"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired
signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are
not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. The world in arms is not
spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the
genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children....This is not a
way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening
war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron."
-- Gen. Dwight Eisenhower
Wednesday
poem of the day
"What Do Women Want?"
by Kim Addonizio
I want a red dress.
I want it flimsy and cheap,
I want it too tight, I want to wear it
until someone tears it off me.
I want it sleeveless and backless,
this dress, so no one has to guess
what's underneath. I want to walk down
the street past Thrifty's and the hardware store
with all those keys glittering in the window,
past Mr. and Mrs. Wong selling day-old
donuts in their café, past the Guerra brothers
slinging pigs from the truck and onto the dolly,
hoisting the slick snouts over their shoulders.
I want to walk like I'm the only
woman on earth and I can have my pick.
I want that red dress bad.
I want it to confirm
your worst fears about me,
to show you how little I care about you
or anything except what
I want. When I find it, I'll pull that garment
from its hanger like I'm choosing a body
to carry me into this world, through
the birth-cries and the love-cries too,
and I'll wear it like bones, like skin,
it'll be the goddamned
dress they bury me in.
by Kim Addonizio
I want a red dress.
I want it flimsy and cheap,
I want it too tight, I want to wear it
until someone tears it off me.
I want it sleeveless and backless,
this dress, so no one has to guess
what's underneath. I want to walk down
the street past Thrifty's and the hardware store
with all those keys glittering in the window,
past Mr. and Mrs. Wong selling day-old
donuts in their café, past the Guerra brothers
slinging pigs from the truck and onto the dolly,
hoisting the slick snouts over their shoulders.
I want to walk like I'm the only
woman on earth and I can have my pick.
I want that red dress bad.
I want it to confirm
your worst fears about me,
to show you how little I care about you
or anything except what
I want. When I find it, I'll pull that garment
from its hanger like I'm choosing a body
to carry me into this world, through
the birth-cries and the love-cries too,
and I'll wear it like bones, like skin,
it'll be the goddamned
dress they bury me in.
early weaning in sub-sharan africa
This is an interesting article on why early weaning (defined as cessation of breastfeeding before a baby's second birthday) puts children at risk in Senegal.
elliot reads
Via Elliot's teacher today, a photo of Elliot reading to Sabrina, their classroom's HABIT dog. I am loving E at this age.
Tuesday
ouch
Last night I fell down my basement stairs late at night, going down to turn off my dryer, which doesn't turn off on its own. My leg got caught in the stairs and all twisted at the knee. Last night my shin bone hurt like hell, but today my knee hurts even worse. I seriously think I almost broke my leg. So I'm grateful I didn't.
My body has been rather battered by various things in the past week. I feel like I need a day or two in bed.
My body has been rather battered by various things in the past week. I feel like I need a day or two in bed.
Monday
when the glass ceiling is at home
This is the most interesting article on the whole "why are so many smart, educated women staying home with their kids" debate I've read in ages.
It's like I said last week (see post below on "dating down" and then discussion that followed), the real issue most women face is finding someone to help at home. Most married or partnered couples with kids find that life runs more smoothly if one partner focuses more on earning money and the other focuses more on domestic life. This just makes good logistical sense. Or it can work when you have enough money to hire someone to truly handle the domestic stuff while both partners focus on earning money.
The problem is that too often, women are assumed to be the ones who will handle the domestic front. And now, we are also expected to earn money.
I love being a mother and I'm pretty good at it, but I am TERRIBLE at housekeeping, cooking, etc. I am far better at the work I do at my job - at earning money. For this reason, if I lived with an adult guy, it might make good sense for that person to focus more on the home front, despite his gender.
It's like I said last week (see post below on "dating down" and then discussion that followed), the real issue most women face is finding someone to help at home. Most married or partnered couples with kids find that life runs more smoothly if one partner focuses more on earning money and the other focuses more on domestic life. This just makes good logistical sense. Or it can work when you have enough money to hire someone to truly handle the domestic stuff while both partners focus on earning money.
The problem is that too often, women are assumed to be the ones who will handle the domestic front. And now, we are also expected to earn money.
I love being a mother and I'm pretty good at it, but I am TERRIBLE at housekeeping, cooking, etc. I am far better at the work I do at my job - at earning money. For this reason, if I lived with an adult guy, it might make good sense for that person to focus more on the home front, despite his gender.
