In which Dawn co-opts ancient beliefs and bastardizes them
Dec 22, 2005 The Story of My Life
Last night when I wrote that the kids really don’t get sick much and then I knocked wood, I should have knocked harder (I was afraid that Peanut would bark and wake the kids). Madison woke up last night with glassy-eyes, rosy cheeks and a fever. Her fever lower today but still I think I’ll have another all work/no play computer day.
The children’s cousin, Violet, arrives tonight but I think this effectively cancels Madison dropping by to meet her. Maybe the boys can still go. But Violet’s mom is expecting again and the last thing they need is 1) a sick pregnant mama or a 2) sick 1-year old on the plane back to Portland. We’ll see. I also need to call Noah’s friend who’s having a solstice party today and the boy we’re supposed to babysit this afternoon and see whether they want to risk seeing our family. I was just going to drop Noah off at the party but if he’s harboring illness, I don’t want to bring that on to anyone especially right before the holidays.
No more throwing up around here, however, so Brett is pretty sure he just got a rogue homebaked good at work. Seems likely. And he was able to finish painting the wall last night so I am much calmer today.
I’ve been running around tweaking our feng shui. Generally speaking, I’m a feng shui skeptic so I’m not really sure why I’m measuring off our rooms and adding red in careful doses. But I figure maybe the intention might go somewhere plus it amuses me when someone says, “I like the pictures you put there,” and I say, “Please note the matte color; it’s good chi for this part of the bagua.”
I have a potential childcare prospect coming by next Wednesday and I’m hoping Madison takes to her. I think I may leave Noah the first time or two to get Madison used to it but I want to take him with me when I go work. I can go to the library or the rec center and he’ll have a couple of hours to do his thing, too, which would be good for both of us. I’m thinking two 2-hour blocks a week if I can swing it around the babysitter’s schedule and Madison’s naps. That would go a long way. I’d still have Hebrew and religious school for work, too. Then when we go to Florida with the inlaws in a couple of months, I’ll use that time to write the proposal. That sounds do-able (crossing fingers since knocking wood doesn’t seem to help — must work on that career corner more).
So more on feng shui, because I’m thinking about it. The kind of feng shui I’m using is unofficially known as “Americanized rip-off of centuries old Chinese belief system.” Roughly, the helpful people & travel and children & creativity areas are in our living room. We had to cut back on the heat caused by our fireplace being in the children & creativity corner so I put some rounded, blue glass on the mantel including a vase filled with water. There is already a circular mirror (very 50s) so that gave us a head start. Then the kitchen is the romance, which is fine what with the ovens and stove top in there (hubba hubba — heat is good). I glued my mini-moominmama and moominpapa figurines up in there, too (things in pairs). Our fame & reputation area is, sadly, in our bathroom, which explains a lot. Too much water going on plus the noxious drains. (The toile-ish wallpaper, which is original and which we love, also has water imagery.) I fought back by putting some suns (pointy and hot) in there — a nightlight and old Christmas ornament. And I hung pics of the kids wearing red and orange. Take that! Already I can feel people talking nicer about me.
Madison’s room is the career area, thus the green walls (good) instead of orange (bad). I hung a couple of mobiles and look — an agent wrote me. Coincidence? Probably but let’s pretend not. Noah’s room is the knowledge corner, which makes him very happy. We’ve got the globe in there, the old not-internet-connected iMac and his books. (Have I mentioned he’s reading a chapter book every day or two? See, this stuff works!) Our bedroom is money. We’re painting the walls purple eventually. That ought to get some cash generating energy moving. Meanwhile we’re making do with the careful placement of our tzdeakah box (even if we’re giving it away, we figure some cold hard coinage will help our chi in there).
One end of the hallway and the bathtub room (we have two rooms with toilets and one room with a bathtub and they’re all connected) contain the Family & Relationships. The other end is the all important core of the house, which means health. Clutter is bad here so I blame the hall closet for Brett’s food poisoning and Madison’s fever. Obviously it’s long past time to sort all that out.
Like I said, I don’t really buy into this Americanized, watered-down version of feng shui excpet for the good intentions, which I think count for something. Unlike the author of the book my father-in-law loaned me, I do not believe that a red piece of paper stuck behind a piece of furniture can guarantee a promotion or that hanging a crystal near a window can make a barren person fertile. (Obviously or I would have tried that, too, way back when.) Still, less clutter is a worthy goal and every time I place an object in the “right” place, I think about the goals I have around that particular concern and it orients me. I’m sure that counts for something.
December 23rd, 2005 at 3:00 pm
“rogue homebaked good”
God, can you imagine having been the baker/cook of things that make your whole ofc ill!? Glad he’s feeling better.
And that he cleaned up after himself is amazing!