this woman’s work

You are browsing the archives from 2008 March.

S/he somehow figured out that the kids were in a hotel and managed to gift them with junk — much of it chosen to keep boredom away while riding on a plane. Smart easter bunny!

Today we’re hooking up with Brett’s side of the family but otherwise laying low because we are TIRED. And we may have woken up at a luxurious 9am our time, but we went to bed at 3am. Of course we’re in Portland where coffee was cool before coffee was cool so it’s all good.

I’m still rocking nervous about my presentation on Saturday. Current worry? What if nobody shows up? I’m counting on audience questions so I know what to say next. Also I left my index cards at home — oops — but they should be easy to replicate.

At our luxury-ish hotel they have terry cloth robes and a super-magnifying mirror in the bathroom. I give the robes an ironic thumbs up (I think robes are silly but fun) but the magnifying mirror doesn’t do much for a person’s self-esteem. Fortunately the world doesn’t look at me through magnifying mirror glasses so I’ll go back to ignorant bliss.

I’m sitting here in the Chicago airport updating on MarsEdit (it’s a blog editing program) but I won’t be able to upload here because their wifi isn’t free. I’m hoping Madison sleeps on the next leg of our trip because that child chattered the whole way here and my brain hurts. She’s pretty wired. We just spent the last half hour riding the motorized walkways back and forth. It made her positively giddy. (I snapped pictures to prove it.)

Madison found the flight exciting and the woman who had the window seat was nice enough to give it up so that Maddie could plaster herself against the window. Most thrilling of all was that I let her order a sprite from the flight attendant and sipping on that kept her busy (I drank most of it because a child with that much energy doesn’t need the sugar influx). She was also impressed with the tray tables and is looking forward to having the laptop sit there so she can watch Thomas on the next part of the flight. And she liked that there are shades on the windows, which she can push up and pull down, which she did, several hundred times. Now she’s singing and she’s pretty loud. I hope people think she’s adorable instead of annoying. Truthfully it’s probably a mixture of both.

(LATER)

We’re here! It was a long, hard plane ride but we survived. Madison slept but no one else did so she’s running around the hotel room making a fuss over everything and we’re all growling at her. Poor Madison — cursed with high energy! Now Noah’s crying so I’m signing off. (sigh) Traveling is mundane hell.

I’m frantically typing to get something in ahead of deadline so that I can relax ’til Tuesday when another deadline rears its ugly head.

We took the kids out for a great big brunch and will have dinner during our two-hour Chicago layover. Flights are so crowded that we’ll be split up on the plane, necessitating that Brett and I both bring our laptops to give each kid something to watch. (Noah: Teen Titans. Madison: Thomas the Tank Engine.) I get the girl and Brett gets the boy because sex segregation is Madison’s earnest (and developmentally appropriate) wish.

She and I both had bad dreams last night. Hers had to do with Lucia having two crowns while she — suffering child that she is — has only one broken tiara. But yesterday evening she and Pennie decided to have a Princess-themed birthday party so I told her she will be crowned soon, no worries. My bad dreams had to do with conference anxiety and I figure the more I dream about it, the less I’ll have to worry in real life. And being tired is no problem since it’ll help me deal with jet lag (getting in late makes me less likely to get up too early tomorrow).

The hotel where we’re staying is hosting an egg hunt and cousins Violet and Felix will be joining us there and then we’re taking them (and their parents) out for a fancy Easter brunch. Yesterday while playing Easter Bunny at Target I realized we didn’t dye eggs this year. Don’t tell the kids because they haven’t noticed. (Being on the road means I’m also going to miss getting the Paas kits for $.10. Rats.)

Because we re-watched America’s Best Dance Crew last night (and can I say? Status Quo won over Kaba Modern? There is no justice in this world!) and they sampled Funkytown, Madison keeps singing, “Taco party, taco party, taco party!” (Click the youtube link and you’ll see why.) It’s making us laugh a lot!

I admit the “God damn America” bit was a rhetorical step too far. But what I believe Pastor Wright was trying to say, as I have heard him say in many sermons over the years, is that blind patriotism is an offense. It is ahistorical. And it is dangerous. America, great though it is, has plenty of blood on its hands. It has, in many cases, wielded its power unskillfully and to the detriment of powerless people all over the world. To ignore that is abhorrent, unhelpful and it weakens us. It is better to call out your country’s wrongs and work to correct them as Pastor Wright does, than to preach “my country right or wrong,” which is the greater danger to the republic. Pastor Wright speaks truth to power, unfiltered, from a leftist point of view.

Some folks balk at that. I embrace it. Trinity is the first church where I saw women in the pulpit and among the leadership, not relegated to the pews and the kitchen. It is the first church where I heard a male pastor correct the idea, often attributed to the Bible, that women are secondary to men. It is the first church where I heard a pastor preach that everyone doesn’t need to marry or have children. It is the first church I have attended where the pastor refused to castigate gays, even if it meant the loss of membership. It is the first church I have attended that encourages its members to use their faith for strength against racism, but also to help all marginalized people.

It is interesting that we are quite comfortable with radical rightwing preachers. Pat Robertson can blame Hurricane Katrina on homosexuals and still be called for interviews by the mainstream news and embraced by presidents. Bob Jones University, a Christian college visited by George Bush, can ban “unGodly”dalliances between black and white students. John McCain can “welcome”support from Rev. John Hagee, who wants a Biblically prophesied invasion of Iran. But a radical leftist minister is just too, too much.

from What Tami Said