As the wife of a chef, I know better than to expect a lot of special treatment on Mother's Day, one of the busiest days of his whole year at the restaurant. Living in Maine, Mother's Day coincides with the season kick-off. Tourist season, that is. So not only is it a huge day for restaurants it is also, often, the start of the summer opening hours. For us, that means we'll see a lot less of our Chef from now 'til Columbus Day. It is also the official start of black fly season.
I hate Mother's Day.
The kids and I had pancakes this morning, we love our pancakes. During breakfast a client called, not for business but to see if she should go with her family to brunch at our Chef's restaurant. Pangs of jealousy. I left the table to talk. I returned to find little girl had peed in her seat and little boy had dumped the last of our best real maple syrup onto his plate. He was swirling a piece of pancake in a half inch of amber gold and I got all teary eyed at the waste of maple syrup, the pee on my persian rug and the lack of breakfast in bed or out in a restaurant on Mother's Day in general. I sat right down on the pity pot. I hate the term 'pity pot' but sometimes it just suits.
BUT we wiped up, wiped off, and got dressed. Outside was fabulous, breezy enough to keep the black flys at bay, pleasantly cool and very sunny. I dug in my garden, chased the kids around the yard, read a book! We had cucumber sandwiches for lunch on bread I baked this morning - yum! Little girl napped, son watched a movie while I sat with him in the couch and finished my book! Then our Chef came home and made us dinner while I soaked in the tub!
I Love Mother's Day!
There is a lot of pressure at Mother's Day. It is what Valentine's Day used to be, way back, before marriage even. You know, showing up at work the day after, the girls at lunch sharing Valentine's gift and dinner stories. Now I am a Mom and Mother's Day has eclipsed Valentine's Day. The V day passes without a second thought in our house, but I am personally guilty of making Mother's Day somewhat of a big deal, even though I know my husband will have to work, and not only will he have to work, he will have a grueling day! Do you know they served over 500 brunches this morning/afternoon?! Fat fucking bitches. Woops - there is my jealousy coming out again.
Yeah, so anyway, here is the nitty gritty: I got 3 cards, a promise my car will be detailed next Sunday (that means a professional will shampoo 2 1/2 years of vomit, piss and cheerios out of the seats and rugs) and the best tissue paper flower I ever saw. Plus this chance to think about what a freakin' lucky lady I am today, how wonderful my husband is and my kids, well, of course, how wonderful they are too. Mother's Day is a chance to reflect on what being a Mom is, which is often under appreciated, but who ever said having children was about us? Because being a mom just makes you a given in the life of your child, the life that is very much theirs, not ours. That's hard to swallow sometimes. It is hard to not control my children and somewhat confusing since I need to keep them safe and healthy 'til adulthood. Where do you draw the line between parenting and controlling? Oh wait, I don't really get to draw that line, do I? Yup, it is hard to accept the lack of control I have over my kids, and I am not talking about discipline. But anyway, to all you Moms out there, Happy Mother's Day, enjoy the ride!
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Truth in Politics?
Maybe it is just me, maybe I am jaded, but when did it become surprising that politicians curve the truth to fit their needs and when did that become something other than politics? Me, I am honest all the time and have lost friends over it. I'd be an awful politician because not only can I not please all of the people all of the time, I can not even please some of the people most of the time. That's not because of me, that's because of human nature and because I don't always know when to keep my mouth shut (OK, maybe it is because of me.).
When Barack Obama finally denounced the Rev. Jeremiah Wright this past week, why was anyone even surprised? Was he supposed to stay on a sinking ship? Yes, he can be found on You Tube speaking highly of the guy just a year ago, but, really so what? Is he not a politician? Should he not try to get elected and if that means dissing his former friends and ministers than so be it? Politics isn't all nice-nice, right? And everybody ought to realize this.
Politicians reverse their stance on issues all the time. What I find so amazing is that it is even an issue. Talking about honesty and politicians seems like a waste of time to me. These are not honest people, they can't be, not if they want to get elected.
You've probably held an office job at some time, some corporate gig at one point or another in your life. If not, you have at least worked with people, right? Any time you put a group of people together you get politics. It is a natural result and most people feed on it (why else would those reality shows where people vote each other off the island, out of the house, etc. be so very popular?). Did you speak your mind at this job, and tell it like it really is on a regular basis? How did that work out for you? Not too pleasant, right? Uhg, I've been in some politically hot spots in the office world for being young, naive and earnest enough to think I was helping out with all my insight. Made work hell, because, while I did have great ideas to streamline administration and the overall effectiveness of the office, I was stepping on the toes of all the other people there, including my direct supervisor. Nobody wanted to hear my good ideas except the very top people who were delighted by my insights. Too bad they didn't sit in the cube next to mine because work was hell.
