Kids Know

I have learned that kids know when you are overworked and underslept, and those are the days when they will absolutely refuse a nap. I have also learned that they will fake sleep for a few minutes in order to trick you. Then they will look up at you with a face that says “I did it!” After which, you get to be the asshole that tries to will them into a real nap. You should really just give in at that point. It is NOT worth it. You may have more practice at stubbornness; they have more will.

That’s it for Today in Nannying. Tune in soon for more thoughts and lessons.

In which I try to explain why evolution makes me unexplainably happy

A friend of mine posted an article about the Red Deer variant in human evolution and within reading the first paragraph, I found myself so completely joyful that the day’s exhaustion seemed long gone. Being an inquisitive person, I have since been thinking about why it does that to me.  I think it satisfies the scientist, historian and the artist in my brain.

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Faith, Hope, and Love: Why I am Pro-Choice

In this polarized and polarizing world, the complexities of an identification or a political stance are lost through the need to dig in and position yourself against some other person or some other stance. As I’ve said or as you can tell, I am adamantly pro-choice. I want to take a moment to define what pro-choice means to me, because it may not complicated for me but it comes from a complex and personal space.

Pro-choice means more than just a commitment to keeping abortion safe, legal, and accessible for all women. Being pro-choice for me is a commitment to the health and well-being of women, children, families, and all people. It means I believe in people receiving comprehensive, age-appropriate sex education, in health class and throughout their lives. It means that I believe that injustices that do not seem related to abortion rights actually are, such as economic disparities and societal oppression of women. It means that as I think and re-think through my pro-choice stance, I come to the following words: faith, hope, and love.Continue reading “Faith, Hope, and Love: Why I am Pro-Choice”

Bikers Are Assholes, Part Two: For a Reason

Last night, on the first lovely evening of bike riding, I got to deal with one of those drivers that hates bikers. Like to the point that you wonder if there were not other people on the road if they would run you down. They drove where their lights hit my mirror and shone right into my eyes and stayed there for a good few long blocks. I finally put my hand to block it, then they pass me and get to red light and are sure to pull over close to the parked cars so that I cannot fit through. But I find a way around hit (hey, driver! my bike can fit through parked cars and go on a sidewalk). They must be getting really angry that they are wasting gas while being unable to get away from me and my bike. I totally figured that the driver was a 20 something dude. I finally yelled a name at them as I went up on the sidewalk (again) and got a glimpse: 50 something woman! Really, lady? Why are you activating my road rage? There is no need. We can share the road. I know, I’ve done it before!

BJs (shut your dirty mind)

BJs! I spent Sunday in this land of wonder: toilet paper bigger than me as far as the eye can see, ridiculous amounts of laundry detergent, bags of organic quinoa bigger than my head. My roommate and I made the leap to buy in bulk and change our junk room to a storage room. 
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Three Word Muse: lonely, cracking, bootstrap

She got up that morning to cracking knees and a sore back; seventy years of mornings leaves an audible story in your bones. The coffee was already brewing; her daughter had gotten her a new machine that you could set up the night before and wake up to that unmistakable and wonderful smell. She liked that, but she also missed the morning task of making her coffee because it made her move around a bit before she sat down to read the paper and eat her breakfast. At this point in life, once seated, standing started to seem like a lot work.Continue reading “Three Word Muse: lonely, cracking, bootstrap”

Park Slope is so parkslopey

While waiting to hear back from law schools, I have been nannying to make ends meet. This line of work recently has landed me in Park Slope. And Park Slope is sooooooo so very parkslopey. Kids everywhere! Everything is organic! Coop shifts everyday! And yes, the lesbians are still holding on.
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