Try, try again

Well, well, well. Here we go again. A new year, the same resolution to blog more. I should know better, especially given the 2012 experiment, but clearly I just get older, not wiser.

I could take a glass half empty approach as to why I didn't blog more in 2012. Let's see: it started with a 6 month old who got RSV, which then morphed into me having sinus infection after sinus infection and strep throat after strep throat for months on end (up to and including this very moment in 2013) and having trouble managing my hypothyroidism. On top of being a mom and being sick and way low energy, I still worked full-time and though I aspired to get other things done, I rarely did. See: being sick. It doesn't help that my computer at home died and has remained unreplaced. Hey, iPod touch? You're awesome for most everything. Just not writing extensively.

But let's look at the glass half full version of 2012's resolution: I wrote more than I had in previous years, including much more long-form stuff that's still in progress offline (along with all the half-formed blog posts I have still rattling about in draft). I started another blog co-written with a friend of mine, and I reconnected with how writing helps me work sh*t out in my own head. So take that, 2012 resolution!

So, since I'm trying on 2013 for size, how's it measure up so far? Not good. I think part of it is I have a tendency this time of year to look back on the previous year, and in comparing right now to 2012 at the same time, I was much more settled and content then than I am now. I was confident in my abilities to parent a 6 month old. Now I'm facing new toddler-sized issues (no impulse control, limited ability for us to understand what she's trying so desperately to communicate, chasing her down at the most inopportune times because running away is FUN!, and trying to determine how to make meals out of the 3 things she'll eat) that make me less sure I know what the hell I'm doing. A year ago, I had an awesome boss and felt, for the first time in a long time, that my work was a good match for my skills and background. Now? A reorg at work has left me working in the same place but with a new, totally absentee boss, and a new role in a new career path that does NOT suit me at all, leaving me utterly dissatisfied. A year ago I was much healthier. I was working out habitually, I felt good, had high energy, and then having drifted off that course from being so sick, I now find myself still on steroids and antibiotics, feeling pretty gross. And a year ago, I wasn't faced with the prospect of our nearly 13-year old dog's final weeks. That part, I'm not prepared to talk about or deal with yet. But it's there, lurking in the shadows of the weeks to come.

I know myself. I know that I have a tendency at this time of year to feel the post-holiday blues. The trips to look forward to have come and gone. Regardless of whether the job sucks or is awesome, coming back to my cubicle after a few days away is always a let down as it means the end of hanging out in pajamas, playing with the girl, and taking naps. So I'm trying to be extra-cautious right now not to let my feelings of unrest cascade over into other areas and color the otherwise excellent things that I'm sure are to come in 2013. I'm trying to compartmentalize - not in some unhealthy way but to try to prevent my general anxiety disorder from trampling all over everything and mixing it all up so that all of my worries won't get inextricably tied up together until they're one giant sinkhole of suckitude. Trying to deal with one thing at a time, and then putting it back up on the shelf when something else needs to be dealt with instead.

Trying. Maybe that's my guiding word for 2013. I will try. I will keep trying. If I fail, maybe I will learn something. If I succeed, who knows what could happen?

So angry I could...

The parenting issue that has given me the most grief so far is that my precocious, sweet, active little girl is.

A biter.

There. I said it. I know, I know, it's normal, age appropriate. Oh for f*ckssake. I just got another incident report from daycare while I was typing that.

At first I thought "not my daughter! How could this be?!?" She doesn't bite at home, and, being the first born, doesn't have anyone *to* bite anyway. She is not aggressive, she is highly verbal & communicative, and at home, when she asks for something she can't have, she tends to work out her anger & frustration through fist-pounding tantrums & the accompanying wailing.

So it was totally mystifying to us to hear that she's been biting. Repeatedly. So much that I've had to leave work to retrieve her from daycare because she's been released. Repeatedly. Like 2-3 times a week.

It's usually the same. Right before a nap (read: tired), wanting a toy, she lunges out & Mike Tyson's someone. Okay. It's not thaaaaat bad (I hope) but still.

