Olympics

I have been watching the Olympics this year. I never watched much of them before but for some reason they have captured my attention this time. The U.S. men's gymnastic team really drew me in a few days ago. They were so genuinely happy and excited just to be there. If you have followed their story at all you know about the Hamm brothers dropping out and two alternates taking their places. I especially liked watching Sasha Artemev on the pommel horse. He is much more smooth in his routines than almost any of the other gymnasts I saw and he really shined on the pommel horse. I hope he and Jonathan Horton can win a medal on the apparatus competition that is later on.

I have to admit that when I watch gymnastics I pause the television until the routine is over than fast forward to see if the gymnast made many mistakes. Then I rewind to watch the routine. I can't stand to see anyone fall or stumble. The suspense kills me so I get rid of the suspense. I feel badly for the person when they make big mistakes. I get embarrassed in everyday life for people that say embarrassing things, forget lines, fall down, etcetera. If I know the person the feeling gets ten times worse. Anyone else out there like that? I wish I didn't let it affect me as much but I have only tamed the feeling in recent months, not gotten rid of it completely. Ahh well . . . back to watching the Olympics! Or sleeping first. 3 am again . . .

The Bliss of Ignorance

I know that "knowledge is power" and that learning all that I can about the world around me is a good thing, but sometimes it would be so much simpler to remain ignorant to certain things. I have started cloth diapering with my second child and with this brave new (for me) world came a whole new culture as well. I belong to a cloth diapering forum that also has many other forums associated with it, many involving natural living. I try and stay away from some topics on there now because of the worry they give me. Circumcision, immunizations, disposable diapers, household chemicals, non-organic food, and plastics all have now added anxiety causing dimensions added to them in my mind because of my never ending curiosity and that darn forum. If I could have just stayed away. I am still making most of the same decisions about these topics I was before, but now I am more informed and less sure of myself in making my decisions.

Plastics come to the forefront of my thoughts often when I think about things I wish I had learned less about. I am talking particularly about the use of plastic in food storage containers and dinnerware. Part of the problem is that no one has any definitive proof that they are harmful, but there is much speculation. I never thought about chemicals leaching from plastic into my food before. Now I worry that I am destroying my children's brain cells by letting them drink from plastic cups. Instead of having a 200 IQ they might only have a 190 now. Don't worry, I am not too concerned. I don't lie awake at night because of the evil plastics in my house, but I do wish I had the money to buy more glass and other safe containers. And I wish that other types of containers were more convenient and readily available. The problem is I have too much plastic and not enough money to replace it all. And my son love's cartoon characters, and they don't make many glass dishes with cartoon characters.

See, this is a whole lot of thinking I could have spent on something else if I would have just remained ignorant to the whole subject. So much (read maybe an hour's worth) concern that could have been prevented or redirected on a more pressing subject. I love learning, but perhaps there is such a thing as learning to much? Or maybe not. I will not stop learning and reading about things I can't change at the moment, but at least I will know how I will change them if I ever can. I just wish I had learned some things a little later.

Appreciating the Arts

I started typing this last night but apparently the sound of a laptop keyboard wakes my husband up. I say laptop keyboard because a laptop's keys make a much quieter sound when pushed than a standard keyboard, yet somehow they aren't quiet enough for my husband who falls asleep with the television on. Well back to my original topic.

The inspiration for this came from hearing my dad's comments on a contemporary dance routine showcased on So You Think You Can Dance, a reality tv competition show. Now before I go on I feel the need to defend my reality tv watching habit. I for the most part watch skill-based reality tv. That means dance, singing, design, hair styling, and cooking reality competitions. I do not watch shows like Survivor or the Amazing Race except on a rare occasion. I do not watch Real World, Bachelor, or anything similar. I watch the skill-based shows mainly because I appreciate the skill involved. I like to watch or listen to people's talents, or see creative designs. I do not care for drama driven reality shows. These seem like the most mindless shows on television. Why do people enjoy seeing others argue about unimportant things in a manufactured situation? My brother fails to appreciate my discernment. He likes to poke fun at my viewing choices and ignores my explanation of the differences between Project Runway and Road Rules. Ahh well, his loss.

