It's been a busy week here at Chez Haggis. You know, watching The Big Three automakers fly to DC in their private jets to ask for a handout with promises to "get leaner." How about flying Southwest for starters, guys? I know the Nightmare Scenario that is being painted: that a failure of even one company will ripple through the economy, that 10 non-auto jobs are tied to the auto industry, etc etc, that 2.5 million jobs could be lost. So why not do what regular folks--and regular companies--have to do when they find themselves unable to meet payroll and debts? Declare bankruptcy and reorganize. I just think we need to take our medicine on this one; that the long-term costs of propping up this ailing industry will be worse than facing the short-term devastation of letting the chips fall where they may. After all, we've seen evidence with the financial sector bailout that any so called "oversight" of funds is a joke. So any notion that we'd have some control over these guys and their private jets once they had our check in hand is laughable. I say let them go bankrupt and let's use some funds to help those displaced workers get retrained and have some financial cushion in the interim.
I also note with interest that whomever is the Al-Qaeda "number two" guy this week has released a cable-access quality video dissing Obama. The Obama transition response is no response because why would you get into a tit-for-tat with a terrorist, right? The Rightosphere response is not, "Oh wow, I guess his "fellow" Muslim terrorists don't really like him after all; we must have been wrong!" Nope. Malkin's response conveniently ignores all of the previous charges that Obama and terrorists had so much in common (like Muslim fathers! And weirdo names!) and turns it around: "B-b-b-but I thought Obama’s election was supposed to change the world’s attitudes about America! What happened to “The World Wants Obama?” And I thought only us meanie conservatives were the RAAAACISTS?" What a moron. Like anyone was saying that somehow al-Qaeda would magically fall in love with America because of Obama. It's the straw man argument, setting up a scenario that never happened in order to appear right about something today. This is the argument of someone who has nothing really to say on the topic but just likes to pretend that she was right the whole time. And her readers, I suspect, will fall right into it, never questioning, "But wait--you said time and again that the terrorists would LOVE Obama; doesn't this video make you wrong?"
Speaking of wrong, I have learned my lesson about being a joiner. The preschool has a community dinner tomorrow night, which I stupidly said I'd help plan. Forgetting that whenever you agree to "help" plan something everyone else decides they now don't have to do it because thank God someone new signed up. So I've been busier than, as they say, a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest. Like, leave the house in the AM and don't get back till 4, running errands, buying stuff for the dinner, planning the kids' activities for the dinner, etc. I finally ate lunch on Tuesday at 2:15pm, and E does not miss her lunch for no one nor nobody nor nuthin'. So I can't wait for this stupid dinner to be over (because now I have to be the Kiddie Bingo caller since no one wants to do it and that leaves....me), so I can ruminate on all the ways I'd rather just be Bowling Alone. Oh, because I also said I'd run the preschool Thanksgiving/Pre-Chanukah food drive. Is there no end to my foolishness? Apparently not. I assumed the staff would make the big food boxes and signs and whatnot. Nope. So Bambina and I were buying and decorating boxes, lugging them to the school, xeroxing signs, blah blah. All for a lackluster response so far which is frustrating. Anyway, lesson learned. DO NOT VOLUNTEER FOR ANYTHING AGAIN. Just be the lady who shows up at the dinner, offers a hearty thanks to the volunteers, and brings in some canned goods when requested.
In other preschool news, the moms in our kids' classroom went out to dinner the other night. It was so great to find out that all of our kids are, in their own ways, developmentally the same. All are doing the rather disturbing, "see my boobies!" or "you have a penis!" stuff, obviously with no sense of the sexuality of such remarks. All are lacking nuanced social skills, which makes them appear rude most of the time. All are really sweet kids just doing their best in a big world. What was most interesting was the fact that all of the girls had already wondered aloud where babies come from, whereas none of the boys had asked at all. Not one. It was very interesting. All of the boys were acutely aware of their penises, apparently. But not so concerned with the provenance of babies. (Foreshadowing, perhaps? ;) ) All the girls' moms had already bought books and were already answering all of those uncomfortable questions about how babies get out and how they get in there. Oh, and apparently we are the only family that does not shower together. Am I behind the times? It's not that Bambina has not been in the shower with me from time to time or that I'd particularly object to her seeing man parts if said man was related to her by paternity (although you'd have to inquire of the BBDD whether he'd be up for such a viewing), it's just that the shower is often the only place where I have a few minutes to myself, so I'm loathe to share it with her for that reason alone. I remember seeing my dad naked on occasion and thinking...exactly nothing. Which I think is the point of having your kids see you naked now and again, to have it be no big deal. So if she sees me naked I could not care less, but sharing my shower? That's a different story all together.
In additional child development news, I was thinking the other day as I watched Bambina swim with her instructor. Yes--she swam! All by herself (and a barbell floatie)! I was so proud of her. I realized that sometimes we don't give kids enough credit for the giant things they achieve. Think about it and put yourself in her place: Just 6 weeks ago she was terrified of the pool. Terrified. Screamed if she was placed in the water. Cried for a day before her class' swim day. Absolutely terror-stricken to the point of coming undone. Six weeks later: she's swimming by herself in the very pool that used to make her want to vomit from fear. Now, think about that from your own perspective. Can you imagine tackling your worst fear in just 6 weeks? And not 6 weeks of intensive therapy. I'm talking about 6 1/2 hour lessons once a week. This kid overcame her absolute worst fear in a grand total of 3 hours. All I know is that you will not convince me to touch a spider in 3 hours or less; it's just not gonna happen. Think about that, and then--if you have kids--think about whether you perhaps owe them some credit for something they absolutely overcame that maybe you just saw as them doing something they were supposed to do. Now go immediately and tell your kid how proud you are of her, because the courage it takes to be a little person doing something so big ought to be noted and cheered.
2 comments:
This is why you are an awesome mother. I'm one of those parents who would see her swimming as "good. now we've tackled that." rather then as her really facing up to something that was to her truly truly terrifying. It's like we expect too little and too much of kids in all the wrong ways.
You're a fabulous parent. I come here for many things and yes the politics is a big draw, but you parent the way I wanted my mother to be. She was your polar opposite. It's a comfort to know that my fantasy mother really does exist for some lucky Bambina.
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