daughter bride

Every other image of love or marriage or weddings seemed kind of boring/traditional.

Six months ago my daughter got engaged. Why so long to report? Partly because I've let Facebook suck away my writing time. Partly because I feel her sense of privacy and my enthusiasm should not sit too close to each other on the bus. To say that I'm thrilled with this match is no exaggeration. She is a-fucking-mazing and funny and complicated. He is worthy of her–I can give no higher compliment.

They have set the date. It's just under 5 months away. They have the location for the wedding (Rothko Chapel...wonderful). One of my wedding gifts to her is to contain myself while she doesn't worry about the details. This gift will get a little less pristine as the date draws near, I'm afraid. But it's not getting opened.

image source

werds to live by

Oh, dear, oh dear. My lovely friend Joe just sent this link to me and...well, I may have wet myself: Addictionary.org
Two of my immediate favorites:

indignorant (adjective)
Reinforcing an insensible or misinformed position with an overly aggressive or belligerant attitude.

The easiest-to-find examples of indignorance are reader comments on any news story. You won't make it past the first page without finding a card-carrrying indignoramus. I tried to find a good example to link to, I swear, but I started to go blind.

mamarazzi (noun)
one of those mothers that feels the need to tell everyone every last embarassing story about their kid(s).

[Please don't show this to Buford and Anus Eunice]
Another beautiful mamarazzi example from BabySteps:

Peanut walks up to Pop yesterday holding a little ponytail holder.

"Fix mullet," she says, handing the elastic to Pop.

Sigh.

Maybe it's really time to cut it.

(Sorry, Nicki, but Peanut's totally backing me up on this.)

Joseph, dear, you've made my day.

weighing in on the feminism/stay-at-home debate

So Violent Acres has pissed off a legion of mothers and mother-defenders again. Her essay was entitled, If You Are a Stay-At-Home-Mom without Interests Outside of Your Kids, Hobbies, or Marketable Skills, You are NOT a Feminist

God, I love her. Of course, she paints with a wide stroke and seems to enjoy enraging the mommy-bloggers. Who could resist? I mean any adult who still refers to themselves as a "Mommy" should be mocked. But back to the point. The point is that choosing to be a stay-at-home-mother is not a good reason to never do anything else.

I was a stay-at-home-mother for almost five years. I loved taking care of my small children. But I never considered that important job an 18-year commitment to being at home. First of all, the domestic part almost drove me to shove Legos in my eyes. Second, I had dreams for myself that couldn't be satisfied by tending those two endearing, however demanding, children. Not to mention that children also deserve parents who don't shackle them with the "you are my whole world" millstone. Last but not least, I needed to converse regularly with other adults about anything BUT raising children.

Aside: Don't get your maternity panties in a wad, oh you stay-at-homes. Working outside the home is no indicator of feminism. I am continually amazed at how many women in positions of power (in corporate and non-profit organizations) still use the obnoxious feminine-wiles approach to management. I'm equally offended by women who mistreat/abuse their employees and hide behind feminism when someone calls them a bitch. Being a strong leader and being a cunt are not the same thing. Coquettes and Bitches do not feminism make.