Madonna April 29, 2008

Thank goodness for the Ray D’Arcy show on Today FM and Beat to keep me awake on the school run. Today it was Dis Madonna Day, lots of texts came in about her. Mostly related to Madonna aging un-gracefully, though a couple defended her chameleon-like career. (After a while, though, pointed out Ray, it all becomes so new-all-the-time that it’s a bit bland).

My favorite: “Stop dissing Madonna. Leave the poor chap alone.”

Here’s a question: if Madonna is so unpopular, how come she sells so many albums? Even at the fit old age of 50 she’s still gyrating… I mean generating… more revenue than I ever will in a year.

Anyhow, I wouldn’t mind having Madonna’s butt, but only if I didn’t have to do the work. I’m now working up to the Flora Mini-Marathon in Dublin on 2nd June and despite my (admittedly meagre, so far) efforts to run – in addition to doing yoga, a bit of gardening and other minor physical activities – there’s not a lot of change happening to the ol’ glutes. It’s a BIG muscle group and not an easy one to keep UP. So I suppose, since Madonna’s been keeping her butt up for about 30 years (since she gave up chips and beer), you could say she’s a symbol of “global sustainability.” In the most unintended way. That’s nearly funny…

Nutrition of the soul April 28, 2008

As a parent I am keenly aware of nutrition for our children, especially as we’re vegetarian. Then there’s the feeding of the mind, which can’t just be left to schools (and my home-schooling friends would say it shouldn’t be put in the hands of the schools at all, for best results!). We try to teach bits at home, from table manners (social) to piano scales (cultural) to how to mow the lawn or plant carrots (natural), as you do.

Feeding the soul is tricky. It requires my time. I haven’t got much time. But here are a couple of rules of thumb to make best use of little time.

Listen. If you don’t, it could take a lot of your time. If the child – say, bouncy 8 year old – starts babbling on about some incident at school, with far too many details that are not relevant to the point, listen by repeating back the main points as s/he goes along. They’ll keep focussed on the story and you’ll get to the point before the parsnips burn to the bottom of the pan.

Ask. If the 4-year-old can’t get a word in edge-wise, he’ll start talking A LOT LOUDER to be heard. If you ask him, “what do you think?” or “what did you do at school today?”, everybody is aware that he’s about to speak, and he’ll probably start babbling on too once he’s got the floor, but you can conclude the conversation with a quick summary (“that sounds like a great outdoor time, playing 3 games!” ) or even “that’s great”.

Ask the teen, or you’ll never find out (opposite of 4-year-old who’ll shout it out). Ask about how friends are doing – a great way to get into what’s actually happening at school (the friend will have said/done/been done to even if your teen hasn’t).

Play. Today I spent 10 minutes watching a gymnastics video and getting 2 of my 3 gymnast children to try a couple of artistic moves. Usually they moan about “extra” work of any kind, yet they seemed quite interested and enthusiastic about it this time. On Saturday I spent about 8 minutes demonstrating my wondrous (actually quite limited, but to the kids, wondrous) basketball ball handling skills. I’m too lazy to keep going for very long (and as mentioned I don’t have much time) but just this short period got them going for about 45 minutes – and from there they went onto the lawn to play badminton. Usually they fight on Saturday. It’s like a Saturday routine: Get up extra early because we don’t have to, watch TV before parents make us turn it off, fight.

Listen, ask, ask, play. All for short but focussed periods of time. Eventually, they’ll all get along, grow up, earn a living, be happy, and take care of their wondrous parents. Well, one can dream, can’t one?

The tao of scrubbing pots April 24, 2008

Watching children is a treat. Better than TV. And I like my TV: Desperate Housewives (I’m one too but in an entirely different way), Ugly Betty, and of course I was a huge Sex and the City fan, having recently moved to the countryside and loving the whole city/fashion thing, and totally relating to “Sammy Jo” refusing to ever, ever, even consider liking living outside the bright lights and big city, when SJP was trying to like the cabin her boyfriend had. Guess the joke’s on me there! (No but seriously, I have been taken by the countryside, nature is gorgeous and has the best sounds…)

I’m digressing. Here’s the story. I’m immersed in washing up pots and very sticky pans – immersed to the elbows in sudsy water and immersed mentally in that little chatty voice in my head that likes to complain about everything. I’m vaguely aware of my two boys outside the window, playing. It’s funny the way they get so intense about something then drop it like a stone and get totally immersed in something else. A short while ago they were playing hurling (field hockey for any North Americans out there). One of them got hit on the hand. I suggested being more careful. They abandoned hurling. I returned to the sink. When I glanced up, I saw this:

Messy back yard, children’s table that we’d scavenged from a closing-down primary school last year, 2 mini-chairs also scavenged and painted bright red. On the table: a large tupperware and 5 small plastic jars, all filled with a mucky liquid the color of sludge. Ingredients: water, poster paints, ash (we use a wood burning stove), bits of petals, and misc. bits I’d probably rather not know about. 8-year old R vigorously stirring the open tupperware. 4-year-old J tossing a smaller plastic jar into the air and sometimes catching it. The conversation was rapid, the faces highly expressive, the hair tousled, the jeans filthy with grass stains, the faces bright pink, the eyes sparkling.

