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Apr 29, 2011

Anglophile

April 29, 2011 By

Yes, I’m watching the royal wedding this morning. Well, I’ll be recording it this morning, since work and taking Mira to preschool will be cutting into my royal TV time.

I know some people can’t wait for the wedding to be over with, but I’m giddy with excitement. Truth is, when storks were dropping off babies in the 70’s, my stork clearly read the address wrong and brought me to Ohio when I should have been delivered to some family in the British Isles.

I’ve been an anglophile for many, many years, appreciating nearly everything about the British people, culture and government. I spent a summer in London in college, and during my time there I felt more “at-home” with my surroundings than I ever have in my life. I considered skipping my flight home to pursue citizenship, but came to my senses when I realized I had no money and still no college degree yet. I left that country vowing to return again someday.

When Diana Spencer walked down the aisle to become Princess Diana? I watched it. I was proud that her first-born son, William, was born on my birthday. (Although a few years later than me.) During my time in England, I lived in a dorm in Kensington and remember playing soccer on the green just outside of Diana’s primary residence, Kensington Palace.

Many years later, when Diana was in the car accident that took her life, I watched the story unfold on CNN. I wished and prayed that she would survive, and then sobbed when they announced that she had died. I watched her funeral from start to finish, stunned that this stunningly beautiful humanitarian – a woman who used her power and influence to bring notice to those who suffered and needed help – would be taken from us so young.

And now her son is marrying his college sweetheart, and I couldn’t be happier for them. The royal family may seem like an out-of-place establishment in the modern world, but I think it still has relevance. They provide a living connection to the history and very nature of their culture. And as I’ve often joked, a monarch that is groomed from the beginning for their role in the government (even if it is a very minor role now) provides stability and continuity that I often feel is lacking in our constantly rotating parade of politicians in the United States. Prime Ministers may come and go, but they have the benefit of seeking advice from the one person who has seen the government through many changes and is well-educated on the topic.

(I don’t want to get into an argument over which government system is better or calling for a return to the feudal monarchy system – I’m just pointing out that there are some advantages to a constitutional monarchy.)

Anyway, I’m looking forward to the wedding. I can’t wait to see demonstrations of the history, ceremony and style of the British people, but even more, it’s about the pleasure of seeing the genuine happiness of two people who love each other very much making the ultimate commitment to each other.
And to get in the spirit, Mira is already practicing her royal stiff upper-lip while wearing her tiara. She’s available for any discussions of betrothal contracts with princes who like trains and can promise her lots of dresses and a pink castle.

Formal portrait of HRH Miranda of Ohio
Filed Under: memories, Mira, pop culture Tagged With:


Mar 15, 2011

What I Learned At A Lady Gaga Concert

March 15, 2011 By

1. I’m old.

2. Because I’m old, I was only a little sad that I didn’t splurge on the standing-room-only floor tickets. When there was a 90 minute intermission between the opening act and the appearance of the Mother Monster, my feet and lower back appreciated my little seat. And the cup holder for my drink.

3. I’m not so old that I feel concerts are too loud. Sure, it was loud, but that’s exactly what I wanted.

4. I am old enough, however, to appreciate the role of Madonna in getting Lady Gaga to where she is today. Yes, Gaga has a great message of unity and accepting yourself, but you know Madge went there first. The torch has been passed and in its passing has been made brighter and stronger, but I remember when Madonna was first running with it.

5. It’s a lot harder to get out of your row to go to the bathroom when you have to step over the girl in a blue corset top and fishnet stockings who is already passed out in her seat from too much alcohol. And the opening act just finished.

6. I was severely under-dressed. I somehow missed the memo that this was a costume ball. The younger folks, however, did get the memo.

7. What I may lack in youth and beauty, I make up for in experience, wisdom and knowing how to dress for my body type.

8. Some people shouldn’t be allowed to wear spandex. Or fishnets. Or duct tape. Don’t they have friends?

9. Governors should not be allowed to attend Lady Gaga concerts. Because no matter how badass and free you feel at the concert, you lose some of that when you look over and see Governor Kasich sitting in section 205. It kinda felt like having your dad watching you at the concert.

10. But then I realize, hey, at least I’m not as old as him.

11. And I thank all that is mighty that he didn’t dress as a Little Monster. In spandex.

12. I apologize for planting that last image in your head.

13. I miss going to concerts. Aaron and I had a great time, and for 2+ hours I forgot about all of my responsibilities. (Other than remembering I had to go to work after the concert.) I may be old, but I realized I need to get out more often and just have fun.

