Imbolc

Game, Set, Match

My son has figured out how to make his Spiderman Operation game buzz continuously by wedging the little pincher into one of the holes, snugged up to the metal edges. Then he grins at me and covers his ears. "Cover your ears, Mommy!" He usually does this when I'm trying to get some work done.

Lately we've been playing checkers, and he plays within the regular rules for approximately one game, give or take a few moves. After that, it's his rules. I never win, no matter which set of rules we are using.

Another game, one he just made up the other day, is called "Guess What?" It goes like this:

-Guess what?
-What?
-No, guess.
-Um, your feet are ticklish.
-No.
-Yes they are.
-No, that's not it, guess, Mommy!
-It's bedtime.
-No.
-Yes it is, though.
-You have to guess three times.
-It's getting dark.
-No!
-Okay that was three guesses.
-No, you have to guess four times.
- insert guess
-You have to guess five times.
-insert guess
-You have to guess previous number plus one times.
etc, ad infinitum ...

Housecleaning

I've been going through a bit of a low period, and I know there is a relationship between this moodiness and the housework issue. I always wonder if the house has slipped into chaos because of the emotional slide, or whether it's the chaos of the house (a gradual accumulation of mess, through attention going to things OTHER than regular housework) that causes the mood(s). I don't think it's a simple either/or. It's what I would term a dynamic relationship.

I just finished re-reading one of my favourite novels, Elisabeth Harvor's All Times Have Been Modern. It's a favourite because of Harvor's excellent writing. It was simply a bonus for me (in the take-comfort department) that the main character, Kay, is a 'slovenly' housekeeper. I was even a bit smug about the fact that, if my mother visits and opens my kitchen cupboards, she's likely to see pots and pans rather than, "A hairbrush and a mitten. And three library books. All overdue. Plus a teacup with petrified cornflakes dried on the inside of it." Kay overhears Idona reporting this on the phone to Henry, soon to become Idona's husband number three.

This is a roundabout approach to the following news: my house is substantially cleaner! All the public areas, plus my child's bedroom, are neat, organized and shiny. Not only that, but we are actively reminding ourselves (and each other) to PUT THINGS AWAY. What's that Buddhist thing-a-ma-jig: Clean up after yourself. (You know what I mean, there are six 'rules', like Be content. and Accept what is.) I'm particularly proud of the toy organization (and purging) that led to this wonderful state. Baskets from the dollar store played a key part.

It's true that clearing the decks and getting rid of unnecessary clutter frees one up on both physical and mental planes - which is why the next stage of project housework - my home office - will be a particularly satisfying accomplishment...

Kitchen Comfort

I am taking what comfort I can these days, where I can. One of the things I am taking comfort in is Doris Lessing's incredibly messy kitchen table. This picture is from an interview with the Nobel people after she won the prize in 2008.

In the interview, she described feminism in "those days", ie. the early 70s, as "exaggerated hysterical rubbish". This comment related to her description of one particular incident in Sweden in the 1970s when a woman approached her and said "I only read the blue notebook".

I enjoy The Golden Notebook - savour might be a better word - but I connected much more with her Jane Somers novels. Also, I highly recommend Mara and Dann. Really interesting speculative fiction.

In case you are wondering, about my opinion on feminism - I do not think it is hysterical rubbish. In fact, the more I work with young women, the more strongly I feel we have never needed feminism more in this world than we do at this point in time. Feminist consciousness - including the whole spectrum, extreme positions and all - has been a powerful force that continues to provoke people to re-examine assumptions about identities - and not only female identities. For example, I like to see blogs like this one, which examines stereotypes of masculinity and their effects on men's experience and identity.

Whew!

Photo credit! Copyright © Nobel Web AB 2008. (http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/2007/lessing-photo.html)