My dad does not like contemporary dance. He also does not appreciate it. To him it is "people making movements because they have to". He does not see the artistry or difficulty in many of the routines I have watched. Negative opinions of contemporary dance abound, at least in my experience. Especially among non-dancer heterosexual males. (This might be stereotypical, and if you are a heterosexual male that likes contemporary dance, please speak up.) Modern dance is even more misunderstood. (Yes, modern and contemporary dance are technically different. Modern includes some really weird (but often interesting) forms of dance using props such as stretchy sacks covering the dancers.) Contemporary is as far as I can learn modern modern dance. It is the most current style of dance.

I appreciate most forms of dance and I do enjoy most forms of contemporary and modern dance I have seen. It helps that I have taken a modern dance class in college that taught some of the history behind these dances. I think to truly pass judgment on the value of an art form one needs to study at least some of the history of that art form. This also applies to modern art. I appreciated certain types of modern art more after learning the background behind specific paintings and taking a humanities course. The increased knowledge did not necessarily increase my love of certain paintings or dances however. Whether or not a person likes a specific form of art or individual piece of art is more emotional and doesn't require, at least in my mind, any background information. I still hate some "art" that hangs in museums, specifically the paintings that involve a solid block of color on a canvas. I don't even appreciate those except to admire the artists ability to make money on something that I could paint myself with no training or skill. This is another topic though.

Another underappreciated form of art is operatic singing. Or more accurately appreciated from a great distance from which the sound is no longer distinguishable to human ears. Some have referred to opera singers as screamers. I love opera and operatic singing (of course). It is not my favorite form of singing but I have heard several opera pieces that are very beautiful.

My parents find my love of this and classical music (my radio is almost always tuned to classical music) unusual I think. They have commented on my bad taste, but since their radios are set to country stations I ignore their opinions. My husband doesn't mind some opera or classical music so I like to think that I gave him culture. A very snobbish idea probably, but I don't understand people that say they don't at least like classical music. You don't have to like it all, I don't. I just like much of it.

Who thinks I am weird now? This might be a boring post, but it was on my mind. Hopefully it gave you all some enjoyment and maybe inspired you to experience some new things. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post on the bliss of ignorance (after telling you all to study a subject before passing judgment it seems a strange choice but just wait and see).

Bad Idea

Staying up until 3 am reading a book (I finished by the way!) and then waking up at 8:00 am to play basketball. I was wondering why I was so out of shape and then realized part of it might be my lack of sleep! I need to work on that. It would not be as bad if I had stayed up that late writing. Maybe that will be the case tomorrow. Right now I need to get to sleep. I can't keep dozing off with two young ones, especially with my oldest potty learning (the new term for potty training). I will think of something good to blog about tomorrow.

Serendipity

I really like this movie. It is very romantic and funny and cute. The idea of having only one person you are supposed to be with is such a popular idea in our culture. A soul-mate. When I examine this idea closer though it scares me. I am so glad that I do not subscribe to this theory. Just think about it for a minute. If there was only one person on this planet for you, how could you ever be guaranteed to find him? What if he died doing something he shouldn't have done? What if he didn't know he had a soul-mate out there and married someone else? How are you ever going to be happy with anyone worrying about that soul-mate out there waiting for you? I think this idea can kill good marriages. Here is how I think it can happen:

A woman believes there is only one person that could make her completely happy and marries, thinking she has found that person. They are happy for a few years, then some serious conflicts present themselves. Maybe the catalyst is the loss of a job or some illness. The woman is not as happy all the time as she was when she was first married. She begins thinking that maybe this man was not really her soul-mate and that he is still out there somewhere. She tries to make her marriage work, but this idea has taken hold and now she believes that someone else would make her happier. The marriage falls apart.

Now I realize that it is also possible that someone who doesn't believe in a soul-mate could think "many people can make me happy, this person no longer does so I might as well leave him and find someone else". I just think that the Hollywood ideal of a perfect soul-mate does more damage in this department coupled with the disregard for the importance of marriage. I prefer to believe that there are several people that I could have been happy with if I had chosen differently. I made my choice and married a man I loved. I am happy and will continue to be happy. I have now made this man my soul-mate and do not want to marry anyone else. I know that in order to remain happy I need to work hard in my relationship to support my husband and help our friendship and love grow. If problems arise I know that problems would have occurred with anyone I had married and that some mythical one perfect match is not out there. As my husband and my relationship grows we become the perfect match for each other. This kind of relationship is developed through work, time, care, and love. It isn't some happenchance of fate that determines if a relationship will last.