Sunday
parenting
I'm reading an advance copy of my friend Adrienne Martini's forthcoming memoir, "Hillbilly Gothic." It's to be published next summer by The Free Press and it's just amazingly good. The core of the story is her bout with postpartum depression and as I read about how inept and clumsy and unworthy she felt as the mother of a newborn baby, I'm struck by how much I feel like that sometimes now, parenting my 7,10 and 14 year old children.
Parenting babies came very easily to me. I immediately felt comfortable with them and never suffered any baby blues or feelings of inadequacy like so many new mothers. In fact, I would describe the waay I felt during the early months of my children's lives as euphoric. I felt pretty great.
But nowadays, I more often feel like I am screwing up. My parenting anxiety is at an all time high. I have no evidence that I am screwing up -- they all seem to be doing fine -- but I have tremendous feelings of guilt about the fact that I wasn't able to stay married to their father and thus, they have to shuffle between two households. I find myself second guessing my parenting decisions more often and feeling more defensive than usual about my mothering.
I think it's just a rough patch. This too shall pass. Parenting is about keeping your eyes on the prize: the kind of people you turn out when your mothering job is complete. But I am struck by how much Adrienne's descriptions of her feelings of inadequacy with her new baby parallel the way I've felt lately...
Parenting babies came very easily to me. I immediately felt comfortable with them and never suffered any baby blues or feelings of inadequacy like so many new mothers. In fact, I would describe the waay I felt during the early months of my children's lives as euphoric. I felt pretty great.
But nowadays, I more often feel like I am screwing up. My parenting anxiety is at an all time high. I have no evidence that I am screwing up -- they all seem to be doing fine -- but I have tremendous feelings of guilt about the fact that I wasn't able to stay married to their father and thus, they have to shuffle between two households. I find myself second guessing my parenting decisions more often and feeling more defensive than usual about my mothering.
I think it's just a rough patch. This too shall pass. Parenting is about keeping your eyes on the prize: the kind of people you turn out when your mothering job is complete. But I am struck by how much Adrienne's descriptions of her feelings of inadequacy with her new baby parallel the way I've felt lately...
Saturday
Wednesday
gay priests
This is an excellent op-ed piece (by a priest) on why the Catholic Church's sweeping new ban on gay men in the prisethood is a colossal mistake, and one that will create the very problems it is seemingly attempting to eliminate.
Thanks Giving
I'm starting a running list of things I'm thankful for - gonna add to it as I have time all weekend.
Add your own list in comments section below this post.
My list (in no particular order - very randowm - will get longer in coming days...)
Henry, Jane & Elliot
Betsy
Robert
Nicole
Ray
Eleanor & McLean
Jones, Anna and Helen
RG
Gray & Jack
Betsy K.
Susan K.
Mama
Grandma
Uncle J.
Grandpa R.
Patty & Brandon
Loud music
James & Julie
Kimi, Bill, Lane, Charlie, Drew, Harris and Inara
All the folks at my job, whom I love
Ann, Sydney and Shawn
Jay
Steven
David O. & fam
Fiat, Mabel & Cookie (dogs)
Dickens & Cinco (ponies)
My cozy little house
Christmas lights
Chocolate biscuit cookies from Harrod's
QMM
Bell Buckle
writermamas
old books in dusty bookstores
Fiesta Farm
Howard Dean
Jon Stewart
Sarah Vowell
David Sedaris
Power Pop from the '70s
Knitting stores
watermelon
my mother's spaghetti
stone fences in middle TN
Add your own list in comments section below this post.
My list (in no particular order - very randowm - will get longer in coming days...)
Henry, Jane & Elliot
Betsy
Robert
Nicole
Ray
Eleanor & McLean
Jones, Anna and Helen
RG
Gray & Jack
Betsy K.
Susan K.
Mama
Grandma
Uncle J.
Grandpa R.
