Leaps and bounds
I think that part of the reason that I’ve had some trouble posting over here lately is that I don’t want to inundate my blog with yoga, yoga, yoga. And sometimes all I want to do is talk about yoga, yoga, yoga. Then I realized that this is my blog (duh, I’m slow on the uptake sometimes) and so if that’s what I want to talk about, I can go right ahead and do that.
So let me talk to you about yoga!
Back in January I got started on yoga after literally YEARS of meaning to try it out. Why it took me so long, I don’t know, but I guess that’s the way it was supposed to be, because that’s how I lined up to find myself an amazing yoga instructor (who also hired me awhile back to help her out with online management, which is awesome). On the last day of January, I took a photo of myself in mid-sun salutation and as I sit here seven months later, I can see that I was still stiff and not overly flexible.
I’m certainly not being courted by Cirque du Soleil with my amazing contortionist abilities, but I’ve definitely improved a lot over the past seven months. I do some yoga just about daily; the only times I’ve missed it were a few days when I really hurt my back (not doing yoga – I was fighting with my sliding doors!) and last week when we had insane temperatures in the 41-43C range. Too ridiculous to breathe, let alone do yoga. Clearly I would not fare well doing yoga at an ashram in India in summer.
Anyway, (almost) daily yoga has helped me motor along in my desire to learn how to do poses that amaze me and sometimes I can’t believe the things I can make my body do. Not only that, it keeps my legs from aching which is something they did almost every day since I was pregnant with Breanna. It’s also been helping to keep my panic attacks down to a dull roar courtesy of the chakra meditation I’ve learned. If you’d told me about chakras this time last year I might have rolled my eyes. I don’t roll them anymore.
Being a photo junkie works out well with becoming a yoga junkie because it means I can not only feel my progress, I can see it as well. The other day it was still pretty hot but it was reasonable after supper so I went to the park with the kids and took some shots since no one else was around. I’m happy with the way my practice is going and growing.
One of my favorite poses, Natarajasana:
(Natarajasana is the Sanskrit name for Lord of the Dance Pose, but I have to call it by its proper name because seriously, “Lord of the Dance” just makes me dissolve into giggles.)
Crow pose:
The first time I saw Crow Pose I laughed and said there was no way I’d ever be able to do it. Now I don’t even have to think about it.
My holy grail pose (so to speak) is Scorpion. Scorpion looks like this:
Before I get to that point, I’ll probably get to this, which is a peacock pose variation:
When I look at those two poses I think I may be nuts, but it’s something I’m working on. I practiced in the park for a bit and I get into a dolphin pose, then carefully kick up. I don’t get my legs straight up yet, but there’s a moment – just a brief one but a moment nonetheless – where I can feel myself balance:
It takes a lot of upper body strength and core strength to do it but I’ll get there one day. I can’t wait!
(I have a yoga set on Flickr if you’re curious enough – you can see it over here.)
Yoga is something that I was always interested in and somehow it’s become something that is an important part of my daily life. I can’t imagine stopping anytime soon.
For those of you who do yoga, here’s a question: Who do you like to follow and learn from? My favorite of course is my instructor, Dashama, but I also like to do yoga via DVD or YouTube with Shiva Rea, Sadie Nardini, Tara Stiles, Rodney Yee, and I recently tried some Hillary Rubin as well. I prefer vinyasa type yoga because I like to move with the breath, and I didn’t like Kundalini at all, but other that that I’m pretty open to new experiences so if I’m missing someone that you think is awesome, please let me know!
Another year older
Yesterday, July 7th, I celebrated my birthday and turned 36 years old. I remember when I was 29 I spent the weeks leading up to my 30th birthday wringing my hands and feeling strangely unsettled. I don’t really know why other than I had some vague idea that I was not whatever I had expected to be by age 30. What I was supposed to be, I do not know, but whatever. In the end, I was fretting over the big day and then when the 7th finally rolled around it was so far from a big deal that it was practically a non-event.
