Even on Television

Posted on July 13, 2006 by Amy Jane

I like just to enjoy a good story wherever I find it. Even on Television. (If you came from my original blog you already know I like House M.D.)

I find it fascinating the… essentially, snobbery that comes through when some people announce they never watch T.V. (Perhaps I read too much into the statement, thinking of my sometimes-attitude when I would announce that).

Not that I think they should watch television; it’s only that avoiding is not in itself virtue. I lump these people in with the group that wants you to know they don’t eat fat, or don’t eat meat. Both of these practices are fine, appropriate (and, theoretically, even enjoyable) for some people. The problem grows when those practicing this level of discipline want to be affirmed in their decisions and acknowledged for their superiority.

The funny thing is, they frequently are, even though in any other context I imagine everyone would find this attitude insulting. Think of these comments:

“You don’t have a T.V.? That’s so great. We tried getting rid of ours once…”

“No fat [meat] at all?! You are amazing! How do you do it?”

Both express the speaker’s admiration and also a sense of inferiority.

The same words can, of course, be just plain conversation too, but even if the speaker isn’t lowering him or herself when speaking, s/he is elevating the listener.

I suppose this doesn’t have to be a bad thing, but I do wonder sometimes.

C.S. Lewis on Books

Posted on July 6, 2006 by Amy Jane

During my freshman year in college I bought a book called The Quotable Lewis, indexing his writings (both published and personal) on the catalogue of topics he addressed.

I liked so much the way he thought, that I would sit down and read Lewis by topic, circling or underlining the bits I liked, agreed with, and/or made me think. I wanted to be able to return to them.

Thinking about books (one of the forefront topics of this blog), it reminded me of a collection of his excerpts that resonated strongly with me. Reading them I felt that I’d found a “kindred spirit” (to borrow from another well-known book). The comments almost made me homesick for someone equally like-minded.

My Favorites:

When one has read a book, I think there is nothing so nice as discussing it with some one else– even though it sometimes produces rather fierce arguments. Continue reading »

Look out!

Posted on July 5, 2006 by Amy Jane

Error 403: Forbidden!