At first, I would get to daycare all concerned - is the other child ok?? I'm SO sorry (and embarassed). They would say she's fine, the other child is fine, and you don't need to apologize. When it kept happening, I turned to the trusty interwebz and found it's totally normal, not to worry. When we saw the pediatrician for her 15 month checkup she told us the same thing. Still, it kept happening. I wasn't worried about it as a behavior anymore, just what it was doing to my good standing at work to be ducking out all the time. I can't overemphasize how big of a pain in the ass this is. For weeks now, I've had to tell my boss 'so sorry!! Gotta get her. Again.' I've missed more work than I am capable of calculating.

As the weeks wore on, daycare no longer would say "no need to apologize!" It turned into more of an exasperated we need *you* to take steps to address this okay? attitude.

What am I to do? I have said to my friends & family, why should I have to apologize to daycare for completely normal, age-appropriate behavior?! I'm not here when it happens. I'm not the one watching her at those moments. I'm not going to preemptively drug my kid with Tylenol because 'maybe she's teething?' Yeah. Right. Because pretending teething is the cause is going to help correct a behavioral issue. I understand that there are expectations on how she is to behave. And there are rules she must follow. And that you need to be able to protect the kids here from being hurt.

But I am paying you, daycare, to meet your responsibilities too. To take care of her, which doesn't just mean keeping her from eating glass & running into traffic. It means helping her to understand boundaries, and learning what is expected of her. Is she just supposed to automatically know? It means teaching her what she can do *instead* of biting. Y'know, like "NO biting. Let's try 'F*CK OFF YOU DILLWEED! Or can you say 'NUT UP OR SHUT UP YOU SISSY ASS?'" It also means getting to know her, taking the time to be patient with her most exasperating toddler behaviors, and, knowing that her toddler behavior includes biting, so knowing that it's important that you take the time to keep a close eye on her when she is tired & frustrated so that you can proactively intervene and prevent the bad behavior. Look, I know there's 8 other kids. But you claim that part of the problem is that her behavior is a danger to those 8 other kids, so how about investing that little bit of extra attention her way at those times?

I've tried to be patient with daycare. I've tried to be both non-apologetic and empathetic towards the perspective of the other kids' parents. In fact, just yesterday my friend's Facebook status was all about how upset she was that her daughter had been hurt by another child at daycare, and I was just far too ashamed to weigh in amidst the "WHAT THE F*CK? Bullies CANNOT be tolerated" bullsh*t. At this age, we aren't talking about "bullies." We're talking about children who are too young to be able to communicate effectively, who don't yet know how to share, and who are headstrong and bent on getting their way, come hell or high water.

But today was the bombshell that "I'm just going to be honest. Lots of parents are very upset..." So here's where we got handed the bottom line: if she doesn't stop biting in 2 weeks, she's getting kicked out. I still am reeling.

How is this even? WHAT THE F*CK?! Other parents are upset? OTHERS? Newsflash to them: cause it's a total joyride to feel like you are totally trying work's last reserves of patience to be having to leave all the time with no notice to meet the 30-minute pickup deadline. It's not at all frustrating to feel like I've little to no control over my otherwise decently-behaved toddler who never exhibits this behavior at home. And it's a pride-filled moment to hear that my daughter is USING HER INCISORS TO ATTACK OTHERS like some chimp chewing off some lady's face. What happened to an understanding that kids-will-be-kids and part of being a toddler amidst other toddlers means that they will sometimes fall down, get scuffed up a bit, get dirty, and, yes, get hit and bitten and scratched. Lest you think the shoe is always on the other foot, my daughter has been hit and bitten herself, and have I gotten all up in daycare's sh*t about how they failed to protect her? No. And parents? I'm sure you would agree that routine is critically important to your toddler, right? You may have noticed that inconsistencies and deviations from routine are upsetting and difficult for them to manage. Inconsistencies like, oh I don't know, how different teachers are there on different days and at different times, so maybe, just maybe it's within the realm of possibility that some teachers are better able to monitor and prevent my daughter's toothsome attacks than others? Yet I'm the one facing telling my boss tomorrow that perhaps I may need to take just a few vacation hours unexpectedly in the coming weeks - like, I dunno, ALL OF THEM? -  until I can make alternate arrangements for my toddler's care?

