I realize I have promised three weighty topics to you, including but not limited to free speech on blogs, more on healthcare, and kids and blogs. However, I have a full agenda of To Dos today and oh, yeah, I'm still sick.
So I decided to take it easy today and figured you'd have no objections.
I thought it was time for a true and real portrait of my life.
This is me on the average day in my momiform and mode of transportation to and from school:
I call it the suburban rickshaw.
I believe people in the neighborhood set their watches by me. I also believe they count on the little chuckle they get when they see me. Here's how it goes: chuckle, glance at watch, chuckle again.
I don't actually just suspect it: they'll tell me.
"I see you every morning just pedaling away trying to beat the tardy bell," says a friend with a smile, "You're like the perfect suburban mom with that bike and trailer and your little momiform on. Gives me a chuckle every day."
So there you go. And photographic evidence of how we appear to our neighbors on a daily basis.
All right...you caught me. I don't usually have a decorated trailer, a police escort, or that hat much less beads. That's us preparing for the Mardi Gras parade. Here's what's true in that photo:
* Persistence does usually wear a tiara on a daily basis. And a princess dress. Luckily we have expanded the definition of princes dress and it now includes any dress that has a somewhat full skirt, a ruffle somewhere and/or pink, and must fall below the knee. Girlfriend has more rules for dressing appropriately than Judith Martin.
* I do almost always wear a hat (most often the battered old ball cap from a company a long time ago, mostly because I fling it on the shoe shelf and so there it is when I am ready to go)
* The outfit is sad but true: I am often dressed in workout capris and an old t-shirt.
Here's a secret: If you are inherently sloppy, lazy or a slacker and tend to not get gussied up on a daily basis, wearing workout clothes is a great excuse. You can look like a slob and people will not mind. "Heading to the gym?" they'll ask. "Trying to!" you can say cheerfully and somewhat truthfully, because seriously, aren't we all always trying to head to the gym?
Note: Yes, I often wear hats. I have a large collection. Hats make me happy.
This also makes me happy---and actual photo of me with my daughter! HA! I'm usually the photographer and so there aren't that many photos of me with the kids. Tons of my husband and the kids, because I'm goopy sentimental and love the dad and girls shots. My husband swears it is no reflection of his affection but he feels no similar call to the camera.
I wonder if this is another one of those mom v. dad deals. You know what I mean. If a mom hugs a child and all the world sees it, does anyone notice? If a dad hugs a child and all the world sees, will we be overwhelmed by the noise of the ooohs and aaaahs? That's right. You know what I mean.
My solution is to enforce goopy sentimentality in my husband.
"Hey hon, look over here! Isn't this an ADORABLE PHOTO?" I'll call out.
He'll glance over, "Sure, very cute!" He'll probably even smile, and will likely even enjoy it.
This is when I remember countless tidbits of advice my husband and many other wives I know have offered: you can't subtly hint.
"So get the camera, you know, and take a PHOTO!" I'll call out.
"Oh! Right! The camera, a photo," says my husband, who is actually an extremely intelligent person, if not necessarily clued in to the small details.
After having employed the photographer, I now have to convince my child(ren) to stay right there for the photo. This is actually the larger challenge. As my sister says, my kids are the sort who believe the camera steals your soul. As such, they are very averse to being photographed. It generally requires bribery and threats.
The end.
Copyright 2008 Julie Pippert
Also blogging at:
Julie Pippert REVIEWS: Get a real opinion about BOOKS, MUSIC and MORE
Julie Pippert RECOMMENDS: A real opinion about HELPFUL and TIME-SAVING products
Moms Speak Up: Talking about the environment, dangerous imports, health care, food safety, media and marketing, education, politics and many other hot topics of concern.
So I decided to take it easy today and figured you'd have no objections.
I thought it was time for a true and real portrait of my life.
This is me on the average day in my momiform and mode of transportation to and from school:
I call it the suburban rickshaw.
I believe people in the neighborhood set their watches by me. I also believe they count on the little chuckle they get when they see me. Here's how it goes: chuckle, glance at watch, chuckle again.
I don't actually just suspect it: they'll tell me.
"I see you every morning just pedaling away trying to beat the tardy bell," says a friend with a smile, "You're like the perfect suburban mom with that bike and trailer and your little momiform on. Gives me a chuckle every day."
So there you go. And photographic evidence of how we appear to our neighbors on a daily basis.
All right...you caught me. I don't usually have a decorated trailer, a police escort, or that hat much less beads. That's us preparing for the Mardi Gras parade. Here's what's true in that photo:
* Persistence does usually wear a tiara on a daily basis. And a princess dress. Luckily we have expanded the definition of princes dress and it now includes any dress that has a somewhat full skirt, a ruffle somewhere and/or pink, and must fall below the knee. Girlfriend has more rules for dressing appropriately than Judith Martin.
* I do almost always wear a hat (most often the battered old ball cap from a company a long time ago, mostly because I fling it on the shoe shelf and so there it is when I am ready to go)
* The outfit is sad but true: I am often dressed in workout capris and an old t-shirt.
