By now, you know that my nanny is quite religious and that on one occasion her beliefs have conflicted with a proposed activity for my son. By now you know that I’m on nanny #3 and that our relationship has had its tenuous moments. And by now, because I have not mentioned it in quite awhile, you must know (or at least think) that things are actually working out (this is usually when the phrase “jinx” could be used) and that things are relatively calm on the child care front.
Because, by now, my nanny and I are at the point in our relationship where we’re finally letting down our guard, pushing some comfort zones and letting our personalities and interests enter conversations where to-do lists and questions commonly prevailed. Thing is, with nanny/ mommy relationships it’s always something. Just when you’re on the precipice of thinking everything is perfect, something happens to throw off your mojo just a bit.
Like when I opened up the CD player in my basement yesterday and saw this:
Loosely translated: What the F is my son listening to?
Yes, my son is enrolled in a Jewish pre-pre school program. Yes, I celebrate the Jewish holidays to the best of my abilities. But this doesn’t mean that I necessarily promote religion outside of this context. Or promote anything that has the word gospel in it. Ok, I’m not gonna lie and say that the music wasn’t catchy or that I didn’t smile when “Hava Nagila” came on. Or that it’s not touching that someone took the time to burn a CD (hope it’s not pirated) for my music-loving son.
But I can’t say I get that “tingly all good feeling” when I think of my son sitting in our basement all afternoon playing while a Spanish version of “Canto de Moises” drones on in the background.
Oy gevalt, the guilt.
The Sunday night after Thanksgiving is by far my most unfavorite night of the year. My favorite holiday is over, I feel fat and I have to fake being motivated for the next three weeks until I get more time off from work. Some might argue that January 1 is the biggest letdown day of the year. That on January 1, you finally realize the holidays are over, you don’t get another freebie day off work until President’s Day (maybe MLK day, but maybe not) and if you live north of Florida, the weather pretty much sucks.
But as far as I see it, tonight, the Sunday night post-gorge fest epiphany I’m having that I have to look sharp, make small talk about turkey and answer my phone tomorrow feels worse than any New Year’s hangover.
You?
I have nothing very thought provoking nor insightful to say other than if I hear my mother cry out in disbelief “did you know that a typical Thanksgiving meal has over 5,000 calories?” once more I may lose it. There’s nothing quite like Jewish mother guilt on top of Thanksgiving guilt.
If only I had the foresight to take a photo of the “porno” turkey before we put it in the oven. Don’t ask. Happy Thanksgiving.
Me: “Guess what, I just joined Facebook”
Younger, hipper cousin: “Hwwwahhhh ha ha ha. That’s hilarious. YOU on Facebook!”
I then proceeded to toss to the back of the closet the clothes I just purchased at Forever 21 and turned off The Bachelor. That guy was a total jerk, anyway.
Dad: “What are you doing?”
Me: “Just joined Facebook, because I don’t want to be the last person standing without a Facebook account.”
Dad: “What’s JoinedFacebook?”
After suffering through a painful trip to Abercrombie today to buy Hannukah presents for my tween-age nieces, I was feeling pretty old, but now I’m starting to feel young again. Thanks, Dad.
Sometimes I think I shouldn’t be a blogger. I never remember to link to anyone and when people send me things to review it takes me an ungodly amount of time to write about it. But a nice reprieve at my parents’ house this week is allowing me to catch up on a few outstanding links, reviews and miscellaneous bloggy-ness that I’ve long been forgetting. Thank goodness I’m not that popular.
- First up, a new product review of two alternatives to Post-It notes. If you are one of the first 10 people to comment on the necessity of better list-making skills, I’ll send you a cute little notebook. So scat!
- When you come back, be sure to read my take on the upcoming holidays. It’s only the week before Thanksgiving and I’m already sick of Christmas music. Yep, I think I’m missing that special “holiday spirit” gene.
- I don’t get that politically active, but when it comes to the health and safety of our children I’ll spread the word. The Consumers Union is holding a major awareness campaign to help educate retailers and shoppers about safe toy options. Check out their site or MySpace page for more information.
Ahh, that feels better.