That’s the last time that I stressed over my birthday and the number associated with it. I reserve the right to freak out when I’m about to turn 40 and every decade after that, but in general it wasn’t an issue at all yesterday. The only thing I didn’t like about it is that I just like the number 35 so I was sad to let it go, but 36 will be good too.
I’m in better shape at 36 than I have been in the past ten years and feel great (more often than not). The last time I was so fit was when I was doing kung fu for two hours a day six days a week. As of now, I do yoga (almost) daily and it’s done so much good for me, not only physically (man is yoga great for toning your muscles without turning into a female Arnold) but mentally and spiritually as well. On top of that I’ve discovered a cardio workout that I love (hello Zumba!) and I find myself wanting to try more and more new things because of this fitness addiction. When I find myself feeling in shape, feeling strong, and feeling healthy (not to mention the bonus of helping me through panic attacks), it’s hard to be down on something like age, you know?
Anyway, the day was a good one. It was brutally, disgustingly HOT so it was very low-key but it was good nonetheless. I got some of my favorite things as presents – books! I ordered one for myself with Amazon gift certificates, and nearly missed the delivery. It wasn’t supposed to get here until the 9th but I saw the postal truck as we were leaving the parking lot and sure enough I saw the familiar Amazon box as the mailman approached our front door. I jumped out and ran over asking if it was for me and I think he was thrilled that he didn’t have to climb up four flights of stairs in that heat. (I got Going in Circles
George and the kids dropped me off at Indigo so I could browse the books for the one I wanted; turns out they didn’t have it in stock but I always have a backup choice so I got the 4th Sookie Stackhouse novel, Dead to the World
After they picked me up, we went out to the West Island and stopped at the secondhand bookstore. I ended up picking up Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood
I love books.
Since we were out there we went down to the water but it was so disgusting outside. Even with a slight (and I do mean SLIGHT) breeze coming off the water it was just uncomfortable, there’s no shade, and everything was just a big nasty haze. I managed some pictures but less than five minutes later we were on our way back home.
The kids had also picked out a little extra gift for me when I had been in Indigo, and I love seeing what they feel will be good for me. George doesn’t usually give them any input so it’s all their idea. Breanna knows I like candles so she got me a pink pillar candle and Hayley chose a little pink bear that lights up.
With everyone having new reading material and the thermometer reaching record breaking levels, we stayed as quiet as possible until supper. Breanna did make a tea party for me though, since she was distraught that I wasn’t having a party for my special day.
There was no way I was turning on an oven or even standing over a pot on the stove so we had cold chicken, potato salad, and macaroni salad for supper. It was the perfect meal on a day like that. I also elected to have Birthday Pie instead of cake. So much better!
I have absolutely no complaints (other than the weather, but I AM Canadian, eh?) about my birthday or my age.
If next year is like this, I’ll be very happy.
If you need me I’ll be in the corner melting…
This week it seems that summer has reared up upon its back legs and screamed, “I am here!” At least that’s what I’m guess based on the eyeball-melting temperatures that are in this week’s forecast. Observe:
For instance, on my birthday (which is this coming Wednesday), it’s supposed to go up to a Humidex of 43C or 109F. What the hell is up with that? I was thinking I would celebrate my birthday with a nice birthday pie (much better than cake) but instead I might just spend the day hanging out in the freezer.
Can’t we just have nice, moderate weather up here? Does Canada really need to be a country of extremes when it comes to weather?
If anyone is looking to get me a birthday present, you could get me a personal cooling device or something similar. Or a giant bag of ice.
Vacation in Iqaluit?
So anyway, if you’re wondering where I am, I’m pretty easy to find since I’m frequently found lurking close to our only partly useful air conditioner.
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On the other hand, at least I have appropriate hot weather shoes – check out my NAOT review for killer sandals!
Signs of summer
Everyone has signs they recognize as the arrival of spring. Up here, in particular, I start looking for them after a long and obnoxious winter. It might be the first robin of the season, or the first buds that pop out on a tree. Maybe a dandelion sprouts up all of a sudden or, my favorite, people start driving their motorcycles. This isn’t just limited to spring though; there are also some sure signs of summer, all of which I saw this weekend.
