Housewifedom has always been an overwhelming thing for me. Every day a struggle. Every moment a battling out between motivation and laziness. Deep down, I’ve always wanted to be the Mom-Who-Seems-to-do-it-All. My mum was that way, and even though I saw the many mini-nervous breakdowns that accompanied her fabulousness, I still find myself wanting to emulate her. I want to be the Mom/Housewife that all the others not so secretly envy/hate-just-a-wee-little-bit.
But then the overwhelmedness kicks[...]
Archive for May, 2009
In the increasingly long and drawn out saga of Kim-Trying-to-Figure-Out-how-to-Grow-as-a-Writer, there has been yet another epiphany/ah-ha! moment.
I decided to conduct an experiment. I selected a handful of books from my personal library, books that I tend to read over and over again. I picked up each in turn, read the first chapter, then put them down again. And then I waited. And waited. All the while feeling this gnawing in the pit of my stomach.[...]
Emma was quite alarmed when the doctor told her that the lump on her neck would have to be removed. Her protests are having a strangely conflicting effect on me. That the doctor’s pronouncement is worrying to her breaks my heart. Her arguments as to why the lump should stay however? Those are making me giggle.
Argument Number One: But it makes me beautiful!
Argument Number Two: But Jesus put it there for me to swallow with!
Argument Number Three: Maybe it’s just some extra cookies stuck in my throat!
Giggling aside, I’m feeling much better about it all. I’ve researched the subject like mad, of course. And I have the home phone number of an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist (friend of the family) who told my mum to tell me I could call with any questions. The procedure really does seem quite simple, despite the horrifying array of mental pictures my vivid imagination is dredging up, and I have a feeling of calm now whenever I think about it.
And I can look forward to my four year old’s many logical arguments in favour of keeping her “bump.”
I can cook. No really, I can. Despite years and years of evidence to the contrary, with a good recipe in hand, a wee bit of confidence, and the same amount of luck, I can often pull off something marginally edible. Sometimes, I even manage to skirt the edges of Yummy.
However, culinary disaster often lurks, coiled and waiting to strike. There have been accidentally broiled cookies, ingredient substitutions that just did not work, burned messes, cooked on the outside but doughy on the inside issues (I always blame the oven), and many other “interesting” concoctions that Neil has attempted to eat.
I have a new best friend in the kitchen though, and it’s Comfortably Yum, a cookbook by the reknowned Luisa Perkins. Delightful, warm, and inspiring, Luisa’s words and recipes embody the word Comfort perfectly.
I’ve tried a handful of recipes so far and every one has been a raging success. My children now clamour for her (ahem, I mine MY!) muffins daily.
Those who know Luisa know her to be as lovely and warm as the cookbook she has created. When word first began circulating that she was putting together a cookbook, her friends began salivating at the thought. Luisa has a gift with food, and a keen appreciation for the best. In Comfortably Yum she shares that with her readers in a beautiful way.
Take a peek. Good food is something there can never be too much of in this crazy world of ours.
Even worse, is diagnosing your children that way. I am having quite the crummy-mummy moment this morning.
Emma has had an Adam’s Apple-esque lump on her throat for quite some time now. According to various online articles, such lumps are enlarged vocal chords that the child has yet to grow into. Given Emma’s rather extreme propensity to loud volumes, this seemed a quite fitting diagnosis and Neil and I were both content with it.
It also happened to be[...]
Well, I mean, yes, obviously of course . . . but I mean in a very specific way.
My life has no structure. There. I admitted it. Have fun feeling all superior now. I am the wibbly-wobbly jelly-fish type who makes everyone else look all strong and vertebrae-ish. I’m slowly beginning to realize that the insanity around here is not so temporary.
And I am not okay with that anymore.
I don’t know why now should be the[...]
I didn’t think it would be easy. I have my issues with not thinking things through, but this was something I thought I had pretty well figured. Writing a book was going to be hard work. When I was ten years old and writing simple stories about fairies or mermaids, or little blue men who live under the earth’s crust, I may have thought it would be easy. Everything seemed so achievable back then. You[...]
…I’d still choose you.
Sometimes, I get caught up in whimsy, swept away by the tantalizing lure of the What If? I can see the parting of the ways. The simple choice that would have shifted me just the slightest bit this way or that. We might never have met. I might have chosen this or that fellow. The one who broke my heart might have chosen me if I’d only…
Only…I can’t want it. I[...]
I get a bit of flack sometimes for not being terribly nice to myself. I’ve had friends valiantly champion my right to such niceness, sometimes expressing gentle concern, sometimes teasing or outright chiding me.
What they don’t know is something I’m going to give you a wee peek at today. That is, the stupidity that is Kim. You may scoff. You may think, hey, we all have stupid moments. But alas, mine is not a life[...]
All that jabber about being happy to be sick because it means the pregnancy is progressing? I take it all back. Yesterday was spent curled up on the couch, moaning, and fighting off waves of nausea everytime I so much as lifted my head.
Not. So. Happy.
On the bright side, I kept the TV off all day and my girls played happily with each other all day while I attempted not to die. I also finished[...]
