Mother’s Day: Survival of the Fittest Edition

There’s a feature this a.m. in the Life & Arts section about “bad mother moments” where moms wrote in to confess their failures.  For the most part, these true confessions were all very far behind the front line of battle between “tough love” and “I left my toddler in the house over the weekend with an open box of cereal and the TV on at the Cartoon Channel.  I needed some ‘me’ time.” Overall it was pretty wimpy stuff, although I admire the woman who stuffed her kid’s toy recorder with foam, telling her that it would “filter” the sound.  Some of it didn’t even register as “bad,” just the kind of stuff unimaginative types think qualifies as a major lapse of nurturing: mother of 4 month old FORGETS TO PACK EXTRA CHANGE OF CLOTHES IN DIAPER BAG.  When the kid needs changing, he doesn’t have a replacement pair of pants (diaper leak- oops.) So he has to endure the humiliation of only wearing his shirt, clean diapers, and his mom’s jacket at a dinner with family.  At the Salt Lick, mind you, not the Four Seasons.  I remember never dressing my daughter in anything more than a “onesie” until she was old enough to complain.  And now, three years later, she’s graduating from high school.  Time flies! Continue reading “Mother’s Day: Survival of the Fittest Edition”

Remember When We voted for BO’s Dog?

I know I voted for the Chinese Crested because it was obviously a collectivist. But today I’m asking readers to weigh in on a possible- and I stress possible- acquisition of a third dog.  Here’s the back story: as you know, we lost Tristan the Happy Warrior last summer.  My dearly beloved really thought Tristan was the best and misses him, but has been loathe … Continue reading Remember When We voted for BO’s Dog?

Morning Jolt®

I’m really liking Jim Geraghty’s Morning Jolt.  Subscribe here. In his “Addenda” bit, he notes that John and Elizabeth Edwards are separated.  It’s a shame- I had the perfect Valentine’s Day gift for E to give to J: OK, maybe she could spring for an undetonated pair.  Gives whole new meaning to the phrase, “Blow job.” Does “al-Qaeda’s Secret” have an 800 number?  Lemme ask … Continue reading Morning Jolt®

Trouble, worry, worry, worry, and Other Dog Tales

Stripe the Wonder Dog is just like this.  As a puppy in a household of 14 dogs (they were breeders and competition herders: not a puppy mill,) she was extremely cagey about hiding the chewies.  I even caught her glancing side-to-side furtively before she dug a hole for her rawhide in a nook against the side of the house. And, file this story under “Dogs: … Continue reading Trouble, worry, worry, worry, and Other Dog Tales

Reason at the MLA

Hat tip to Instapundit, who entitles his post “Cats and Dogs Living Together”: Moderates have been spotted at the meetings of the Modern Language Association, which rejected resolutions against Israel and for Ward Churchill in favor of ones expressing support for academic freedom. I especially admire these remarks, from someone who opposed even the more moderate resolutions as showing too much sympathy with the indefensible: … Continue reading Reason at the MLA