Inviting blue water beckoning.
Homemade sangria on the deck.
Swimming in the pool (even if it took forever for my wimpy self to get in).
Deep thoughts, poolside.
Seasoning dinner (which was eaten outside on the deck while the birds sang) with fresh basil.
Beautiful flowers.
Setting aside old fears and learning to submerge all the way under water (doing so in a hot tub is apparently less scary than in the pool).
Beautiful dusk skies.
Watermelon and red wine on the deck.
Evening snacks outdoors.
And of course, as much as these are all sure signs that summer is here, there’s also the undeniable factor which is never as easy to photograph – the joys of spending and afternoon and evening with friends (kids and adults alike) with tons of laughing and chatting and reveling.
Yup. Must be summer.
End of year, beginning of summer
This week Hayley only had three days of school but they were pretty action-packed. In fact, the past week was pretty busy. We spent our Saturday swimming (well, okay, all the kids swam, I just hung out on my friends’ deck and hopped in the hot tub at their neighbor’s house) and then enjoyed dinner and an evening full of laughter among adults while the kids played downstairs.
On Sunday there was a slight flurry of activity in the kitchen as the kids prepared breakfast in bed for George for father’s day; Hayley scrambled the eggs, Breanna made and (peanut)buttered the toast, and I handled the coffee. That was followed by visiting my dad and then having Chinese food over at George’s parents’ house for supper.
On Monday I was up bright and early because the school was having their annual Play Day. The kids were outside all day other than snack time and lunch time. The PPO rented bouncies (I was in charge of that and the two I chose were so much fun!), a dunk tank (a lot of grade six kids had a blast volunteering to be dunked), and a DJ for the gym. There was also a watermelon and freezies station, face painting, soccer, tug of war, hurdles, and other fun activities.
I was stationed at the face painting table and it ended up being perfect because due to the makeup we had to be in the shade to keep it from melting so I didn’t get overheated by the bright sun. At lunch we served hot dogs and that was a big hit.
I channeled my inner child by playing on the bouncies whenever the kids went inside. I can not lie, they were ridiculously awesome and I had fun.
Tuesday found me putting on (gasp!) a little black dress and heading out with some of the ladies from the PPO for dinner at a great restaurant for some end-of-year relaxation. The food was delicious (lobster tacos and homemade chips & sesame sticks with guacamole and hummus for appetizers, a glass of Pinot Noir, and I ordered salmon roasted in Pinot Noir and sea salt for my main meal, yummy), the atmosphere was very nice, and the company was outstanding. I’ll miss them over the summer and will especially miss the two who will not be returning next year since their kids are off to high school. Sniff.
Damn, we’re a bunch of good looking women. We were joined by the owner and of course I offered up my food-snapping photo services if he needs any, ahem. I’ll work for reasonable rates and more salmon.
Finally, Wednesday rolled around and lo and behold it was the last day of school. The last day is always emotional. The bus drivers honk as they leave, the kids wave out the windows, and the teachers all line up on the sidewalk to wave them off. Last year was a tear-fest because our principal was leaving, and this year wasn’t much better because Hayley’s math teacher was retiring. I took a photo of her with Hayley and I warned her that if she cried I’d cry; she dabbed her eyes and informed me she’d been crying for at least half an hour so I was out of luck. I’ll miss her, because she was a tough teacher but she was a great match for Hayley last year for homeroom (she was a big help in the adjustment from Kindergarten to grade one) and Hayley learned a lot about math from her this year.
Alas, my photos are all still on my camera right now.
Hayley’s report card was very good and most of her marks went up from last term, so that’s great. Her teachers had wonderful remarks for each subject and I was especially pleased to see her French grades since Hayley was so worried about it at the beginning of the year.
I can’t believe that in a couple of months she’ll be getting ready for her first day of grade THREE. In the meantime though, there is sun and fun to enjoy over the summer and I’m very happy to get a break from 6:30 wake-ups (and 5:30 wake-ups on breakfast club days). Summer is a good thing!