Here's a secret: If you are inherently sloppy, lazy or a slacker and tend to not get gussied up on a daily basis, wearing workout clothes is a great excuse. You can look like a slob and people will not mind. "Heading to the gym?" they'll ask. "Trying to!" you can say cheerfully and somewhat truthfully, because seriously, aren't we all always trying to head to the gym?
Note: Yes, I often wear hats. I have a large collection. Hats make me happy.
This also makes me happy---and actual photo of me with my daughter! HA! I'm usually the photographer and so there aren't that many photos of me with the kids. Tons of my husband and the kids, because I'm goopy sentimental and love the dad and girls shots. My husband swears it is no reflection of his affection but he feels no similar call to the camera.
I wonder if this is another one of those mom v. dad deals. You know what I mean. If a mom hugs a child and all the world sees it, does anyone notice? If a dad hugs a child and all the world sees, will we be overwhelmed by the noise of the ooohs and aaaahs? That's right. You know what I mean.
My solution is to enforce goopy sentimentality in my husband."Hey hon, look over here! Isn't this an ADORABLE PHOTO?" I'll call out.
He'll glance over, "Sure, very cute!" He'll probably even smile, and will likely even enjoy it.
This is when I remember countless tidbits of advice my husband and many other wives I know have offered: you can't subtly hint.
"So get the camera, you know, and take a PHOTO!" I'll call out.
"Oh! Right! The camera, a photo," says my husband, who is actually an extremely intelligent person, if not necessarily clued in to the small details.
After having employed the photographer, I now have to convince my child(ren) to stay right there for the photo. This is actually the larger challenge. As my sister says, my kids are the sort who believe the camera steals your soul. As such, they are very averse to being photographed. It generally requires bribery and threats.
The end.
Copyright 2008 Julie Pippert
Also blogging at:
Julie Pippert REVIEWS: Get a real opinion about BOOKS, MUSIC and MORE
Julie Pippert RECOMMENDS: A real opinion about HELPFUL and TIME-SAVING products
Moms Speak Up: Talking about the environment, dangerous imports, health care, food safety, media and marketing, education, politics and many other hot topics of concern.
Comments
I am so glad for the digital camera. My husband will take an entire roll of film and get not one useable shot. But at least he's trying.
And I totally agree about the camera. Obviously I am a photo-holic and thankfully my kids all ham for the camera, but I do have to thrust the camera into my husband's hands once in a while. I don't mind not having a lot of pictures of myself (such a hypocrite!).
Here's my question:
Want to move to Northampton, MA with us?
I should invest in some hats. With school, I rarely do more than get my hair washed and it could stand to be hidden! It apparently makes such a difference when I blow dry my hair that I end up spending the day telling people--in response to their kind "You look so nice today" comments--that it is all because I blew dry my hair!
As always, I love when we get pictures of you and the kids!
But enough about me. I will ask an uninteresting, mundane question: how fast do you type? If you don't know that, then how long, on average, does it take you to compose a blog post?
and as for a question. Um... can you convince everyone to NOT blog so I can catch up with the over 400 posts that were sitting in my reader when I returned home? thanks.
Every now and again I'll say I need a new pair of pants and come home with tan khakis and my husband will sigh in resignation.
I think all that freedom to dress any way I liked all my life finally overwhelmed me. ;)
I love the rickshaw. Here it's a really popular mode of transport over short distances, but... umm... owning one personally would not occur to anyone above the povery line, lol.
Seems like the poor Indian's bread-winning vehicle has become the environment-conscious American's family cycle.
ummm....i'll go to slouching mom's questions for me:
1) what do you wear to bed?
2) are you going to BlogHer?
ever.
so a light post is always ok by me! LOL
and i loved the post card--i tried to send you and ecard, but i don't think it worked.
check your real mail soon though! ;-)
you are so gorgeous, sister.
To be on a bike in Feb....I wish....
My hubs is the same way. I must put the camera in his hand, stand him in a certain position, go back to my pose with the kids (who have now run away and must be hunted down), tell T exactly when to take the picture and how to do it. It only takes about 40 minutes to get a "candid."
You look fabulous in hats!
I love that picture. You all look so cute!
Smile big, Get well soon, and don't worry about us until you're feeling better and somewhat caught up from getting sick.
My momiform is polos and jeans most days...but after dinner it become pajama pants and jeans. Josh always jokes about setting a clock by when I change into the jammie bottoms, or if I don't, he'll say something like "Is something wrong? You're still wearing real pants, you know."
And that first picture! Your kids are going to be so happy you guys took that one when they're older. When they're teenagers they'll tease you mercilessly.
My secret: I wear a tiara on a regular basis too. Shhh.
Love the hats. And the photos are great, no matter how many not-so-subtle hints it takes to get them.
I want to know this: you're a high school librarian; which five books of fiction MUST your library have?
And I have that same rickshaw, but in yellow. We love it!
I have the same problem here... I take tons of pictures, so there aren't that many of me with the boys. I practically have to hit my husband over the head with the camera to get him to take some of us sometimes.