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Why So Angry?
 While bumbling around this week, I encountered a piece of highly planned, thoughtfully executed graffiti. Usually I'm attracted to graffiti that is attractive or amusing or in a location that makes one stare, wondering "how did they manage to do that"?
But this was interesting for being sort of sourpuss instead of lively or oddball. I can't imagine what sort of kid-based unpleasantness spurred the author to paste this on this (and presumably many other) lampposts, because this clearly took some work and rigor. I wonder what sort of territory these stickers cover. (Are they intentionally placed around schools and parks? Are they scattered randomly? Does the author think they could be useful teen pregnancy deterrents? Who is the intended audience?) I also don't really understand this sentiment because one of the things I really appreciate about being a parent is that I am not my kid's babysitter. It can be overwhelming, but there's nothing like having the final word.
Of course this week was complicated and I think I probably could have used some extra hours to accommodate the weight of things. School is out for summer and this was met with... sorrow. Felix took the change very hard after not having mentioned any concerns until the night before the last day of school. Suddenly there was sobbing, keening, wailing of a sort I had never encountered before. And then Sebastian had this aforementioned bizarro cold that created inconvenient mood blowouts. It is interesting how the children manage to seek out each others' emotional level so that they almost invariably achieve equal levels of happiness or angst, crying or laughing. It doesn't matter how they get there, if there's something impossible going on with one, I will bet you dollars to donuts the other one will somehow wind up being just as clingy or bossy as the other.
Anyway, the weekend is here and it is so nice not to be a babysitter. It will be even nicer if everyone's even keels return.
posted by Elise at 9:15 AM
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said...
Is having the final word the real difference between being a parent and a baby sitter? As a mother of two adult boys, I don't recall the times when there ever was a final word. Maybe that's because I was a single mother most of the time without much fatherly back up (and fathers do seem to command more finality), but maybe it's also because I'm one of those ever disparaged mothers who never felt at ease cutting off the never-ending conversation. I do think that children benefit from well defined, black and white boundaries, and I admire you and your husband for seeming to provide more of them to your sons than I did mine, but don't despair about the gray areas. That's where they really need a parent.
6/07/2009 2:47 AM
said...
I dunno, I'm a (happy) mother but I can appreciate a little thought-provoking criticism of the institution. Like a Breeders song I love that says "saw it on a wall, motherhood means mental freeze".
6/09/2009 1:54 PM
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