Whew. There you go, we’re all caught up now! What have YOU been up to?
Time for tea
This time last week I was looking forward to the afternoon. Every year the school invites parents who have volunteered in some way to come up for a special volunteer assembly and tea. I’ve written about it before, but basically they send home invitations to all the volunteers and then we show up about 45 minutes before dismissal. The kids all come into the gym for an assembly to thank us for what we’ve done.
This year some of the older kids had prepared short speeches, which was cute, and then one of the classes sand a song for us. After that the principal called out for each volunteer to come up and receive a certificate and a gift, which was a school pen and a pretty notebook. She had asked all the kids to hold off on their applause until everyone had come up and we’d all get a big round of cheering at the end. Still, kids are kids and they get excited easily so some people still got some clapping, including me. I was a little surprised that there was such a loud cheer for me; I must do a good job of hiding that I’m not a morning person when I volunteer for Breakfast Club, or maybe I was just that good at face painting back at Winter Carnival.
After the assembly Hayley scooted off to daycare which is a special treat for her since she doesn’t normally get to go. However, any kids with a parent at the volunteer tea gets to go to daycare that day and she loves it so much that I usually have to practically drag her out when it’s time to go home.
Meanwhile I got to enjoy some nice tea in beautiful china tea cups and stuff my face with delicious treats like sandwiches, mini quiche, and lots of baked goodies. I had a cup of a really amazing honey-ginger herbal tea and it was so tasty that I want to get some for myself.
I don’t volunteer at the school for any kind of reward but it really is nice to be recognized. In the past I’ve only ever volunteered to help out on field trips but this year I’ve done a lot more around the school. I joined the Governing Board and the PPO, went to the Terry Fox run (though that’s not really volunteering, but the kids enjoy it), took the grade one and two kids to see an environmental play, served pizza on pizza day once, helped with fundraisers, joined the Breakfast Club by volunteering two mornings per week, helped out at Carnival, helped with Movie Night, and will be taking part in the annual Play Day the last week of school. A lot of it required me to step out of my comfort zone and I’m so glad I did because I really enjoyed the hell out of this school year. I love knowing so many of the teachers and other parents as well as the kids, and I love that they know who I am too.
I can’t believe school finishes in just eight more days (not counting weekends and a ped day), on June 23rd. The year really flew by and while I’ll be glad for a two month (and change) break from early mornings, monthly meetings, and other obligations, I’m also looking forward to what next year will bring!
Being a refugee for a morning
Anyone who has been reading me for awhile knows that I have a huge interest in the refugee situation around the world. Every time that I do the Blogathon (a fundraiser where people blog every half hour for 24 hours straight, as crazy yet awesome as it sounds) I raise money for the United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees (UNHCR). I’ve done extensive reading on the UNHCR website and in books/articles.
When I heard that Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) was setting up a replica of a refugee camp in Jeanne Mance park in Montreal I was all over it. I wrote it on our wall calendar and announced that we were going to go because really, there was no way I could miss that.
Hayley had the day off on Friday because of a ped day so we decided that would be a good day to go; I figured that most people would be in school or at work so it wouldn’t be as busy as a weekend. It also ended up being a good choice because the rest of the weekend was very hot and humid whereas Friday was much more bearable. As I expected, I enjoyed the tour of the refugee camp – if enjoy is the right word, which it isn’t, but you know what I mean – and it was very educational. I already knew a lot of the information that was shared with our group but it’s one thing to know statistics and it’s a whole other thing to actually see it right in front of you. Even though it wasn’t a real refugee camp with real dangers, it was close enough to be humbling.
We joined a small group and met Zelda, an MSF nurse who has been on seven different missions, including Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi, and she led us up to another MSF member who was acting as a border guard. Even though the kids were with us, no one sugarcoated anything which I liked; they were very blunt about telling us that by the time we had reached the border we had probably lost a father, a daughter, and other family members along the way. Then the guard refused to let us into his country without being paid off in bribes. In our case he took the bike helmet and purse of a woman in our group before letting us in. He told us that although she could have hers back, in the real late-night border crossings, many refugees give up whatever few possessions they might still have.
