8.13.2014

Sorry I'm Not Sorry

Sorry I'm not sorry.
I lit Facebook on fire today. The fires will spark a debate and I'll probably de-friend some people from it.
Good!
This girl I went to high school with posted this picture of her bare stomach today on Facebook and her quest to complete some 30 day ab challenge or something.  At the end of the post she asks who will hold responsible for completing this challenge.
There are so many wrong things about this post, too many things not too light my match and step up on my soap box.
1. I've been saying for months (remember this post?) if not years how social media has become a place for people to gain validation.  My friend may not have the six pack abs of a gymnast, but it was flat and pretty defined. To me, it looked as though she wanted someone to post, "Oh, Emily, you don't need to go to the gym, look how skinny you are!" Blah Blah Blah. I will not validate or provide you fuel to make you feel better about yourself.
2. If you can't hold yourself accountable for your choices and decisions, ESPECIALLY when it comes to your body, you cannot expect anyone else to do the same.
3. The worst part about this is this girl should know better. After high school, she developed some sort of form of alopecia and her hair grows in patches. As such, she has some different haircuts that still make her look feminine but are obviously a little different. She learned to be comfortable with her lack of hair and she should understand that self worth and value are so much more than what you look like.
4. And above all, this popular circulating ecard says it all.

So I sacrificed "Emily" and told her as much. It seemed a lot more angry because my phone thinks Every Word Needs To Be Capitalized On Facebook.
So sorry I'm not sorry.
This selfish, objectification in the world is so depressing.
Emily and I both have daughters. What would Cami or "Susan" think or say if they saw this post?
Would she think that she needs public recognition for everything she does, including participation trophies?
Or that everything you do, you do it for someone else to approve or give you a virtual high five?
Maybe she will think that her value is only skin deep and a fit body is all that matters?
This is the age of social media. It will teach our children what matters and that's terrifying.

8.12.2014

Passing of my childhood

Celebrities are over-grieved.
Robin Williams was less a celebrity and more of friend. He shaped so much of my life.
I first met Robin Williams in my pre-kindergarten days. He had this wonderful bit on Sesame Street that would make me laugh so hard I rolled on the floor. From that moment, Robin Williams was a part of me. As I got older, I heard his voice in Alladin and saw him as a cross-dresser in Mrs. Doubtfire and as a sad grown-up little boy in Jumanji.
I couldn't NOT write about him. He was there to help me grow up and I learned so much from him.
1. At an early age, I knew Robin Williams was silly and it was okay to be silly sometimes.
2. He was an original, he didn't pretend to be anything he wasn't or put on some perfect show. He was who he was and he was unapologetic for it.
3. In Aladdin, he taught me how important it was to be honest, especially with those we love.
4. In Jumanji, he taught me that there is always hope during dark times and that things will work out.
5. He showed me the meaning of family in Mrs. Doubtfire and that boobs are not very great for putting out fires.
6. I learned about love in Bicentennial Man. It's not a movie looked on very fondly, but when i saw it I cried. Everyone deserves happiness and everyone deserves love.
7.Many people quote Dead Poet's Society this week and I hate to be cliche' but I learned how to really study from this movie. That it's important to find passion and art in life.
8.  In Ferngully, I learned from his voice that the environment may  shape you one way, but you decide who you become.
9. Most recently, I caught up on Good Will Hunting and I learned the importance of really living and not just seeing the world go by.
10. Or in the new-age classic Hook, he taught me that anything is possible if you believe in yourself.

I could cry and sob over his passing like a little girl. His passing is huge and the world seems more sad without his smile and goofy voices.  I admit there are some big parts of Williams voice & behavior that remind me of my dad. This world has lost some of it's strongest and most joyful influences in my life.



8.05.2014

Toddler Bed Horror


A few months ago Dave and I started about easing Cami into a toddler bed. My heart raced and my fingers started to twitch.
She isn't an escape artist and I'm sure she would be fine in crib until she started kindergarten. Transporting the crib for family trips and getaways are very difficult and we wanted to be able to use something more portable.
Cruising around Toys R Us one very hot summer day, we went with our gut and got a cheap Mickey Mouse bed. Nothing fancy because let's be honest, my child is a giant will not be in it very long.
That night, we completed our usual routine: bath, story, song and prayer. She ran into her room; so excited for her Mickey Mouse bed and then nothing. 
We settled in for the night for a later movie, The Conjuring.  
Okay, I love scary movies but since Cami was born I'm a wuss.
I was up all night, back and forth between the scary movie scenes and images of Cami beside my bed, staring at us. All night long. No joke. It was awful.
Cami woke up at 8 and stayed in bed until we went to get her. 
Weirdly, that night was one of the longest nights of my life and it's probably due more to the movie than my child growing up or waking up. I need a chill pill.