Orgasm

Orgasm in a brown package

I very nearly had an orgasm when I got the mail today.  That's right, I ordered a little something just for me.  I ordered it off the Internet.  It arrived wrapped in a plain, brown package.  I waited until I was alone so I could really enjoy opening it up and imagining how wonderful it's going to make my life.  That's right, you guessed it, I got my first ... pair of sand socks!  Did you know that beach volleyball players sometimes wear sand socks?  They are special socks designed to, wait for it ... this is good ... designed to keep sand OFF YOUR FEET!  Jackpot!  I bought the nude color and the split toe, so I can wear flip flops with them. 

I also bought myself a swim skort.  Yeah, you heard me right. A swim skort.  Between my sun hat, my long sleeved zip-up jacket, my new swim skorts, and my water-friendly sand socks, Avery has only a couple more years of obliviousness before she insists that only Dad should take her to the beach.  We bumped into a fellow homeowner at the airport whom we met for drinks once while in Vegas, but don't know all that well.  As we were chit chatting in line, I said something about how I just try to keep covered up from the sun.  She said, "Yes, you wear that long sleeved yellow jacket in the water, right?"  Good to know I make a lasting impression.

I do find it a bit amusing that I have absolutely no issue walking around our community in Mexico looking like what can only be described as the ultimate dork, complete with not one piece of attire matching another and all of it picked only for functionality and none for attractiveness, yet I grew up mortified by the fact that my father walked around in red sweats held up with rainbow suspenders.  It was functional, Dad, I'll give you that.  Hey, at least Avery only has to put up with my "functional" outfits while we're in Mexico! 

Recycler class

I have been wanting to take this master recycler class for several years now.  It's being offered again in January and February.  There's not a guarantee I'll get in even if I apply since they do a lottery and only let 30 people in.  It's a popular class.  My hesitation to apply comes from the fact that you have to commit to attending all classes, both field trips, and to doing 30 hours of volunteer work. What if it's like the woodworking class and I have to stand the whole time?  I've truly gotten spoiled by my SAHM flexibility where I choose exactly what I want to do and rarely have to make solid commitments that can't be juggled.  I'm leaning towards applying and letting fate decide if I am meant to do it.

Heartburn

Heartburn has become a daily occurrence in the past week.  I'm not even sure it's heartburn.  It's like my stomach is on fire.  It happens when I eat healthfully (salmon, peas, brown rice) and it happens when I eat horribly.  It sometimes doesn't hit until a few hours after eating; other times, it's almost immediate.  Of course, the coughing makes it worse.  Much, much worse.  I will go back to the doctor the moment my antibiotic prescription is finished if this doesn't clear up.  It was so bad tonight that I threw up.  Threw up, people!

My cough is somewhat better, but in a way worse.  It's much less of a constant throat clearing type cough.  Now I can hear and feel it in my lungs and my breathing until I get it cleared out.  Like a sort of wheezing, but only once in a while when it catches.

The good part of all this is that I think all this sickness has made me realize that I need to not take my health for granted.  Hopefully I'll start to make changes towards healthier eating and a more active lifestyle.  No drastic changes since those rarely stick, but making better choices bit by bit.  That's the goal. 

Mixed Feelings

Surely any of my FB friends will have seen someone post a link to this blog post about this 5-year-old boy who dressed up as Daphne for Halloween.  It's spreading like wildfire.  It seems the type of post that I would normally cheer.  But for some reason I can't quite get there.  D even commented on the post (there are currently 38,000+ comments since this post has gone viral) defending the mother.  He basically said that what the mother did was show her son that she's got his back, no matter what.  Granted, D said it much more thoughtfully.  I would link to D's comment, but I'd have to sort through over 600 pages of comments to find it and I'm not up for that.

Anyway, I've been trying to put my finger on the reason I'm not jumping on the bandwagon.  I think it's that the post doesn't feel genuine to me.  To be clear, I have no problem whatsoever with letting a boy dress as a girl.  I have no problem with a parent letting a boy do this.  I have no problem if this kid is gay.  Basically, insert all typical liberal positions here and that's me.  However, ...

Problem #1 - Sensational, misleading headline
She posted a picture of her son, labeled him gay, stuck it out there for all to see.  Yet the post had absolutely nothing to do with him being gay.  It's just about him wanting to wear a Daphne costume, then not wanting to wear it, then about how the other mothers had a problem with the author. 

Problem #2 - Implausible lack of insight
She didn't think that anyone would make fun of a 5-year-old boy dressed as a girl?  Seriously?  Kids start talking about boy colors and girl colors at 2 and 3.  I find it very hard to believe that any woman raised in this country under average circumstances (i.e. not in some commune or something like that) wouldn't know that her son would probably get some guff for showing up at school wearing that costume.  It doesn't make it right that he'd get guff, but come on, you've got to know it's probably going to happen.

Problem #3 - Identifying his school as Christian
Far be it from me to defend religion, but, well damn it, here it goes.  The outcome of this would have been no different, in my opinion, had this been a non-religious school.  If she is trying to make a point of the lack of tolerance at a Christian school, then why is her son going there?  And I also can't buy that she might have thought that because it is a Christian school, all kids and parents would be so very accepting of a boy wearing a Daphne costume.  Christians, from my observations, know there are tolerant Christians and there are intolerant Christians.

Problem #4 - She convinced him to do it
So on this point, I'm a little wishy washy.  I could probably be persuaded to be OK with this, but then I'd flop back.  In fact, I was momentarily swayed this afternoon when D wrote his comment on the matter.  However, ultimately, it seems the kid decided he didn't want to be Daphne because he was afraid kids would make fun of him.  On the one hand, talking him through it and then supporting him is great.  He does, in that instance, get to see that his mother has his back no matter what.  However, she didn't talk him through it.  According to her, she blew off his concern, his instinct, and said people would like it because it was "cute and clever."  Um, did she never interact with other kids when she was that age?  Kids make fun of kids for any little thing that makes them different.  And I don't think the majority of kids that age recognize clever as a quality in a Halloween costume. 

All of this doesn't mean her son should change who he is just because others might laugh, but blowing off his concerns as if they're not plausible doesn't seem the ideal move to me.

Problem #5 - This post is really about her, not her son
It's not a problem that she did a post that is about her (yes, I do know my blog is all about me, me, me), but rather that she used her son to sensationalize the situation and her rant.  It feels like she is using this child and his costume choice to get on her soapbox. 

Of course, I doubt she knew this post would go viral.  Once that happened, she obviously had the choice to either leave it up and stand her ground, or back down.  It's a good lesson to show her children she will stand her ground ... but it's still her kid she posted online, with a giant label that may or may not be true, and that label shouldn't be a bad thing, but damn, it's kind of setting him up for all kids of shit for years to come.  And, of course, she probably didn't think people were going to analyze her post line by line.  Perhaps this is ultimately a lesson in sharing too much online.  Or maybe the power of sharing online?  I don't know.  Like I said, I've got mixed feelings on this one.