What about Hillary. She turns around all the time and lies a lot, right? But I bet she knows how to work the system and I bet she can get people to do what she needs to have done, fast. Rolling Stone wrote about how she recently requested nearly 1.5 million dollars in budgetary awards this year for the Abyssinian Development Corporation and the Pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, the biggest church in Harlem, shortly thereafter endorsed her campaign. RS treated it like they were uncovering another Dick Cheney gets rich off of Halliburton contracts piece. That Hillary Clinton is doing whatever it takes to get elected (duh.). Umm, isn't backing the official who will do the best for you and yours a main principle of democracy? And is not choosing the candidate you think is best, for whatever reason you have, what our electoral system is supposed to be all about? The Pastor's people will benefit, Hillary will benefit, nice system.
All this talk about a new Washington freaks me out a little because so many people are buying into it. Am I only the only one who read Plato's Republic? I don't think human nature has evolved one bit in the past, say, 2300 years, or so. Anyone driven to lead a society isn't fit to lead because of that very drive. And only when a philosopher, who has no interest in leading, but the ability to discern the difference between what is and what seems to be, leads can a society achieve it's greatest potential. And is this ever going to happen? No! Why? Because we are all a bunch of people and whenever you put a bunch of people together it tends to get ugly.
And so, my point today: there is no truth in politics and this is the best system we have. Now let's just move on and get some work done.
When Barack Obama finally denounced the Rev. Jeremiah Wright this past week, why was anyone even surprised? Was he supposed to stay on a sinking ship? Yes, he can be found on You Tube speaking highly of the guy just a year ago, but, really so what? Is he not a politician? Should he not try to get elected and if that means dissing his former friends and ministers than so be it? Politics isn't all nice-nice, right? And everybody ought to realize this.
Politicians reverse their stance on issues all the time. What I find so amazing is that it is even an issue. Talking about honesty and politicians seems like a waste of time to me. These are not honest people, they can't be, not if they want to get elected.
You've probably held an office job at some time, some corporate gig at one point or another in your life. If not, you have at least worked with people, right? Any time you put a group of people together you get politics. It is a natural result and most people feed on it (why else would those reality shows where people vote each other off the island, out of the house, etc. be so very popular?). Did you speak your mind at this job, and tell it like it really is on a regular basis? How did that work out for you? Not too pleasant, right? Uhg, I've been in some politically hot spots in the office world for being young, naive and earnest enough to think I was helping out with all my insight. Made work hell, because, while I did have great ideas to streamline administration and the overall effectiveness of the office, I was stepping on the toes of all the other people there, including my direct supervisor. Nobody wanted to hear my good ideas except the very top people who were delighted by my insights. Too bad they didn't sit in the cube next to mine because work was hell.
What about Hillary. She turns around all the time and lies a lot, right? But I bet she knows how to work the system and I bet she can get people to do what she needs to have done, fast. Rolling Stone wrote about how she recently requested nearly 1.5 million dollars in budgetary awards this year for the Abyssinian Development Corporation and the Pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church, the biggest church in Harlem, shortly thereafter endorsed her campaign. RS treated it like they were uncovering another Dick Cheney gets rich off of Halliburton contracts piece. That Hillary Clinton is doing whatever it takes to get elected (duh.). Umm, isn't backing the official who will do the best for you and yours a main principle of democracy? And is not choosing the candidate you think is best, for whatever reason you have, what our electoral system is supposed to be all about? The Pastor's people will benefit, Hillary will benefit, nice system.
All this talk about a new Washington freaks me out a little because so many people are buying into it. Am I only the only one who read Plato's Republic? I don't think human nature has evolved one bit in the past, say, 2300 years, or so. Anyone driven to lead a society isn't fit to lead because of that very drive. And only when a philosopher, who has no interest in leading, but the ability to discern the difference between what is and what seems to be, leads can a society achieve it's greatest potential. And is this ever going to happen? No! Why? Because we are all a bunch of people and whenever you put a bunch of people together it tends to get ugly.
And so, my point today: there is no truth in politics and this is the best system we have. Now let's just move on and get some work done.
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