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April 26 2012
And we wonder why kids are growing up too fast...
As my big kid approaches her last year of life in the single digits (she'll be nine in JUNE!) I've noticed that people have started to view her friendships with boys as something more. Now, when she's playing in the yard with Sajen or Noah -- friends she's had since Kindergarten, mind you -- adults start making soft little "aww" sounds and remarking on the young love. But I can't see how the playing she's doing now is that different from just a year or two ago.
This last weekend my friend Lisel wanted to take her son Owen to see the current play at one of the theatres where I work, but she needed someone to watch her younger son. I had been wanting Lily to see the show as well, so I dropped her off with Lisel and Owen, packed her other son into the car with Anya and we went for a walk at the lake while the big kids saw the show. When I mentioned this to another adult, they commented about how nice it was that Lily was having a date.
Really?
And then I realized that this was pissing me off. Why is it that we have to do this to kids? Why must we demand that their relationships with the opposite sex mean something more or different than those they share with friends of the same gender? Is this attitude what forces kids into younger and younger romantic relationships? If we just kept our mouths shut, would they be able to enjoy the innocence of childhood longer?
And besides forcing our children into romantic relationships before they are ready, doesn't this harm women seeking equality in the world? Doesn't our assumption that their interest in each other is romantic exclude them from seeking out long term, healthy, mutually beneficial relationships from members of the opposite sex? If a woman feels that reaching out to someone for help, friendship or something other than sex will brand her a "tease", will she find herself deeply limited in her resources?
Or do people really believe that men and women can never simply be friends?
What's your take? Are we damaging our kids with this mentality or is it really no big deal and I should just get over it?
March 30 2012
Anyone remember the dog we rescued last 7-days run? She's become much more at home, though was uninterested in my efforts to play today. She did some crazy wiggles off screen, but well, she was being camera shy, methinks. She's become a happy dog, appears to loves our family and is fitting right in. I love a happy end to a story.
March 29 2012
My Mister and the wee child made bread today. We promptly ate half of it with dinner (with coconut and sweet potato soup), then again as a bedtime snack (with almond butter). Yum!
March 27 2012
Getting a late start this morning, suffering a bit from what I think might be an ear infection (you know, that thing toddlers get) & comforting myself with a cup of tea. Tea can often be all judgmental with their clever sayings on the tag. This one thinks I should have had it on day two. "Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light."
One of the advantages to working in a large urban park is that when you find yourself stuck at work for 12 straight hours, you have somewhere beautiful to escape. I took a walk around lunch time and spent most of my time at the Botanical Building, but also went for a brief hike in the canyons. I discovered a bee hive, luckily before it discovered me. I listened to the bells. I sighed happy sighs. It was lovely.
March 26 2012
Camera 360
Camera 360
March 25 2012
Late last night, long after my Mister had fallen asleep, I decided to play with a new app for my tablet. No, my eyes are not that exact color, but hey, let a girl have a little artistic license.
March 24 2012
Checking on my children as they clean their room (something I've been insisting on for 3 days). I've got the mom stance going and the Saturday morning jammies to complement the look. Can you see Anya?
March 23 2012
How Does Your Garden Grow? *cough FUNGUS cough*
The Mister has been working himself silly 'round these parts with lots of home improvement projects. We were lucky enough to score several hundred dollars worth of fruit trees for free recently so we've moved forward with creating our orchard* on the hillside, complete with irrigation system that critters (like gophers and bunnies and coyotes) can't gnaw through to get at the water when it's hot. Mark even set it up on a timer so it'll water in the early morning without us even thinking about it. I love technology.
Of course, I went to go check things out today and discovered we have Peach Leaf Curl on a couple of the trees.
I love the diversity of advice out there on treating this fungus. Some say, "Meh, it depends solely on the weather, you can't do anything" to "pick up and dispose of affected leaves and spray copper next Winter" to "Get out the blow torch and bomb the orchard, you're screwed forever. Why did you think you could grow things?" I decided to collect the affected leaves for the trash and then go talk to my favorite farmer. Farmer Bill always knows what to do. At least, I hope he will...
I was also delighted to discover that of the four Mulberries we got this year, one was covered in tiny little berries, just waiting to grow up big and strong so we can eat them.
I'll admit that when I first saw them from a bit of a distance, I thought they were some crazy-ass bug that was trying to further ruin my image as a gardener. Imagine my delight when I realized I will soon be able to eat those delicious little not-bugs!
In addition to planting trees, Mark has also been working on putting in steps down the side of the house as well as building a ramp off the front porch so we can move the wheel barrel around without killing anyone.
It's really pretty amazing. I had no idea you could build a fancy looking ramp in a morning. I envisioned WEEKS! Which, to be fair, is how long it took him to get to the project after he removed the wooden stairs that had been there. Seriously, when Sonja came to visit, I had palpitations about making a pregnant woman jump off my porch to go visit the chickens. But that's how we roll around here. DANGEROUSLY.
Next up is putting in the stairs, which you can see he started to cut into the hillside for here:
Working with urbanite is awesome. IT'S FREE. We know a guy who will come drop off broken concrete whenever we ask and then Mark builds things with the stuff. Takes forever, sure, but did I mention it's free? And I love the look.
As always, there's a ton more happening in our world, I just don't have the time to report it anymore. The 7 Days Photography Projects starts tomorrow though, so if you want to see what self portraits I'm making time for, you can follow along here.
*The orchard current has:
- 1 Avocado (not yet in the ground)
- 3 Cheramoyas
- 6 Figs (2 planted, 4 waiting for homes)
- 1 Double Delight Nectarine
- 1 Eva's Pride Peach
- 1 Babcock Peach
- 1 Santa Rosa Plum
- 3 Loquats
- 4 Mulberries
Maybe Soup is currently being updated? I'll try again automatically in a few seconds...