Of course we weren’t safe after crossing into a new country. If refugees can get across the border so can rebel groups and that’s when you might stumble across a land mine or two.
They’re unbelievably small, so it’s easy to see how you could accidentally step on one. However, and this made me have to pause and take a deep breath so I wouldn’t cry, Zelda told us that in some countries the rebels had started painting the land mines a bright yellow. Why make them noticeable instead of hiding them? Because the U.S. aid groups had been dropping food packages in bright yellow boxes so they could be easily found in the jungle. Countless children have died or been severely injured because of mistaking a yellow land mine for a yellow care package.
We were then shown some examples of the most common “housing” that refugees have when they live in a camp. Home sweet home.
While they may not look too bad – and these ones were “good” tents, made with canvas or tarps along with the straw – there are a few things to keep in mind. For one thing, in many cases these tents might house up to 6-10 people which might require arranging to sleep in shifts since they’re not big enough for everyone at once. Also, many of us in our first world countries like to camp out in a tent for a couple of days. These refugees are living in them for great lengths of time. Some refugees have been living in these tents for years, decades, and have no end in sight.
Like I said: Humbling.
Our guide Zelda had just returned three weeks prior from several months in Haiti. She showed us this square tent and told us it’s a very accurate representation of how people are currently living ever since the earthquake destroyed so many homes.
The block out front is to show us the tiny amount of space between tents. The width of the block is the width of “space” between neighbors. There’s absolutely no privacy whatsoever. Haiti is also going through its rainy season right now and she told us that while she was there the first big storm hit causing flooding (the camp she was near was on a bit of a hill so the water just streamed straight through everything) and there was a lot of lightning hitting. She said that they laid in their tents not too far away from the camp and all they could hear was people screaming all night because they were terrified. She told us that she hopes she’ll never have to go through another night like that ever again because it’s awful to hear that while being completely helpless to do anything for them.
We were also shown how to get our food and water. If MSF is responding to an emergency and haven’t fully set up yet they hand out nutrition bars – one per person per day. They’re the size of a granola bar but have all your calories for one day. I got to taste a piece and it’s not bad but it’s very dry and it’s not something you would choose to eat for long periods of time. Once MSF does get set up, this is what your daily ration of food would be.
And if you’re super lucky you’ll also have enough water to cook your rice and dried beans, as well as enough firewood to cook it all. These are logistics we just don’t have to think about in our fancy kitchens. As for the water, most women (and sometimes older children) walk as far as 5 km away to fill up huge 5-gallon jugs which they then carry on their heads back to the camps. Not only is it heavy to carry such long distances in the heat, many women are at risk of being raped and/or kidnapped along the way. Because although rape is always a matter of power in these cases it’s also used as a weapon of war. Nice, right?
Aside from the land mines being painted yellow, the other moment that nearly made me burst into hysterical tears was the section where they showed us some examples of art therapy that MSF does with the children in refugee camps. There were six drawings done by children in Colombia who have grown up knowing nothing but guerrilla warfare and fear. While I tried not to cry, I told the woman standing next to me that my kids draw butterflies, rainbows, and flowers. This is what refugee kids in Colombia draw.
It’s beyond chilling.
We also got to see a clinic setup, a vaccination center where they try to prevent measles and malaria, a recovery center where they treat people with cholera (the number one killer disease in refugee camps), and a special nutrition area where they treat malnourished children with extremely nutrient dense food in paste form.
Zelda told us that out of all the places to work in a refugee camp, the malnutrition station is her favorite even though it’s difficult to see children who are so sick. She held up a card with a small hole in it and asked Breanna to try to put her arm through it; it was just a bit bigger than my thumb so of course Breanna couldn’t do it. She told us that in a refugee camp, a four-year-old just like Breanna could easily slip their arm through if they were malnourished. However, it’s a good place to work because the results are very quick to see. If the kids are brought back every day for the special food, they start to fill out and get better.
