Heard in the Hall July 16, 2007
Posted by spacemom in : Parenting 101 , 5 commentsI was checking up on my sports news this evening after the girls got out of bath and were SUPPOSED to be putting on PJs.
"Hey mom! I can see my anus in the mirror"
She was looking at herself with her head upside down, looking between her legs towards the mirror in the hallway.
Sigh…
More on the Confederate Flag July 15, 2007
Posted by spacemom in : Life...otherwise , 3 commentsWow, there’s been a great deal of discussion on the last post.
I’d like to address some of the points that were brought up by Clifford and Herb and Lisa.
First, I don’t want to make sweeping generalizations of the South. To be honest, I have found places in the North to be less tolerant than claimed. Buffalo, NY is full of racism, subtle and not. Boston is very segregated. It surprised the heck out of me when we moved here how WHITE it was.
Second, I know that not everybody in the South believes in flying the Confederate Flag. But as Clifford pointed out, the majority of Mississippi wanted to keep it. That is really shocking when you think about it. The legislature turned it over to the people and found that of those who voted, the majority wanted to keep it.
I do wonder why do some have such an attraction to this flag. In the other post, I mentioned a photo place. Clearly the flag was a common backdrop. To have your baby, a 6 month baby who couldn’t have had a chance to form any opinion on race at that point, in front of this flag must mean something. Right? Or are you really saying "I am from the South, and I stand by this flag and screw the blacks and the Mexicans and the Jews*…." Because, to me, that is what it is saying.
(Note to Clifford and other Southerners, Saying you are proud of the South does NOT equate being proud of the past)
Herb brought up the fear that the flag brings. When we were down in Alabama, Jay and I were buying lunch in the Mall. The person in the line behind us made some small talk and then asked Jay "Are you a member of the Tribe?". Now, I was confused because I was thinking "yes, he loves the Cleveland Indians! How did you know!?"(the nickname for the Indians is the Tribe**. I can go into a whole other post on racism and team names and logos). The guy was really asking Jay if he was Jewish. And Jay knew the secret code and they spoke in some strange code that I made him translate later. It bothered me that two men had to use codewords to speak about their religion. You would not hear that in Boston. Or Long Island. Or NYC. There was an underlying "fear" or at least "unwillingness to admit" that they were Jewish to others. Why?
Lisa brought up a really important point. This is not dead. KKK is still alive an well and they have taken the Confederate Flag as one of their symbols. They penetrate further North than some would think. They are real and a threat to the tolerances that we try to promote.
Thanks for the discussion folks. It is interesting what is out there.
* Yes, while in NC, I overheard a person at a restaurant say "It’s those damn blacks and Jews in the white house. They are making Bush want to suck up to the slimy Mexicans"
**Yes, I am aware that the Cleveland Indians are named after Louis Sockalexis, one of the first Native Americans to play in the Majors. Yes, I am aware that some believe this is a lie and that the name was chosen to make fun of him. But that’s a different post.
What does this mean to you? July 13, 2007
Posted by spacemom in : Kids, Religion , 16 commentsAfter spending 5 days in the South, I have to say I am surprised at some of my feelings.
When you see this flag, what do you think of? Do you have a historical pride of being in the South and having separated from the national government to make your own country? Do you see racism and hatred behind it? Does it not affect you?
Personally, I felt offended by this flag everywhere. I thought of my children, my sweet Jewish girls, and how I had never thought about this before. How when I lived in Alabama (bet you didn’t know that!) I never paid attention to it much, except when there were verbal attacks on Jews (Dr. Jay and I were planning our wedding at the time). I remember hearing some people equate Jews with evil and how "they" were ruining the South by moving down. Some how I have this related to the flag now.
I saw a photo shop in my parent’s town that did the old fashioned photos. There was a display with a baby siting in front of the Dixie flag. It broke my heart to see that. Maybe it is me. Maybe it isn’t.
So I am curious what others think about this flag.
Protected: It has hit hard July 13, 2007
Posted by spacemom in : Depression , Enter your password to view commentsTeam WhyMommy July 12, 2007
Posted by spacemom in : Weblogs , 1 comment so farYou may notice a new image on my sidebar.
I have joined Team WhyMommy.
WhyMommy is a scientist who is a stay at home mom. Her boys are 2 years younger than my girls. And she just discovered she has breast cancer.
I know too many cancer patients right now, from our cousin Lauren, to a co-worker, to a friend and now WhyMommy. Luckily, only a few I know have lost the battle. Most have won. So I invite you to go over and support WhyMommy. She can use the positive thoughts. Not the bullshit lovely dovey stuff, but the positive, "You can beat this" stuff.
Protected: A visit to the state… July 12, 2007
Posted by spacemom in : Depression, In A Family Way , Enter your password to view commentsSome Vacation Photos… July 9, 2007
Posted by spacemom in : Life...otherwise , add a commentI am hoping to make it to the Biltmore tomorrow….
But in the meantime, Some photos… 
Lunar Discoveries July 7, 2007
Posted by spacemom in : Kids, In A Family Way , 2 commentsI am in North Carolina, on the edge of the Smokey Mountains. We are visiting my parents in their "rustic" mountain home ( apparently, in North Carolina, rustic means "the contractor can skimp on straight pieces of wood and say But it is rustic!")
This is a Luna and Mommy trip. I did this trip with Soleil when she was 3. It went a bit differently. Mostly because Luna is a daddy girl and Soleil is a mommy girl. A 5 am flight (yes, we left our house a 3:30) and away we went.
I am starting to discover more about my little girl once I get her away from her sister. She is very expressive. We found a lollipop at Cracker Barrel yesterday (side note: do the people in the south eat anywhere else?) and she took a deep breath and said "Oh this is a wonderful lollipop!" She has had a few moments where she needs Daddy. She has asked to fly home to daddy a few times, but right now she is making Monkey bread with Grandma and having a ball.
We watched Poppa feed the local cows some carrots. She was beyond amazed. Today, we are going to take her to the Smokeys. I can’t wait.
I can’t describe all of the little nuances I am discovering about Luna, but despite the separation she is making huge strides in finding herself as a person instead of just being Soleil’s little sister.
Forty Minutes! July 6, 2007
Posted by spacemom in : Parenting 101 , 3 commentsLast night, it took 40 minutes, but Soleil READ "Arthur’s Teacher Troubles" to me.
Yes, my baby can READ!
( Yes, it is hard to not try to help her when she is struggling through words…and I can finish that book in 7 minutes, but she did it!)
A lack of Sleep July 5, 2007
Posted by spacemom in : I dream of sleep , 1 comment so farFor almost a week now, I haven’t been sleeping. That’s not true. I sleep, but it takes hours to fall asleep.
I don’t understand it.
At first, I thought it was because I hurt my back. And the back hurt my legs. And I was aware of my legs at night.
I tried benedryl. I tried alcohol (which worked, but I don’t drink much). I tried a new age Zen music (at least then I was awake and not panicky)
I don’t know why this is happening, but I have a flight at 5am tomorrow. I have to get myself up at 3 and out by 3:30. And how do I do this when I can’t fall asleep until 1-2am?
I wonder if my body is finally caught up on sleep and is okay with 6 hours a night now. I can’t imagine that is it as I am exhausted now and it is 3:30pm.
I hope I figure this out soon. Not sleeping is tough
Sigh…