14. But I won’t wear spandex. Or fishnets.

Filed Under: me me me, pop culture, random


Mar 1, 2011

Stuck Between Hip and Hip-Fracture

March 1, 2011 By

One of the joys of losing weight is going shopping for new clothing when everything starts getting baggy. (What? Were you unaware I was losing weight? You must not be reading my weight loss blog then!)

Such was my joy this weekend when I went out to Kohl’s for a little “me” time in the evening. I had gift cards from Christmas, I had a coupon, and I was ready to spruce up my wardrobe.

I walked in the door and was immediately distracted by the cute dresses on my right. The pull of ruffles and stripes and soft fabric drew me to the racks as I quickly found myself immersed in spring fashions. Another woman, younger than me, was also browsing in this section.

One top caught my eye, so I started digging through the rack, looking for my size. The other woman was practically right next to me looking at shrug sweaters. Not finding a large, I muttered out loud to myself (because I talk to myself all the time), “Darn, I wish they had this in my size. I doubt a medium would fit.”

The other woman – who really couldn’t have been more than 22 or 23 years old – looked me up and down for a split second, and then replied, “You’d probably find more for you over there,” and nodded across the aisle with a sigh and a withering look on her face.

(Were she 50 years old and southern, she’d probably have added a “well, bless your heart,” to the beginning of that statement. Instead, I got the teen “geez, mom, you’re so out of touch!” tone of voice.)

“Oh, thanks,” I replied, not realizing what she meant. A moment later, it came to me: I was in the Juniors’ section of Kohl’s. The area she was nodding to was the Womens’ part of the store. You know, the area for females who are of a certain age and should be dressing a certain way.

And for just a moment, I was truly embarrassed. I shuffled away from the soft ruffles and left the Juniors’ section to those without wrinkles, hoping no one would point or stare at the old lady thinking she was young again.

I mean, I’m four months away from 35 years old, where I’ll officially be in my “mid-thirties” and can no longer pull off the “early-thirties” label. I don’t plan on wearing an ultra-mini skirt anytime soon, but I didn’t realize that the entire Juniors’ section was off-limits for me.

But I like some of the clothing there. Sure, I won’t be wearing anything that bares my midriff anytime soon, and Juniors’ jeans are simply never going to fit my legs. The tops and dresses, though, are a mixed bag – some are really cute, and while most aren’t work appropriate, I could see wearing them on a casual Saturday afternoon, out with friends, or even to a blog conference. No inappropriate baring of skin, no squeezed into something like a sausage – just trendy ruffles and floral prints and clothing cut in a way that makes me feel happy. 

To be fair, I like some of the clothing in the Womens’ section, too. This is not a rant against matronly clothing for those of us who can’t like Justin Bieber without it feeling kinda creepy. I buy most of my clothing from that area of the store, to be honest. I just don’t see why I should feel guilty shopping in the Juniors’ section as well.

So tell me: is a thirty-something mom of two considered too old for clothing from a Juniors’ section, or does Miss Teen Fashion Police need to zip it and let women shop where they want?

Filed Under: daily life, me me me, pop culture, rant


Oct 12, 2010

My Tivo Runneth Over

October 12, 2010 By

Oh network television, you’re killing me.

When the Fall lineup was announced, Aaron and I sat down and mapped out our TV strategy. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Most of our favorites avoided the axe last year, and combined with new must-sees we required a chart to keep track of them all.

It seems all of our favorite shows are mostly on at 8pm, with very little on at 9pm. This wouldn’t be a problem, except for two days a week when we have three shows on at the same time. Our Tivo can only record two at once, and I’m not quite willing to admit I’m that much of a television addict to pay for a second Tivo service on another TV. To combat this, we let two shows record while we run upstairs to watch the third in our bedroom.

Everything else we planned to get to during the 9pm dead time, or use Wednesday as a catch up night, when we have nothing scheduled. (And yes, the kids are already in bed before 8pm.)

It was a good plan – although a little crammed – at least until my work schedule blew up.

(And I’d like to say here that everything is back to normal, as I hoped it would be soon in my last post, but the truth is it’s still busy and may be for quite awhile.)

We’re now at least a full week behind on most shows. I think we’re caught up on Glee and The Vampire Diaries, but only because I beg to watch them before older TV.

I’ve tried cutting back. I gave up The Biggest Loser this season, finally admitting that the show is too long for its value. (Honestly – do you need an entire hour for the weigh-in? Skip the suspenseful music and cuts of shocked faces and just get on with it already.) And I’ve already committed to skipping out on American Idol in the spring.