I'm so angry I could bite someone.

Thankful for Thanksgiving (and Weeknight Roast Chicken)

I love Thanksgiving. There is nothing better about a holiday that is centered around food. Of course, I grew up in a family where one meal was spent carefully plotting the next, so maybe it's just me, but I think Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday.

It helps that we have never traveled for it. EVER. We spend it at home, avoiding the stressful are we going to make our flight or is our connection canceled because of snow and if so, how and when are we getting home because every American has the same 4 day window for flights. (And the thousands of dollars that it costs due to holiday airfare gouging). It's just always been so difficult, and not just financially. When you're in academics, like at least one of us has been for the past 10 years, school  takes that same 4 day break and then it's back to a very hectic last-dasy of grading the last assignments and writing the final lectures when you're completely out of fuel before finals, so it's not such a relaxing time off anyway. As a result, we've always tried to keep it low key. It helps that we've lived in Arizona that whole time, where even when it's been cold it's still been lovely enough to spend a good chunk of time out on a long walk. But more importantly, we both love to cook, and over the years we've had friends and family join us for the showcase showdown that is the turkey, the mashed potatoes, the sweet potatoes, the cranberries, the homemade rolls, the apple pie...

Sorry. I'm in a food coma now.

Last year we scaled back our efforts a bit. We had a 4 month old, and were just utterly behind on housework (and sleep) so before we could even think about cooking anything we had to clean up our place. Luckily my parents were here, and that was a huge help. We alternated with my parents: some taking on the task of soothing or feeding Baby while others took over mopping the kitchen and cooking, then we would trade. And the meal was lovely all the same.

This year we're not having anyone over, which is something we are both really looking forward to. Finally - some time off for both of us to just sit around in our sweatpants and watch some football and go for walks and eventually eat an amazing meal. So back to that meal. What to serve? We've always done a turkey. Some years it's roasted, some years it's brined, some years it's smoked, but it's always been there. And we do love turkey. But is it necessary this year? In keeping with our hopes of being as lazy as possible that day and just enjoying spending the weekend with Baby (who is now a toddler), maybe we should consider a roast chicken. Because that is at least as delicious as turkey in my book. And a whole lot less of a time investment. Last weekend, I happened to catch an America's Test Kitchen episode in which they did a "Weeknight Roast Chicken" that was both simple as ALL GET OUT and amazingly succulent. Basically they browned the chicken in a skillet, then transferred the skillet to a preheated over...and then turned the oven OFF. That's it, folks. So that might be my route. I'm definitely going to do that recipe, just not sure yet if we'll do that one for Thanksgiving.

Turns out I'm not the only one thinking this way. This week's Culinate just arrived in my inbox, saying: "It’s turkey-roasting season, and many of us are looking forward to feasting on our yearly Thanksgiving bird. But my colleague and friend Carrie Floyd may not be among the turkey-eaters this year; instead, she might replace her turkey with a roasted chicken — Roast Chicken with Mustard Butter to be exact. Carrie found the recipe in A Bird in the Oven and Then Some, Mindy Fox’s book about roasted chicken — and it was a big hit. The recipe worked well, as a recipe should, and her family loved it and begged her to make it again — for the upcoming holiday."

Scuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard.

Unfiltered Thoughts: Artist Statements

I was listening to an old episode of one of my all-time favorite podcasts today - Wiretap, to be specific - and it included an interview with an artist whose project was living inside a plexiglass apartment in the Boston Museum of Contemporary Art for a month. Like absolutely every moment of her life on display for any wandering museum-goer. And she talked about how she did this as an exploration of transparency. The idea that was at the crux of her project was "Where there are walls, there are lies." She said she wanted to "have the public think about what it would be like if their life was equally transparent and everyone could see what they did and would they judge their friends and neighbors" as harshly as they do now.