The server understood the request, but is refusing to fulfill it. Authorization will not help and the request SHOULD NOT be repeated.

~~~

This is the error message I received when I tried to access this new site While (unbeknownst to me) Jay was fiddling with it.

Sounds pretty ominous, no?

List-making

Posted on June 18, 2006 by Amy Jane

(Originally at Family News)

I don’t know what’s up with me and lists. You’d think these sorts of things would discourage me…be depressing. Everything I can’t/don’t do… (I do all types of these).

But in a weird way they’re encouraging too. Putting them down helps me see what really real (I had to dig for the last two [list on the original post]– and really they aren’t as critical, I just thought the list needed padding) so I actually only have 3 things to figure out, whereas, when I started the list, I felt buried under a mountain of unknowns.

And then, especially with day-to-day not-dones, I look at the list and see how well we all can survive with so much left undone. It also gives me a tangible list to prioritize and work from.

For example, the dried noodles under Melody’s chair can be really annoying (and even painful) when I’m trying to do something in that area, but cleaning some dishes to cook dinner in is more important than vacuuming or picking up that area. And so is sitting to cuddle Melody while she watches “Wooma Weed!” She has a high cuddle need, but isn’t really good at asking for it before she melts down. Movies sometimes help fill that gap. So do certain books.

Food, clothes, and cuddling (not necessarily in that order) are, I’ve decided, the priorities in this house.

That, and I get nap-times to myself. In case you’re wondering, that’s when I write (or after bed-time, like now).

A Time to Cherish

Posted on May 13, 2006 by Amy Jane

(Initially posted at Family News)

As long as I’ve had my own child in my arms I’ve been hearing some version of the line from adults my parents’ age (thankfully never from my parents):

“Enjoy it while it lasts, sweetie, it’ll be over before you know it.”Laying aside the fact that I was none of these people’s “sweetie,” the line always bugged me. I had several ready (rude?) responses:

If they stopped, well, wouldn’t that be worse?”
“Every stage has things you’re glad to get away from too.”

But mostly, I think with my girls the comment didn’t bother me as much as it annoyed me (someone telling me how to feel). I expected to have more kids. I would see this stage again up-close, and for now I was just living my version of “normal.” How many people want (or need) to be told how to be normal?

I have a friend I spoke with over the phone once when we both should have been starting dinner. We talked about being at home, and how glad we were to be our babies’ primary caregiver and the neat things we experience instead of missing. And alternated with that commiserations on the monotony of those days. I loved her summary:

“Every day is so different, and every day is exactly the same.” Continue reading »

“Processing”

Posted on May 12, 2006 by Amy Jane

The main problem I see with “therapeutic” writing is how necessary (or, at least, strongly encouraged) it seems to be to focus on the negative you’re trying to deal with/process.

The implication is that you must define and identify it, I suppose.

But for me to do this I must submit myself to the negative feelings that pull at me (both now and during “real-life”), and that seems dangerous. Who surrenders to the mini-whirlpools that pull at their ankles when swimming in unfamiliar waters? Isn’t that just foolishness?

I am experiencing emotions I want to process, I do want to understand myself and be understood, but the cost of (potentially) becoming mired in them still seems greater than the cost of pushing, however muck-footed, through them.

A lot of wordless prayers these days.

Details

Posted on April 29, 2006 by Amy Jane

Now, I know I have a mind for details. Once I input them I usually remember them (I’d like a word stronger than “usually,” but no one can say “always”). So it’s funny/weird to me when I get asked questions I know they know the answer to. Or, at least, I remember previously giving them the information.Last Sunday I saw a woman I haven’t seen since Christmas Eve. She gave me one of those OHMYGOODNESS-looks, and asks, “Did I know you were pregnant?” I assured her, yes, I was showing at Christmas and we’d talked about it.

But maybe it’s not just her with this remembering I’m pregnant thing. Another friend I saw only a couple times a month would exclaim (every time she saw me), “Oh! I forgot you were pregnant!” Now, she had a lot on her plate, and I don’t mean this as any slur on her, but I don’t think I’ve ever forgotten a friend was pregnant (their due dates may come in-and-out of focus, but I don’t forget a baby is coming…) This happened most recently in mid-March, after which she said I was big enough now she felt she would remember.

I was never sure if I was “allowed” to laugh at her… befuddlement? Her tone when she said the words (this happened at least 4 or 5 times) was very-near comical. I suppose she was embarrassed. And I suppose this post could just make it worse…

But I’ll move on to the other pg-related thing that people seem to forget (Other than exact due-date, which is okay to forget, b/c it’s like trying to remember everyone’s birthday– you only do that if you have a thorough calendar. Mine was last Monday, BTW)

This “other” is whether we’re expecting a boy or a girl.

This pregnancy has been unique in that we feel fairly certain it’s a boy. We didn’t know the first two times until the birth. The conversational question everybody asks is, “What are you having?” I like to answer, “A baby.” Then they’ll say, “Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?” “Well, those are the only options I’m aware of.”

This time I usually say some variation of, “The ultrasound said it’s a boy.” What’s funny to me are the people who ask (or congratulate us) more than once, w/o seeming to remember that we told them months ago (3 or 4 to date). And these are people who asked and were interested in the answer before.

Amazing.

Never having been in any head but my own, I shouldn’t assume everyone else thinks like me, but it is only natural, since I’ve only been in my own head, to assume what comes thoughtlessly to me shouldn’t be too much more strenuous for the rest of the world… But perhaps I’m beginning to learn otherwise…

Storytelling for SpEd kids

Posted on April 25, 2006 by Amy Jane

I had a full day of employment today, and didn’t even really get to use it all.

Fairbanks Arts Assn. hired me to tell stories to the (primarily) Special Ed. students who were coming to their annual “Very Special Arts Day,” and I agreed, knowing I would have to do a lot of thinking/program-ordering on the fly, since there was no way to gage in advance the… mental abilities (or span of those) within any given group.

I settled on a handful of tried-and-true, back-pocket stories (things that I wouldn’t get flustered in if somebody got loud or something), and a few folktale picture books. Continue reading »

“Truth Statements”

Posted on April 13, 2006 by Amy Jane

One of my LJ (Literary Journalism) teachers pointed out that authors are always declaring and defining reality. The do this whenever they assert something, or build on an assumption they’ve presented as fact. She called these assertions “Truth Statements,” and we took time in class to write and share our own.
Well here are a few of mine. Most of them have to do with babies, because mine is on my mind right now. Continue reading »

Untangling Tales

Sharing Anticipation & Delight

Category Archives: Observations