Taking Time To Breathe

It’s been almost 2 weeks since Halloween and I can finally breathe. The final tally:
Junior had 1 parade and 3 parties to attend. Diva had 1 parade and 4 parties to attend. Oh, and they both trick-or-treated, of course. He had only one costume, a paper one at that, which survived the intermittent rain on Halloween. She had 4 costume changes, the most important being the one I made for her. Candy has been sorted, consumed, given to Dad to bring to work, and put aside for the school collection involving sending some overseas to the soldiers.

Ahhh….

Then my husband went to the hospital for elective brain surgery. And, despite his convictions that the removed growth and operation would either A) kill him, or B) render him with fewer brain cells than he had before, all seems to be well. Except for a few staples in his head (the kids & I think they look cool, he, understandably, disagrees) and some barbaric memories of the procedure, he’s fine.

Ahhh….

Now we’re gearing up for Thanksgiving at our house. Then Chanukah. Then Christmas. Then New Year’s.

I’m not complaining, just breathing.

Many years ago I volunteered for a hospice. I participated in 6 weeks of intense training regarding religious beliefs about death, rituals, and the physical symptoms of a patient’s impending end of life. And, boy, did I get perspective.

People in nursing homes, people whose lives have been shattered by tragedy – would give ANYTHING for the normal, albeit hectic, life I’m living.

So much to be grateful for. Now, mom, breathe…..

Curvy or Skeletal? How About Healthy?!

My sincerest apology to anyone who reads this. My local newspaper asked for my blog to appear on their site (gratis, of course), so I've been writing there. I will endeavor to update both sites at the same time. Here is my latest tirade.


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Curvy or Skeletal? How About Healthy!

In the 10/15 issue of The Newark Star-Ledger, the column Vicki's Dish posted a quote from fashion designer, Karl Lagerfeld. Mr. Lagerfeld was "responding to a German magazine's decision to ban ultra-skinny models from its pages, to the German magazine Focus." The quote reads:

"No one wants to see curvy women. You've got fat mothers with their bags of chips sitting in front of the television and saying that thin models are ugly."

Really.

Considering that the average American women is a size 14, obviously SOME PEOPLE want to see curvy women. Curves make women more interesting and desirable, perhaps because men don’t have them. When you think of curves, think Mae West. Think Venus DeMilo. Think Marilyn Monroe. Women were meant to be curvy...and healthy. Not the emaciated stick figures that appear in most magazines. In fact, I think most women would like to see models with a bit more meat on them to accurately reflect what clothes would look like on real women.

And as for "fat mothers with their bags of chips," most stay-at-home moms that I know are far too busy taking care of their children and their house to be sitting around munching chips. That just feeds into the stereotype that all we do is sit around all day eating bon bons. I would challenge Mr. Lagerfeld to take care of my 4-year old and house and find time to squeeze in a bag of Lays. Ain't gonna happen pal.

And yes, many thin models are unhealthily thin. Setting them up as an unhealthy image as “the ideal” results in the many first graders I know who want to go on diets. We set our daughters up for failure and then want to know why their self-esteem is so low. Wouldn’t it be better to, as we’ve started doing, encourage them to eat right and exercise in order to be healthy rather than telling them to be thin so they’ll fit society’s (and this fool’s) image of “pretty”?

In conclusion, I would hope that this fashion designer refrains from, in my opinion, spouting further verbal diarrhea and the media from printing it. Stuff like that serves no purpose except as another media myth I'll have the challenge of teaching my kids to disregard.