Patty & Brandon
Loud music
James & Julie
Kimi, Bill, Lane, Charlie, Drew, Harris and Inara
All the folks at my job, whom I love
Ann, Sydney and Shawn
Jay
Steven
David O. & fam
Fiat, Mabel & Cookie (dogs)
Dickens & Cinco (ponies)
My cozy little house
Christmas lights
Chocolate biscuit cookies from Harrod's
QMM
Bell Buckle
writermamas
old books in dusty bookstores
Fiesta Farm
Howard Dean
Jon Stewart
Sarah Vowell
David Sedaris
Power Pop from the '70s
Knitting stores
watermelon
my mother's spaghetti
stone fences in middle TN
Tuesday
breastfeeding has significant impact on your risk for diabetes
Breastfeed for at least a year and reduce your OWN future risk for this nasty disease by up to 15%, say researchers.
Read all about it right here
Of course, it can also be said (but rarely is) that NOT breastfeeding RAISES the risk for diseases such as diabetes. If breastfeeding is the norm, then that's actually the appropriate way to frame the issue.
Read all about it right here
Of course, it can also be said (but rarely is) that NOT breastfeeding RAISES the risk for diseases such as diabetes. If breastfeeding is the norm, then that's actually the appropriate way to frame the issue.
breastfeeding isn't a lifestyle choice; it's a critical infant-maternal health issue
Six million lives a year are being saved by exclusive breastfeeding, and global breastfeeding rates have risen by at least 15 per cent since 1990, says a report released on the 15th anniversary of the Innocenti Declaration on the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding.
Between 1990 and 2000, exclusive breastfeeding levels for children under six months in the developing world have increased by as much as three or fourfold in some countries.
UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other child survival partners hailed this progress as they commemorated the adoption of the landmark Innocenti Declaration fifteen years ago today, at a meeting in Florence, Italy. At least 30 governments signed onto the Declaration in 1990, a document which set ambitious new standards for national support to breastfeeding.
“Exclusive breastfeeding is one of the most powerful tools we have to combat child hunger and death,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. “The Innocenti Declaration created a movement that has helped to save millions of lives and brought us closer to the Millennium Development Goals.”
This celebratory event is jointly organized by the Regional Authority of Tuscany and the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre with a wide partnership, including the Italian National Committee for UNICEF, UN organizations, as well as non-governmental organizations like the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, the International Baby Food Action Network among others and an international expert panel.
Veneman said the achievements since the Innocenti Declaration should inspire us to do more to reach out to vulnerable mothers and children. She praised the dedication of a vast international community of breastfeeding advocates, who have worked tirelessly to turn the promises of the Innocenti Declaration, and the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative, into action.
Through their efforts, nearly 20,000 hospitals in 150 countries have become “baby-friendly”, more than 60 countries have laws or regulations implementing the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, and many countries have some form of national breastfeeding authority.
But the Innocenti partners warned that the original goals of the Declaration are still far from met. For instance, only 39 per cent of infants in developing countries are exclusively breastfed. Lack of awareness amongst mothers, and lack of support from health workers and communities, is largely to blame.
Breast milk gives a baby ideal nourishment during the critical first months of life, as well as vital immunity against killer diseases like pneumonia. Babies should be exclusively breastfed from birth to six months, and then breastfed alongside age-appropriate, complementary feeding for two years and beyond.
Achieving this target would give an extraordinary boost to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It is estimated that almost one-fifth of all child deaths could be prevented if this target is achieved, saving over two million children per year.
The new Innocenti report published by UNICEF, WHO and other infant-feeding specialists, calls for greater government action and investment to protect exclusive breastfeeding.
It also warns that mothers and children are facing new dangers, including a growing number of emergencies and the continued rise of HIV/AIDS. Women need to be supported in providing the best nourishment for their children and governments urgently need to mainstream the latest strategies for HIV positive mothers and infant-feeding into national policies.
“In times of crisis, the right feeding practices for children are the key to saving lives,” said Veneman.
For nearly 60 years UNICEF has been the world’s leader for children, working on the ground in 157 countries to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for poor countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.
P.S. from Katie: That cute kid on the pony in the photos below was breastfed for more than four years. She's healthy, happy, and athletic, and nursing her was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life thus far.
Between 1990 and 2000, exclusive breastfeeding levels for children under six months in the developing world have increased by as much as three or fourfold in some countries.
UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other child survival partners hailed this progress as they commemorated the adoption of the landmark Innocenti Declaration fifteen years ago today, at a meeting in Florence, Italy. At least 30 governments signed onto the Declaration in 1990, a document which set ambitious new standards for national support to breastfeeding.