This is my view anyway. I find it comforting to know that I control my own fate in this way and that my happiness in love is not dependent upon the chance of finding one person out of a few billion.

Annoyances

Is anyone out there one of those people that drag her heels in harder when someone "encourages" her to do something she knows she should do? I am that type of person. I want to write a book. I have started writing one many times. I have a general idea of the direction the plot will take. I have 3 versions of the first two pages. I have some character outlines. I have not worked on the book in 6 months. I think I am afraid. No one can make me write it, and people reminding me I should be writing it does not help. It is annoying!

Defensive

So I am a very bad blogger. Hopefully that will change now that I have moved my computer downstairs so I can type after my kids go to sleep. I just can't seem to enjoy typing a long entry with one hand. It just takes too long.

I went to a barbecue a few weeks ago at a friend's house. I play basketball with her and some other women a few times a week, our kids come and run around with each other and we all get some exercise. The barbecue was good fun. I told my sister about it and some of the things we did, and she commented that my friend must be rich. She probably is well off but this comment launched me into full defensive mode. "She might have money, but they don't throw it away on things, and her kids don't get everything they want, and they have old things . . ." are a few of my answers. Of course my sister points out that I got defensive and did not need to.

So why did I get defensive? Why feel the need to defend her just because she might have money? My sister does sometimes make comments about spoiled rich people, but I don't think this was what I was thinking when I started making defensive remarks. What is wrong with having money? I have thought about this and realize nothing is wrong with having money. It is how a person chooses to spend it and treat it that can be off putting. I see on television celebrities wasting thousands of dollars on hair-cuts, manicures, alcoholic beverages, and other things. Images of perfectly manicured men and women in polos and khakis sitting around in fancy country clubs exist in many media forms. I just have this image of snobby people in designer clothes playing all day and casually spending money on leisure items because it means nothing to them. I have seen children with no concept of monetary value because they have been given everything they ever wanted without effort.

I don't think I was jealous of these types of wealthy people when I was younger. I think I was, and still am, frustrated by them. How can anyone think it is a good thing to give a child anything he wants without work on his part? What lessons does that teach a child? Why should someone
spend a fortune on houses, cars, and clothing just because he can? I know of no person that needs a 10,000 + sq ft. house. Most people don't even need half that. Maybe one fancy car is excusable, but 4 or 5 cars that cost $50,000 or more? I often think about how much good the extra money spent on these superfluous things could do if donated to some charity. Most people deserve a few "fun" items to spend extra money on but when these fun things use up gobs of money I feel it is excessive.

Now I know all wealthy people don't do these things. Many hate to waste money and by from discount stores and even use previously owned items. Many donate a significant portion of their income to charity. Many affluent people have perfectly well behaved and brought up children who have learned to work for what they want. I wish I could remember this image and get rid of the stigma that I carry about wealthy people. The funny thing is that my parents would be considered wealthy by many, and once my husband finishes school and has a job, we also will have what some would consider a large income. And the stigma is so strong I was about to type how the amount he will probably make isn't really very much in today's world. Why does it matter to me what some people will think of me just because I have money? Why do people think that of the affluent just because of a number on their bank statements? This kind of thinking isn't much different than other more villainised forms of prejudice. Maybe if our culture viewed the non-celebrity wealthy as a more positive part of society more children would grow up to attain a similar social status. I am not suggesting that people are poor because they hate the rich, but that some people possible choose not to work hard and openly strive to make a better living for themselves because they fear ostracizing from their current circle of friends.

What do you think about this? Is my post completely confusing? It is really late and I might not have expressed myself in the best way possible but hopefully this will at least spark some interesting thoughts and maybe some discussion if I can attract anyone to read my blog. Hopefully my writing gets better as time goes on. I like to blame my slow thought process on my mommy brain. My mind works slower now and I am trying to work hard to get it back up to speed. Help me out by arguing with me now! I like it.