Leaving on a jet plane

Trying to get the house ready, the work tied up, the kids all packed, the neighbors alerted and keep everyone from killing each other in the midst of it all. It is decidedly not a slow process but it is all in pursuit of a slow month.

Heading for the motherland of New Jersey! WOO-HOO!!! Lakeside for 4 glorious weeks at my mom's house - the house I halfway grew up in. All my 8 siblings will be there at some point and all of their amazing children (except for one beautiful niece who is in France and can't join us because of obligatory tests for the last year of high school. We'll miss you TERAH!!!!)

I love these summer trips and I know we are lucky to have them.
I most likely won't be blogging much while I'm away unless the spirit moves me in a great big way.

Have a great July folks.

Babysitter wanted

I have this grand vision of every mother of babies and small children hooking up with a girl in their n'hood between the ages of 10 and 15. Of course that girl would have to be into little kids. And that mother would have to trust that such an age kid was a capable being - capable of playing and reading books and holding babies and tending toddlers and serving simple lunches and folding baby clothes and washing dishes and all that. And that girl would have to want to be there and have been somewhat trained to do some of those things. (Some may peg me gender biased but while I do think you COULD find a boy or two here or there that would be interested and capable, the majority of boys that age just aren't quite there. We did have two boys in our class and they were decidedly not into the format or the material. Yes, there are exceptions and if you have young toddler sons, it is especially nice if you can find them.)

So the class I mention is one we offered at Slow Family Living - a babysitter's workshop for girls ages 9-14. We've had over 40 girls come through that class and from those classes we compiled a babysitter's handbook. It offers tips for the sitters for ways to connect with the kids and ways to work with the parents. It offers ideas for the parents on how to best communicate to the sitter their needs and wants and the child's likes and dislikes. There is also a page for the sitter to take to the job to make sure all the info is received as it should be.

Since that class I have tried to figure out how to hook up all the girls with all the mothers I know. I've been able to hook up a few but only because I know both parties involved and also because the proximity was a perfect match. And while I've hooked up a couple, I have had DOZENS of people email me to try to find out how to find those girls that came through our class. And each time I'm asked there's a great tinge of desire to try to make it happen.

But honestly, after much pondering, I'm not sure I can do it. One is a time issue. How would I manage to find time to manage the pairing up of all those folks. But bigger than that even is probably the logistics of it all. How would it work? Would someone hold me responsible if something happened? On either side of things: the hirer or the hired, there could be weirdness.

I'm puzzled. And at the same time I long to match up the girls with the families. Because as my daughter has hit the babysitting streets hard - getting as much work as she's willing to take, I know there are others out there who could be in such a position. Earning money for vacation and thrift stores and shave ice and even college!

So what to do? Anyone have any ideas for how this might work? A heavily moderated list serv? A mixer? A google map? And then, how would the signing up portion of things work? Who would moderate and screen? Would there be screening or would it be just word of mouth only? Like you'd have to have a recommendation? I'd love to hear your ideas. It's summertime folks and there are lots of kids looking for action and work and there are lots of moms looking for a break from being on all the time.

Consuming Kids

This weekend I participated in a viewing and panel discussion on the documentary Consuming Kids. It was amazing. And frightening. The documentary is one I think every parent and educator should watch.

The way the modern day marketing machine preys on our kids from birth on is mind boggling. It's not just about commercials anymore - those are actually the least of the worries. It is about trying to get to our kids at every turn for "cradle to grave brand loyalty" via 360 degree total immersion. One of the methods they use is to influence the kids in such a way that they feel worthless unless they own a certain product or brand thereby creating lifetime consumers seeking happiness and worth via consumption. And using psychological warfare which attempts to literally steal children's imaginations and their childhood.

There is an organization called Center for Commercial Free Childhood which is helping people organize screenings via their website. http://www.commercialexploitation.org/ Or you can watch it on Youtube in segments. It is definitely must see t.v. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQYKXGj2JA4

And though I may be considered a bit of an alarmist on this subject, after you see this film you will feel there is no alarm loud enough to ring in the face of this. And there is no gender less impacted than the other.

I do think there are things we can do with our kids to combat this: spending time together, limiting tv, knowing what they are watching/seeing/consuming, keeping logos off their bodies, teaching our kids to be makers, playing it safe as far as ratings, discussing consumption and media impact, etc. And spreading the word.

She is she, she is she, she is she

It's my forever mantra so why do I keep learning the lesson over and over again?

The other day my 11 year old was feeling a little sad about school being over. And she had a plan made that went sour. And she was tired of us. I attempted to cheer her up by helping her make a plan.

Says I, "You should email a bunch of friends and plan a get together at Barton Springs!"

Says she in a sort of a scream, "I don't want to hang out with a bunch of friends. I want to hang out with one friend at at time."

Oh yeah. I'm the one that gets cheered up by hanging with a bunch of friends. She, on the other hand, likes them one at a time.

Why slow?

There's been lots of talk lately about Slow Parenting and Slow Family. But I feel like part of the message of why go slow is being lost. The basic premise of the whole slow movement is connection to what you're doing and to whom you're doing it with. In the current message being spread about Slow Parenting, the message seems to be more about disconnect. I won't let it go. And you can read about it here.

Here's what summer looks like so far...

Yahtzee, Skip-bo, Uno, swimming, sprinkler park, bulky trash television to dismantle, lots of drawing, a little in-house fighting, whining, sadness, friends, biking, swim team, sewing, napping, croquet, building with blocks, library, game closet organization. Other than the in-house fighting and some whining, I'd say all systems are go.

It's hard for me to give up my role as full-time summer fun facilitator. Really, really hard actually. But we're making it work.

The end is here

In years past, on the last day of school, I have been filled with glee and excitement at the free form summer months ahead. This year is a little different however in a few ways. One, I'm not the summer mama I was as I'm working more and home less and handing over the keys of summer to my husband in a bigger way. And two,as of yesterday, my fifth grade girl is in elementary school no more. A year too soon I think, but alas, nobody asked me and they closed the doors on the 6th grade program.

The ceremony for the 5th graders was sweet and sentimental and so filled with sadness - perhaps more for the parents, than for the kids I think. All the parents watching their kids leaving this wonderful well of safety and protection and youthful naivete and heading out into whatever middle school option they're choosing. And in Austin, many of those options look like huge pools of swirling hormones and adolescence angst, that seems like a lot to hold for an 11 or 12 year old child.

We are opting for a different set-up next year for our now 6th grader which makes me pretty excited and her too. She's jumping into the deep end a little slower this way. But one more year in the kiddie pool wouldn't hurt my feelings one bit.