I got on the computer this morning fully intending to write a post for my student midwifery blog. I was looking through sites and reading articles to formulate the post when I came across this beautiful little family:
Enchanted Gypsy
And the crazy little nomad that runs my brain started dreaming; dreaming of finding an old bus or van, converting it over to WVO (waste veggie oil), and traveling; dreaming of falling asleep surrounded by redwoods one night and next to the ocean the next night; dreaming of offering women’s health care at festivals and gatherings around the continent out of the back of my little house on wheels. It’s been my dream since 1996, when I was 19 years old and living on site at Hawkwood Fantasy Faire. I became pregnant with The Boy at that faire and wanted so badly to just stay ensconced in that beautiful little world inside a world. It felt safe and comfortable; cloistered, but instead of religious vows, vows of freedom and love and autonomy.
It’s idealistic. I know. There is no part of me that is delusional enough to believe that my dream is idealistic and romantic. The life I have created is not quite condensable to bus size, i.e there is no way on God’s green earthThe Boy or W would be willing to sell off everything and live in a bus.
But I won’t give up the dream all together. I will travel at some point. Most likely it will be after The Boy is gone on his own and it will only be for summer’s, or a month or two at a time. Most likely it will just be me and one of the dogs. But it will be my travels and my adventures and my dream.
Families On The Road
Live Lightly Tour
Happy Janssens
Building Luna
I have not been a good blogger in the last few months. I have gotten fairly overwhelmed with things in analog life and, unfortunately, have let my digital life slide to the wayside. I have two blogs that have just been languishing in the dark. Poor things. I really need to make a more concentrated effort on blogging. Maybe I will take this new time I have set aside in my schedule to do that.
The midwifery education trudges on. I won’t bore you with details here, but if you want to, you can keep track of that portion of my life over at Birthing Journey.
I generally hate personal rants and diatribes on blogs. I tend to gloss over. And if you want to gloss over this one, you are totally allowed to, of course. But I gotta put it out into the world cause it is driving me absolutely batty as of late.
See, the thing is… Parenting is really hard. And I get that. I really do. I’ve been doing it for nigh on 13 years myself. I get it. It’s the hardest job we will ever, ever be given.
That doesn’t however excuse you from being a responsible member of society and, more importantly, teaching your children how to be responsible members of their society!
Case in point– We’ve been planning on The Boy taking a school trip to Mexico for about six months now. Within the last month, there has been torrential rain and mudslides in the area that they would have been spending the majority of their time. The village has been evacuated and when the residents begin to return, they will be filling the majority of the accommodations available because their homes have been destroyed. This left us with the option of sending the kids to Mexico, but having them remain in Mexico City with no definite itinerary or plan, or canceling the trip all together and receive airline vouchers for the kids’ tickets. To me, this was an incredibly logical choice. These are 11, 12, and 13 year old children, ten of them to be exact, with three parent chaperons and one teacher. In one of the largest cities in the world. With one of the highest crime rates (one police officer was killed and one was injured PER WEEK in 1997!) With one of the worst cases of pollution in the world. Not exactly a place I want my 12 year old spending 6 days without a very definite plan.
Their teacher made the very fair decision to allow the parents to decide what we would do. She created a group email asking for opinions, ideas, etc. Most of us remained fairly civil. There was some disagreement, but the overall decision was whatever was best for everyone involved. Except for one mother. She absolutely refused to actually read any of the emails that were being sent to her. Every single response sent from her end was typed in bold capital letters. If she wasn’t given an answer within 20 minutes, she would send another ranty email to the group bitching about the teacher’s irresponsibility in the middle of the school day. You know, when the teacher was busy educating our children! To topo it all off, she suggested that the teacher should be required to sell her airfare voucher and divide the money among the parents. As some form of punishment! *exasperated sigh* And she made sure to tell us every step of the way, that she was consulting her daughter for opinions with each step in the process. Her 11 year old daughter. Let me make that clear:
- She was relying on a child to make a very adult decision (COME ON! If I asked The Boy what he wanted, he would gladly go to Mexico City by himself! Who cares about safety, logistics, planning…)
- In a very heated ADULT conversation, she was keeping her kid updated on what other parents and teachers were saying, including her own ranting which was not in anyway forgiving of the teacher or the school for that matter. There were a number of bold and direct insults about the school and the individual teacher in all of her emails.