The entire experience was very somber and educational. It wasn’t a happy, fun tour. However, it was exactly what I wanted it to be. I’m not in a position to go to a war-torn third world country for 9-12 months at a time no matter how much I might want to help. I’m not going to leave my family. The next best thing is to help out in other ways and for me that includes learning as much as I can and helping to spread the awareness.
I have a few other photos over here if you’re interested in seeing them. I’m so glad that I went and would definitely go back if they do it again here next year. Meanwhile, if you want to educate yourself about the things that aren’t covered very well in the mainstream media, you can check out the MSF website and UNHCR website for a lot more information.
Spontaneous
Sometimes I really like planning things out and knowing what I’m doing over the next several days. For instance, I like knowing that on Wednesday and Thursday morning I’ll be at the school to volunteer for Breakfast Club, Wednesday evening I’ll be back at the school for a PPO meeting, and that Friday I’ll be going to check out a replica of a refugee camp that’s being set up in a big park by Doctors Without Borders. Throwing in some sort of event into the middle of all that could potentially throw a monkey wrench into my life. It’s not that I’m a control freak, I just like knowing what to expect and think that my anxiety issues are at least part of the reason for that. Let’s put it this way: The worst thing in the world anyone could do for me would be to throw me a surprise party. People with anxiety issues don’t need surprises, thanks.
However, all of that being said, life would be very rigid and dull if you never did anything spontaneous and so this weekend we had two totally impromptu outings. On Saturday I knew Hayley already had plans and George was going to be busy as well. The weather was calling for a lot of rain on and off all day so going to the park didn’t seem to be very likely but I wanted to have something fun for Breanna to do. Out of nowhere I decided that I should take her to the library since she had never been. I had to get a new card since I lost mine over two years ago (yes, it had been a long time since I had gone). Breanna was actually old enough to get her own card as well so she was really happy; she even got to sign her own name on the back.
She loved the library and was really good, even remembering to whisper or talk quietly. She thought it was cool that I could find specific books for her on the computer and then find them on the shelves. She requested some Caillou books and I suggested a few Dr. Seuss books as well (I confess that I like when the kids get those because I just really love reading them out loud), then she picked the rest of her haul based on what looked good to her. Who says you can’t judge a book by its cover?
We left with 12 books for her and 5 for me. We can each take a maximum of 15 but that was plenty for now.
(No, I’ve never read any of the Sookie Stackhouse books, so I’m giving them a try now.)
Our second unexpected outing was on Sunday evening after supper. I had given Hayley her bath and washed her hair in the late afternoon because I thought that maybe we’d go outside to play with some bubble toys in the evening. However, after taking the dog down for a quick pee, George pulled me aside and asked what I thought about taking the kids out for some ice cream. It was really warm on Sunday and somehow it seemed like the perfect way to end the weekend so off we went.
We tried one ice cream place and the line was so ridiculous that I’m not sure we would have actually been served until well after bed time so we left immediately. Next we tried a Dairy Queen nearby but it was pretty packed too and there was nowhere to park; their parking lot is very small and there’s no parking on the street so it wasn’t looking good. Luckily there’s another Dairy Queen not too far away that isn’t usually all that busy even on the hottest days of summer, so we headed over there and had no trouble at all.
Hayley surprised me by choosing pistachio ice cream (and she loved it), and requested that ginormous waffle cone with chocolate. Of course it was huge and she wasn’t able to finish it all but she enjoyed it! Meanwhile Breanna had really wanted banana ice cream which they didn’t have. She was disappointed but the cashier saved the day by suggesting some vanilla soft serve with some banana-flavored syrup on top – perfect and she loved it.
I stuck with a Blizzard, trying out their new waffle-caramel flavor. It was pretty good and had chocolate pieces in it as well, but I’m still hoping they’ll bring back their midnight truffle flavor from last year because that is seriously awesome. As always I couldn’t finish it even though I took the smallest size; they need a “smaller than small” size! George wasn’t in the mood for ice cream himself so he just got a grape slush which was good since the ice cream made the kids thirsty!