“Exclusive breastfeeding is one of the most powerful tools we have to combat child hunger and death,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. “The Innocenti Declaration created a movement that has helped to save millions of lives and brought us closer to the Millennium Development Goals.”
This celebratory event is jointly organized by the Regional Authority of Tuscany and the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre with a wide partnership, including the Italian National Committee for UNICEF, UN organizations, as well as non-governmental organizations like the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, the International Baby Food Action Network among others and an international expert panel.
Veneman said the achievements since the Innocenti Declaration should inspire us to do more to reach out to vulnerable mothers and children. She praised the dedication of a vast international community of breastfeeding advocates, who have worked tirelessly to turn the promises of the Innocenti Declaration, and the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative, into action.
Through their efforts, nearly 20,000 hospitals in 150 countries have become “baby-friendly”, more than 60 countries have laws or regulations implementing the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, and many countries have some form of national breastfeeding authority.
But the Innocenti partners warned that the original goals of the Declaration are still far from met. For instance, only 39 per cent of infants in developing countries are exclusively breastfed. Lack of awareness amongst mothers, and lack of support from health workers and communities, is largely to blame.
Breast milk gives a baby ideal nourishment during the critical first months of life, as well as vital immunity against killer diseases like pneumonia. Babies should be exclusively breastfed from birth to six months, and then breastfed alongside age-appropriate, complementary feeding for two years and beyond.
Achieving this target would give an extraordinary boost to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It is estimated that almost one-fifth of all child deaths could be prevented if this target is achieved, saving over two million children per year.
The new Innocenti report published by UNICEF, WHO and other infant-feeding specialists, calls for greater government action and investment to protect exclusive breastfeeding.
It also warns that mothers and children are facing new dangers, including a growing number of emergencies and the continued rise of HIV/AIDS. Women need to be supported in providing the best nourishment for their children and governments urgently need to mainstream the latest strategies for HIV positive mothers and infant-feeding into national policies.
“In times of crisis, the right feeding practices for children are the key to saving lives,” said Veneman.
For nearly 60 years UNICEF has been the world’s leader for children, working on the ground in 157 countries to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for poor countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.
P.S. from Katie: That cute kid on the pony in the photos below was breastfed for more than four years. She's healthy, happy, and athletic, and nursing her was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life thus far.
Monday
Tennessee Valley Hunt
Saturday was Junior Hunt Day at the Tennessee Valley Hunt. It's a day for kids to enjoy a cross country fox hunt, with games and races and such. There is no real fox - just a guy dressed in a fox suit laying down a trail of bread crumbs all over the place, and the kids have a great time.
My daughter Jane is the small person in purple on the small black pony
I didn't get to go watch this year, but I've gone before and it's a really pleasant way to spend a Fall afternoon. As you can see, it's gorgeous East Tn scenery
My daughter Jane is the small person in purple on the small black pony
I didn't get to go watch this year, but I've gone before and it's a really pleasant way to spend a Fall afternoon. As you can see, it's gorgeous East Tn scenery
Walk the Line
RG and I, plus some family members went to see the new Cash biopic at a theatre near Nashville Saturday night. The place was sold out and people seemed very psyched to be seeing it (clapped at the end - which I haven't experienced at a movie in a while).
I thought it was very, very good. It left me thinking a lot and I'd like to see it again. The theme of redemptive love was just beautfully done without beating you over the head. There was obvious, palpable sexual chemistry between Phoenix and Witherspoon, which is pretty rare in movies these days. You could really feel their longing for each other from beginning to end and yet there was almost zero explicit portrayal of their physical relationship. It was all in the way they looked at each other.
I was interested to see how Cash's first marriage would be handled, since I know the Cash family (including his daughters from the first marriage) were really involved in the making of the movie and the bottom line is that his pining away for June Carter broke that marriage up. I felt like it was handled fairly and sensitively. You really came to understand that unless John Cash had June Carter by his side, he couldn't be the man he was meant to be. But again, this never seemed maudlin or over the top. And they gave fair attention to the fact that Cash was very torn over the fact that he had fallen out of love with his wife and in love with another woman. He was never flip or callous about it.
The supporting cast was top notch, too. The folks who played Elvis and Jerry Lee Lewis were spot0on without resorting to caricature. The people who played June Carter's parents had really small roles but were terrific...
And the music was great!
Highly recommended.
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