Interpretation: Magic potions in the making. This was Day 2, so they had been adding ingredients since yesterday’s after-school project began. The tossing was to mix it further (yeah, sure, J, any excuse to throw things). The discussion was about what to put in the potions, why it was necessary to toss the jars up, the required vigor of the stirring (which splashed up onto a towel hanging on the nearby clothesline…).

Magic indeed. I looked down and the pan was clean.

And the little head voice was quiet; it can’t speak while I’m smiling.

Tata or “Tah-tah”? April 23, 2008

It’s disturbing. 1 million cars a year Tata hopes to sell, in India, to the vast populace whose reputations within their communities will be enhanced by having 4 wheels instead of 2, opening up opportunities to, for example, attract a good wife. Price (of car): $1,000.

I peered at the image and mused aloud, “is it powered by batteries? Solar?” My husband laughed. “It’s a tuk-tuk with an extra wheel. It’s cheap. You don’t get solar power for $1,000.”

I can understand it. We all have communities that we look to for approval – your yoga community, or school friends, or fellow church-goers, or hip clubbers. We make ourselves look good for them, by buying the eco-mat and eating whole grain / txtng r frnds / praying ardently / putting lots of hair product & trendy jeans on. So the average Indian fellow looking to improve his lot in life is going to leap at the chance to make himself (and by extension Mr. Tata) better off. Or seemingly.

A million new cars a year in India – what’ll it smell like? How will a million new horns a year sound? What’ll it look like? 3.29 million square km of urban jungle? Will the cars last? Where’ll they go when they break down and are discarded because this year’s model is just as cheap and comes with, say, a built-in tissue-box space?

So is it good for Tata and “tah-tah” for the planet?
The article I read was in the ecologist: www.theecologist.org

For a lot more of this kind of environmental stuff check out www.astraea.net/blog.

things could be worse… April 22, 2008

There’s nothing like a reminder of what other people’s lives are like to bring you up short on your own little complaints. After blogging this morning on my poor auld vacuum cleaner situation, my long-time friend H sent me a link to Sarah MacLachlan’s “World on Fire” video. Sarah’s got her perspective sorted out. Have a look. Thanks, H!

The link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SkdyRcK9KM

the tao of vacuum cleaners April 22, 2008

It all started with the vacuum cleaner. It wouldn’t suck – which sucked. I checked: the filter. OK. The bag for holes. None. The hose for blockages. Clear. The foot for blockages. Clear. Started the thing again. No vacuum suction. What the…? I cursed the vacuum cleaner (or hoover). But it ignored me. I threatened to have it replaced, but it was complacent. I shut it off and put it away, and it didn’t even sulk. I decided all sorts of things, then: that I am old and useless (when in fact it is the hoover that is old and often useless). That I am fat (I’m 5′6″ and 128 lbs). That I am nearly blind, too hairy, have a terrifyingly unfashionable wardrobe… am a scourge to life on Earth, really.

Then I reflected on my jammed shoulder and neck. I’ve had a crick in my neck for over a month. I decided to see what my Louise Hay book had to say about that. The book popped open to page 140. “STIFFNESS in the body represents stiffness in the mind. Fear makes us cling to old ways, and we find it difficult to be flexible.” So I looked up “neck” on the table of problems + affirmations. Apparently I’m stubborn and inflexible. But that’s a bit vague. Hmmm, I thought, how about my shoulder? Shoulders “represent our ability to carry out experiences in life joyously. We make life a burden by our attitude.” BINGO! I make life a burden by my attitude. Everything’s a problem for me. What should I do?

Well, neck rolls and shoulder drops, for a start. And myrrh and eucalyptus baths – many, long, hot. And a good night’s sleep and some vitamin C. Deepak Chopra suggests that we can cure ourselves of cancer if we reflect on what we need to change within ourselves. I wonder if I can cure myself of my lousy attitude.

I’ll keep you posted!

Hello world! April 22, 2008

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