I absolutely love this post: Lies I’ve told my three year old recently. It is funny and poignant and right on the money. Makes me think of things I tell the children – the only one that comes to mind is the way I do a little bad dreams/monsters/dragons go away dance by their beds if they are feeling nervous about going to sleep. I sometimes give Whit a good dreams head rub when he is really upset.
Will think of more.
Channeling the Royal Tenenbaums today.
Miracles do not, in fact, break the laws of nature. – CS Lewis
Ready for my miracle anytime.
“It is hard to fight an enemy who has outposts in her head.” – Sally Kempton
Midwives attend over 70% of births in Europe and Japan. In the US, under 8%.
I just started the Business of Being Born, and I already love it. This is a love letter to midwifery. Which anyone who knows me knows is very near to my heart, and a possible future road I want to go down.
“It’s not just the making of babies, but the making of mothers that midwives see as the miracle of birth.” – Barbara Katz Rothman
I am crying at the incredible bravery and beauty of Ricki Lake sharing her own home birth with the world.
My children, entertained to the nines by a long, slow walk around the block, April 2008. We went to the drycleaner, the pharmacy, smelled flowers, jumped off of walls, counted bricks, petted dogs, and generally enjoyed at least an hour in our very own neighborhood.
I was delighted to find the following article, “Idle parenting means happy children.”
Gloria was here today, and she remarked on how lovely it was that Grace played alone in her room for such a long, happy time. I replied, as I always do, “Ignore them long enough, they learn how to entertain themselves.” Little did I know that auspicious minds have said this long before I did: “How to begin to educate a child. First rule: leave him alone. Second rule: leave him alone. Third rule: leave him alone. That is the whole beginning.” This from DH Lawrence essay, Education of the People, published in 1918.
I’m still looking for an essay in Cookie magazine in the last few months which was hilarious on this topic. I could not feel more strongly about this philosophical approach to parenting. Occasionally I wonder if I’m doing the right thing, for example when I see the masterful skills Grace’s classmates have at all manner of pursuits. She has a classmate who is an elegant swimmer, an accomplished skiier, and a something-or-other belt in karate. Not to mention bilingual, etc. But I return, again and again, to my firm conviction that there is tremendous value in the ability to entertain yourself, to develop an imagination, and to discover excitement and adventure in the everydayness of your everyday life.