Most Pink. Bakerloo Line, London

Can you find La Nouvelle Observatrice?

Most Awesome Kid on the Planet. Southbank, London

More London photos to be posted in due course....

Parenting. Tricky, tricky.

Why I LOVE Carolyn Hax....

"The child's needs have to be paramount--yet no child can be expected to be in complete control of all decisions, because what child is ready for that? Parents have to be in charge -and- leave no fingerprints. Tricky. "

This particular response took place during today's Live Chat on WaPo regarding a young son's declaration of "being a girl inside." Carolyn answered with such a thoughtful and moving sentiment, "I would give him a hug and say I love him, it's going to be okay, we'll figure this out together."  I mean, how simple and profound is this?   

And yet, this, as well as the first tenet can be applied to so often when parenting.  Kids want us to be in charge.  They need us to be in charge.  And yes, their needs are paramount.  But guiding them firmly through to adulthood, and leaving barely a trace of your hand, is such a delicate art.

I'd like to post both of these sentiments someplace I could read them everyday, as I practice the art of mothering my awesome kid.

Everything's gonna be alright.

Sometimes the most difficult time being a mom is when saying everything is going to be ok, and there is nothing to worry about, when you're not so sure yourself.  The brave face, coupled with the whispered assurances, and the air of confidence - at times, it's all such a front.

So tonight, as I cuddled and coddled at bedtime, and quieted worries about strong winds and metro doors shutting a millisecond too soon, I was preoccupied with the scope and cost of some structural work that I will need to do on my house.  And not all that sure that the wind wouldn't in fact huff and puff and blow the house down.



  

First Day of School

Sex Ed

I'm not that much in the mood to write, but this is Important (and important to me)...

Last night's Glee episode (like most TV, I just read about it the next day, and then watch selected clips on the Internet) was the Sex Episode.  High school angst, high school sex - from sex education class to the Abstinence Club and the Gay-Straight Alliance, both found in today's high schools - but it's still the same old-fashioned, age-old teen angst.  And parents matter...a lot.  Perhaps the most touching, most compelling, most reach-inside-and-touch-your-soul scene was when Kurt, gay teen, and his dad have The Talk.

Wow...I hope you viewed that link.  I strongly believe in having comprehensive sex education in schools.  And I strongly believe that good (or bad) parenting makes the greatest difference in kids lives.  And somehow, this scene demonstrates all that for me.

I LOVE sex.  It feels so GOOD.  It's SO fun.  It's so easy.  But it's big, and it's more than all that.  There are health risks - some lasting.  And there are life-altering consequences, like pregnancy.  And these are wonderfully prevented and mitigated by birth control, condoms, and bit of honest discussion and some negotiation.  But at its best, and at its worse, it's about connection (or lack of it) and vulnerability (despite the fact that an orgasm can make you feel utterly invincible).  It's what it is to you, but also what it is to the other person - and figuring that out somehow for both of you, honestly.  And yes, sex does something to you - "..to your heart.  To your self-esteem...So don't throw yourself around like you don't matter.  Because you do matter"

No sentiment more true and more beautiful, about something so true, so beautiful.