We dropped in on his parents for a short visit on the way home and I ran down to the basement to watch the last ten minutes of the first period of Montreal vs. Philly with George’s dad and, well… that was a truly awful game. I didn’t even watch it all once we got home, choosing the finale of Survivor instead. Here’s hoping we have a better game on Tuesday night!
We managed to get home before bedtime and got the kids quickly changed and off to bed. Breanna was exhausted and fell asleep quickly but Hayley listened to the game on her radio for awhile before finally giving in and drifting off.
Game trauma aside, it was a really good weekend and while I’ll stick to making plans for most things, I do love the spontaneous moments too. I hope your weekend was great too!
How to turn your daughters into tramps
I love to watch shows like Dancing With the Stars, and on occasion I will watch So You Think You Can Dance. I love movies that deal with cheerleading. Heck, at one time in my life I wished I was coordinated enough to be a cheerleader myself. I took ballet for almost a decade. While I won’t actively seek it out, I love to watch figure skating.
All of those things have several things in common: Athleticism, coordination, grace (well, not me in ballet, but in general grace, yes), and performance skills. They also have something else in common. They often feature itty bitty costumes. And I love those costumes.
However, there is a big difference between a teenage girl wearing a skimpy outfit or a grown woman on television dancing the tango in a dress so tiny it barely requires any fabric and a group of extremely young girls wearing very little clothing while gyrating wildly and inappropriately to Beyonce on a stage.
I love the song “Single Ladies” even though it’s annoying in the sense that it can get stuck in your head for days. I like the video because good lord Beyonce can dance (though I disagree with Kanye “Imma Let You Finish” West because I don’t think it was the “best video of all time”). I really enjoyed the “All the Single Babies” video that went around awhile back. What I do not love in any way whatsoever is this performance done by 7- or 8-year-old girls at some sort of dance recital or talent show.
It bears noting that each of these girls is a fantastic, spectacular dancer. However, if they’re all able to dance that well and learn that much choreography then someone could have taught them a more age-appropriate routine that would have been amazing. All this ends up being is a disturbingly creepy oversexed performance by little girls who should not be gyrating their hips like that.
I don’t know which bothers me more either – the dancing itself or the fact that people in the audience are hooting and hollering like they’re at some kind of burlesque show. No wait, I know what bothers me most, it’s the people in charge of putting the routine together and the parents who are perfectly okay with their daughters being up there like that. If the parents were unaware it’s one thing but surely they must have caught some bits and pieces of the performance while the kids were practicing it at home.
If I was in the audience and my kid was up there on that stage I guarantee I wouldn’t have been cheering. I would have been sitting there with my jaw on the floor and as soon as it was over my daughter would have been yanked out of that dance class in order to find a more appropriate one.
Somewhere out there I’ll bet that Beyonce is shaking her head thinking, “that’s just not right” and Noah Cyrus is thinking, “AWESOME, I have to get that one down!”
When are people going to let little girls just BE little girls again?
To every mother
I want to write about my Mother’s Day and the whole weekend surrounding it, but I’m so tired that I’ll wait until tomorrow. Instead I’ll re-post something I originally put up in May 2005.
Happy Mother’s Day to every mother out there.
To every mother of a biological child. To every mother of an adopted child. To every birth mother who has ever given a child up. To every mother who has ever taken in a foster child to try to help make one person live a happier life. To every mother-to-be who is counting down the days until birth. To every mother who has ever lost a child. To every mother who has ever lost the baby they never even held. To every mother who has taken a negative pregnancy test and tried again and again and again, forever hoping for two pink lines. To every surrogate mother who has selflessly carried a baby for another mother. To every mother who is somehow perfect and in full control of everything. To every mother who is floundering and living in chaos. To every mother who weeps tears of joy on her newborn’s head. To every mother who weeps tears of postpartum depression and wonders when it gets better. To every mother who screws up and dusts it all off and tries again tomorrow.
To every woman who is or wants to be a mother in any way, happy Mother’s Day.
I hope you had a wonderful day.