But everything else is just too good. Chuck. House. Castle. Parenthood. The Big Bang Theory. The Mentalist. Bones. Smallville. (And Glee and The Vampire Diaries, of course.) I love all of them in their own way, and couldn’t think of dropping any of them right now. I’m a sucker for a compelling story, exciting cinematography and emotional acting.

So please, network executives, can you toss in a mid-season break soon? I need a couple of weeks to get caught up again. Maybe a baseball or some other sporting event could get in the way for a few weeks?

I really don’t want my Tivo to start threatening to delete programs to make space for new ones. And I’m going to BlogWorld this week, which means I’m going to fall even further behind.

TV overlords, have mercy.

Filed Under: geek paradise, pop culture Tagged With:


May 22, 2010

When Is The Right Time?

May 22, 2010 By

I don’t know if you’ve seen the new TV series Parenthood, but if not I highly recommend checking it out. I was originally interested in it simply because I was curious how they would portray, well, parenthood. It’s true, marketers have me pegged – put the word parent or mommy or mom in a title, and you can guarantee I’ll check it out.

The show is funny. Very funny. And sometimes painfully funny – in that way where you laugh but inside you cringe a little because you’ve been in that exact same situation and remember how humiliating it was. But the show also takes itself seriously in portraying the lives of an extended family, all very different people in very different situations. These people could be us, and in watching the show you quickly find yourself drawn to identifying with one person who is most like you, yet recognize so many of the struggles faced by the other characters, too.

In watching the show, the one thing I never realized was that Parenthood would also be tackling the subject of autism. In early episodes, one couple discovers that their son is on the spectrum, and their world is turned upside down in so many ways. When I quickly realized where they were going with that plot topic in the first episode, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. Would they make the topic of autism light and fluffy? Would they make it worse than it really is? Would the boy be little more than a caracature of a child with autism, or would they really make it realistic?

Truth is, they have so far done a brilliant job of walking the line to bring awareness to the condition. I’ve cried several big, fat tears while watching this show because these parents could be us. Hell, their names are Adam and Kristina – how much closer to Aaron and Christina could you get? I watched them struggle with even accepting there might be something wrong with their son, and remembered my own struggles with the same topic. They frantically searched for a “cure” just like I did. They’ve tried to protect Max from those who don’t understand him, the same way we’ve tried to protect Cordy.

Of course it’s a TV show, and there will never be enough time in each episode to present a full, clear picture of autism, but I’ve been impressed with how real it is thus far.

This week’s episode really affected me, though. In it, the family teams up for the Walk for Autism, with Max as family cheerleader, determined to win the trophy. At one point, he shouts, “Let’s help those kids with autism!” and everyone in the room is suddenly aware that Max doesn’t know yet that “those kids with autism” includes him.

I don’t think we’ve ever told Cordy that she has autism. Granted, she’s much younger than the character of Max (who is nine, I think), but it’s never been something we’ve talked about. She’s attended special-needs preschool for three years now where she’s had weekly speech and motor skills therapy. For three quarters of a year she’s participated in a research study for kids with autism, requiring several cognitive and developmental skills tests. She’s taken pills purely at our request, never really knowing why we asked her to take them other than “they help you stay healthy,” just like her vitamins.

But despite saying nothing to her directly about it, there have been clues. She knows she won’t ever wait at a bus stop for her bus like other kids. She’s aware that some kids in her class can’t talk and have meltdowns that sometimes require them to be restrained. For herself, she knows she has “the flappers” who live in her arms and sometimes make her flap. She knows she has irrational sensory fears. And there are times I’m sure I can see right into her mind through her eyes, watching as she fights internal battles with herself over her confusion on social cues and her reactions to the world around her.

The TV show psychologist told Adam and Kristina that they will know when the right time is to tell Max about his autism. I hope the same is true for our family. She’s probably too young to even understand it at this point, and I don’t want to further burden her with the knowledge that she is most definitely not like other kids. She already has moments where she seems so distant and sad, as if she’s pondering how to solve world hunger, wars, and the environment all at once. Why add more weight to such small shoulders?

I don’t want Cordy to feel different, but at the same time I want her to know it’s OK to be different. I sometimes feel like a hypocrite – I’ll stand proud and defend her differences, reminding anyone who would shun her that autism isn’t a choice, but I also want her to improve and hope she’ll be able to fit in better with her peers. It is possible to defend her diffences and yet want her to change in the same breath?

No one said parenting would be easy. It’s no surprise why I watch any show with the word parent in it and participate in the parent blogging community – it’s impossible to do this without looking to others for support and a little validation that I’m not the only one who feels like I’m parenting blindfolded without a net sometimes.

Filed Under: Autism, being a mom, Cordy, pop culture Tagged With: