Saturday, February 19, 2005
Did I mention that a trip to Costco, today, would be wise?
I didn't go. I hope it isn't raining tomorrow when I have to go. I've done nothing about the windshield wipers.
I just found out that this is a holiday weekend. President's Day, I guess. Hmmmm. Good. I autonomically switched into "Otherworldly Vacation Time" sometime this morning and have been in "a mood" (a not unpleasant mood, but a quiet one) all day. Very internal. Pretty interesting. So, I could use an extra day. I've got business stuff piling up that needs to be handled. I'm not quite ready to do it Monday.
I just read an NYT (featured in the Sunday Book Review section for this weekend) of a somewhat interesting sounding book, although I probably won't be reading the book. I don't have much time to either read or write and, considering how many years I spent mostly reading and not writing, I choose writing, now. Anyway, the review was interesting in itself. It not only reviewed the book, which is, by the way, PERFECT MADNESS: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety by Judith Warner.
An intriguing sentence from the review, written by Judith Shulevitz: "It is our own internalized workaholism that threatens to devour us and our children -- that, and the increasingly untenable absence of a public infrastructure of care." Early in the article she states: "Our neurotic quest to perfect the mechanics of mothering, she says, can be interpreted as an effort to do on an individual level what we've stopped trying to do on a society-wide one. In her view, it is the lack of family-friendly policies common in Europe that backs American mothers into the corner described above -- policies that would promote 'flexible, affordable, locally available, high-quality' day care; mandate quality controls for that day care; require or enable businesses to give paid parental leave; make health insurance available for part-time workers; and so on."
Again. The village refusing to raise the child.
I don't know much about the Motherhood section of Intense Needs Caregiving. I never wanted to know much about it. I do, however, know about Intense Needs Caregiving. Unless I'm way off track, I don't detect competition among caregivers who aren't parents. I do detect a competitive spirit among increasingly commercialized services, bargaining for the attention and the soul of the caregiver. I also, as you regular readers, especially readers of my essays, know, feel that over the centuries caregiving in general has fallen victim to Rugged Individualism.
So, what else about today? Mom has spent a lot of the day in bed but has been in good spirits. No movies today. Barely television. I took a three hour nap in my bedroom. Yesterday I inadvertently took a 2.5 hour nap on the sofa. I collapsed. So I guess that sort of explains my mood today. If you mosey over to the meds and stats journal you'll notice that I took no stats today and informally discussed her meals and meds, although I did record her bowel movement. I feel as though I'm existing above the atmosphere, today...and, this evening. Maybe tomorrow. At any rate, I must go to Costco tomorrow.
Later.
I just found out that this is a holiday weekend. President's Day, I guess. Hmmmm. Good. I autonomically switched into "Otherworldly Vacation Time" sometime this morning and have been in "a mood" (a not unpleasant mood, but a quiet one) all day. Very internal. Pretty interesting. So, I could use an extra day. I've got business stuff piling up that needs to be handled. I'm not quite ready to do it Monday.
I just read an NYT (featured in the Sunday Book Review section for this weekend) of a somewhat interesting sounding book, although I probably won't be reading the book. I don't have much time to either read or write and, considering how many years I spent mostly reading and not writing, I choose writing, now. Anyway, the review was interesting in itself. It not only reviewed the book, which is, by the way, PERFECT MADNESS: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety by Judith Warner.
An intriguing sentence from the review, written by Judith Shulevitz: "It is our own internalized workaholism that threatens to devour us and our children -- that, and the increasingly untenable absence of a public infrastructure of care." Early in the article she states: "Our neurotic quest to perfect the mechanics of mothering, she says, can be interpreted as an effort to do on an individual level what we've stopped trying to do on a society-wide one. In her view, it is the lack of family-friendly policies common in Europe that backs American mothers into the corner described above -- policies that would promote 'flexible, affordable, locally available, high-quality' day care; mandate quality controls for that day care; require or enable businesses to give paid parental leave; make health insurance available for part-time workers; and so on."
Again. The village refusing to raise the child.
I don't know much about the Motherhood section of Intense Needs Caregiving. I never wanted to know much about it. I do, however, know about Intense Needs Caregiving. Unless I'm way off track, I don't detect competition among caregivers who aren't parents. I do detect a competitive spirit among increasingly commercialized services, bargaining for the attention and the soul of the caregiver. I also, as you regular readers, especially readers of my essays, know, feel that over the centuries caregiving in general has fallen victim to Rugged Individualism.
So, what else about today? Mom has spent a lot of the day in bed but has been in good spirits. No movies today. Barely television. I took a three hour nap in my bedroom. Yesterday I inadvertently took a 2.5 hour nap on the sofa. I collapsed. So I guess that sort of explains my mood today. If you mosey over to the meds and stats journal you'll notice that I took no stats today and informally discussed her meals and meds, although I did record her bowel movement. I feel as though I'm existing above the atmosphere, today...and, this evening. Maybe tomorrow. At any rate, I must go to Costco tomorrow.
Later.