Fine. Good. But here's the thing: is that what the viewing public got out of it? In the interview, the artist mentioned her artist's statement and it made me think about how it may have colored people's reading of the art. (You know those panels that get included in art exhibits where the artist gets to explain the driving force behind their art?) I guess I've always read them. (Well, that's probably because I worked in museums for a long time, and much of that time wrote exhibit panels, so I'm a bit of a special case). But that aside, I have always read them before I viewed the art. Of course, that's also because they're often placed at the beginning of a gallery - a biographical statement or something to help guide the viewer's reading of the pieces. (Actually I really hope that second part rarely plays a role, because how insulting is THAT?! That the reader, the non-artist, must require a guide to how to "see" things). 

And that got me thinking "Did the public really think about the 'walls and lies' thing when viewing the plexiglass apartment? And did it make them reevaluate their judgments of others and reconsider their attitudes towards harsh judgmental tendencies?" Because if so, I'd hazard a bet that those ideas were colored by having read the artist statement. If they didn't read the artist's statement did they come away thinking something else? Like how everyday life itself is beautiful, for instance. Or how we structure our public selves differently from our private selves. And wouldn't those readings be just as legitimate as what the artist intended the audience to think about? When you're an artist (whether a performance artist, a sculptor, a playwright, a musician, or hey, even a writer), is the only thing you have control over the idea that you want to explore in your medium of choice, and not the audience's reaction to that? There's always a gap between what you think you've communicated and what your audience gets from it - and that gap itself is well worth some  exploration (but I'll save that for another post).

It made me think more about avoiding reading the artist's statement when I go to another exhibition until after I've viewed the art, and then perhaps revisiting each piece after having read it to see if it changes how I think about the art. It also made me think about the presentation of art in online exhibitions. Many times the artist's statement is presented either in the copy that introduces the exhibition, or comes up first in the gallery, or is used as a means of a caption for each image displayed. What comes to mind is the most recent one I've explored the "Artists and their Monsters" gallery on NYTimes. What if instead of having the artist mediate for me what their monster is as it does in each caption, let me work out its meaning for me on my own if I wish. I'd be curious to find unmediated exhibitions online. Ones where there is no artist's statement provided. And no, I'm not talking about online catalogues where you can curate your own collection, but I mean ones where the works have been selected to be displayed together but where you can "opt out" of the artist's statement if you wish. I'd be more inclined to seek those out to see if they somehow allow you to be more thoughtful about assigning your own meaning to the art and the viewing experience. If you know of any, please let me know.

Election Day

Today is election day, and I am thrilled. Not that we get to exercise our right to vote - although it is heartwarming to see the lengths that folks are going to in the wake of Sandy to exercise that right. But back to me, what I'm excited about is the end to an endless campaign. I'm over the robocalls, the mailbox full of campaign junk, the emails, and the ads. Dear God, the ads. I've forgone tv entirely for netflix for at least a month. Ever watch an entire TV series in one weekend? Cuz I have! (You totally should, by the way).

When the Republican primaries started, Baby wasn't even born. Now, look at her:

She walks, she runs, she eats with a spoon. She's even uttered at least 3 sentences ("Hi Kitties!", "Me up please!" and "Me and Daddy!"). Pretty self-centered, isn't she?

But back to the election. Every time election year YEARS roll around I lose my mind thinking about all of the money that gets poured into an election. If you want to hurl, click here to see the 2012 numbers. Actually, I'll save you the math: Billions. Much of it inevitably wasted on the losing candidate. Imagine what could happen if those billions were spent not on nasty slurs and negative ads but on positive change. And I'm not talking Obama here. I'm talking about the potential impact that kind of money would make on the lives of individuals, families, and in communities if it were directed as charitable contributions to nonprofits intsead...