 election because of him.
I truly feel that McCain did embody change, and the right kind of change. We've seen the passion Obama's supporters have for what Obama stands for; well, I and others feel the same passion for what McCain stands for. I am very sad that he didn't get elected, to the point where I actually cried - not got misty-eyed, but cried - during his concession speech. To me, the wrong direction has been taken and we have missed a golden opportunity because there is no way McCain can run again.
And while I want to be happy for exciting possibilities (and there definitely are positives about this, don't get me wrong), I just don't trust Obama yet. I have not seen examples of him working across aisles or a moderate point of view, like he says in his speeches. In fact, during the campaign I saw several instances where he said one thing to the American people... then turned around and did/said exactly the opposite a short time later. Public campaign financing, the Ayers relationship (which itself was no big deal - but he wasn't forthcoming at first), even his decision to run for presdient, all of these are positions he quickly switched.
I'm happy for Obama's supporters, and as our president he will most definitely get my respect. But I'll admit that I'm nervous because I haven't seen any indication that Obama is a man who can keep his word. For our country's sake I'd love a healthy serving of crow in a few years, and will gladly pick the feathers from my teeth. But his actions compared to his words haven't lent themselves to that. Not yet, anyway.
So while I can appreciate the potential for peace and prosperity that lies ahead, please don't tell me to party along with you right now. I don't see the rainbows and unicorns that you do. It's just kind of... well, grey right now. Here's hoping that changes.
I'll first say that I'm truly thrilled for Barack Obama and his supporters. The significance of his election is not lost on me for a second. To think that 40-odd years ago he couldn't have used the same bathroom as my husband, and now he waits in the wings to lead our country? It's a long-overdue achievement and it makes me genuinely happy in that regard. Combine that with the hope he has obviously instilled in millions of people across our country, and you've got something that's hard to ignore.
And yet, I'm sad overall today. Not because Obama was elected, but because John McCain was not. After he was railroaded by Bush during the 2000 primaries, I was thrilled to see him finally get his chance to give moderates a voice in government (a great remedy for the far-left and far-right leanings I see these days). I had great hope for the 2008 election because of him.
I truly feel that McCain did embody change, and the right kind of change. We've seen the passion Obama's supporters have for what Obama stands for; well, I and others feel the same passion for what McCain stands for. I am very sad that he didn't get elected, to the point where I actually cried - not got misty-eyed, but cried - during his concession speech. To me, the wrong direction has been taken and we have missed a golden opportunity because there is no way McCain can run again.
And while I want to be happy for exciting possibilities (and there definitely are positives about this, don't get me wrong), I just don't trust Obama yet. I have not seen examples of him working across aisles or a moderate point of view, like he says in his speeches. In fact, during the campaign I saw several instances where he said one thing to the American people... then turned around and did/said exactly the opposite a short time later. Public campaign financing, the Ayers relationship (which itself was no big deal - but he wasn't forthcoming at first), even his decision to run for presdient, all of these are positions he quickly switched.
I'm happy for Obama's supporters, and as our president he will most definitely get my respect. But I'll admit that I'm nervous because I haven't seen any indication that Obama is a man who can keep his word. For our country's sake I'd love a healthy serving of crow in a few years, and will gladly pick the feathers from my teeth. But his actions compared to his words haven't lent themselves to that. Not yet, anyway.
So while I can appreciate the potential for peace and prosperity that lies ahead, please don't tell me to party along with you right now. I don't see the rainbows and unicorns that you do. It's just kind of... well, grey right now. Here's hoping that changes.
Greetings!
Ah, my first blog entry. It's a historic moment, although not quite at the level of last night's election. But for years I've had friends tell me I should start a blog. I like to write, I don't mind making my opinions known, and it's theraputic. So hey, why not? Here it is!
Sometimes I'll use this as a place to keep friends and relatives updated about household goings-on. I might also post a recipe here and there, or discuss movies/tv shows/other forms of entertainment. And I'll definitely post some political views from time to time.
Which leads to my name: Moderate, Interrupted. I'm a political moderate - leaning to the right on the fiscal topics and international relations, but leaning to the left on social issues like gay marriage. Needless to say, it gets pretty difficult to find a candidate to support during political races - I can't agree with Republicans on the social side of things, yet the Democrats don't have my number on the economy and self-defense. And the third parties I have found seem to go off on odd radical tangents (sorry, but there is a place for the U.N. and prohibition is not the answer to all of society's ills).
The "Interrupted" part? Well, I'll admit I'm a little bitter about the election. Please don't get me wrong - I do not believe Obama is the Antichrist, nor do I think we'll be calling each other "comrade" in four years. He seems like a nice enough man who wants what is good for our country, and I absolutely appreciate the wonderful (and long overdue) milestone in electing our first minority president. It's just that for once we had a major party candidate (John McCain) who was somewhat centrist. Unfortunately, he had to please conservatives and independent voters at the same time - a very tough task. So that dream was interrupted.
Or I just needed a clever name for this blog and I'm stretching. I'll let you decide.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy my flying leap into the year 2003 here (yes, I tend to be behind the technical times; we just got caller ID at our house in July). You'll hear from me again soon!
Sometimes I'll use this as a place to keep friends and relatives updated about household goings-on. I might also post a recipe here and there, or discuss movies/tv shows/other forms of entertainment. And I'll definitely post some political views from time to time.
Which leads to my name: Moderate, Interrupted. I'm a political moderate - leaning to the right on the fiscal topics and international relations, but leaning to the left on social issues like gay marriage. Needless to say, it gets pretty difficult to find a candidate to support during political races - I can't agree with Republicans on the social side of things, yet the Democrats don't have my number on the economy and self-defense. And the third parties I have found seem to go off on odd radical tangents (sorry, but there is a place for the U.N. and prohibition is not the answer to all of society's ills).
The "Interrupted" part? Well, I'll admit I'm a little bitter about the election. Please don't get me wrong - I do not believe Obama is the Antichrist, nor do I think we'll be calling each other "comrade" in four years. He seems like a nice enough man who wants what is good for our country, and I absolutely appreciate the wonderful (and long overdue) milestone in electing our first minority president. It's just that for once we had a major party candidate (John McCain) who was somewhat centrist. Unfortunately, he had to please conservatives and independent voters at the same time - a very tough task. So that dream was interrupted.
Or I just needed a clever name for this blog and I'm stretching. I'll let you decide.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy my flying leap into the year 2003 here (yes, I tend to be behind the technical times; we just got caller ID at our house in July). You'll hear from me again soon!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)