In my eyes, she has basically been showing her child the entire time, that if things don’t go exactly the way she plans and wants, she can throw whatever kind of fit she wants. Screaming and stomping your feet are not only allowed but encouraged. Insults, rudeness, and inappropriate anger are expected.
This is not the only example of this type of behavior that I have seen during The Boy’s educational years, just the most recent and fresh in my mind. And it makes me so very sad and disheartened. Here I am working so hard to raise not only a healthy and happy individual, but a healthy and happy individual who takes pride in being a valued part of his communities (both macro and micro).
What happened to teaching our children good communication skills? Compromise? Humility and humbleness? How about common decency and manners?
Posted by Amelia on Dec 26, 2008 in
Self-Indulgent Fodder I swear to all the gods that be that this has absolutely nothing to do with wedding ring shopping or engagement rings. I have just recently realized that I have stopped wearing jewelry. I used to wear at least a ring on each hand and a necklace, along with my standard facial and ear piercing jewelry. After The Professor and I broke up and I stopped wearing my wedding ring, the ring thing just kind of went out the window. But lately my hands have been feeling particularly bare and I thought I might buy myself a ring or two. Being the not-so-graceful woman that I am, I know that I can’t really handle any soft metals. White gold and platinum tend to get really banged up when I wear them. I do love a sparkly gem stone, but I lose a lot of them when I wear soft metaled bands. I’ve been shopping for some titanium rings, simply because the metal is so durable. I found quite a few that I like on Titanium Style, like this one, and this one. PRETTY. Especially the sapphire. I have a soft spot for sapphire!
They also offer some very nice titanium wedding bands and engagement rings. I’ve never seen a titanium necklace, but they have those as well! Lots of really unique options floating around that site!
Posted by Amelia on Nov 17, 2008 in
Self-Indulgent Fodder I had to update my driver’s license today. Mostly because I lost it, but also because of the change of address. As I was waiting for the gentleman at the DMV to finish all of the unnecessary paperwork, I got to glance at my old photograph and I realized that I had the same glasses then that I do now. That was six years ago. SIX YEARS! Now mind you, I have always been a frugal person when it comes to glasses. The most I have ever paid for them was two pair for $79.99 at a local mall based retailer. But today I found out about Zenni Optical. According to the article that I read in the Chicago Tribune, they offer glasses for as low as $8.00. EIGHT DOLLARS! So of course, I had to check it out. I honestly have to say that I’m a little bit leery about ordering frames online, considering that I can’t try them on. The more I thought about it though, I realized that at $8, I can afford to order a few different pairs to make sure I like at least one of them, and still not be paying what I would pay at a standard optical shop.
And the styles are pretty darn cute for the money. I love really distinct frames that hide a bit of my face. Always felt like I needed something to fancy up my bland looks, and they definitely have that. In fact, some of the eyeglasses are more perfect than I have looked at in the shop.
I’m still a little bit nervous about it, but I think I’m going to give it a try. It’s only eight bucks, right?
Posted by Amelia on Nov 10, 2008 in
Self-Indulgent Fodder,
Uncategorized Winter is on it’s way. And for me, that is pure and total hell. I have no interest at all in outdoor activities. I’m not a skier or a sledder. I hate cold and wet and way too bright for my eyes. Yea. I’m pretty much miserable in the winter time. While we were at the laundromat last night, W was trying to convince me that I need to get a pair of sneakers to wear this winter. I suppose she is right that my ballerina flats are not going to cut it in six inches of snow, but I don’t do sneakers. At least not the kind that protect your feet from snow. The only sports oriented shoes that I wear are All Stars, and that’s only if you consider skateboarding a sport. So, my plan as of now is to try to find a pair of oxfords. Maybe something like the old school steel toe work shoes or work boots that I used to wear when I was waiting tables. They are great. Leather breathes, but can be waterproofed. The work shoes I had always had slip-proofed rubber soles which would be good on the ice and snow when the dogs are trying to turn me into a sled for the Iditarod on the sidewalk. And they’re fairly attractive. Definitely not a cute pair of kitten heals, but at least I won’t look like a total douche wearing them. 
