Domestic Psychology

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// March 4th, 2006 // 6 Comments » // Uncategorized

I can't get the column and section breaks out of my word document. Grrrr.

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// March 4th, 2006 // 1 Comment » // Uncategorized

Having one car that barely runs really bites.

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// March 3rd, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

We have actually had women at our cookie booth who remember their mothers making cookies to sell. The original Girl Scout cookie recipe seems like a good place to start this year’s cookie recipe collection.
*1 cup butter, or substitute
*1 cup sugar
*2 tablespoons milk
*2 eggs
*1 teaspoon vanilla
*2 cups flour
*2 teaspoons baking powder
What to do: Cream butter and sugar together. Add well-beaten eggs, then milk, flavoring, flour and baking powder. Roll thin and bake in quick oven. (A quick oven would be about 375 degrees for 10 minutes.) Sprinkle sugar on top.

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// March 3rd, 2006 // 3 Comments » // Uncategorized

Last night we all went to the Boy Scout Pinewood Derby. As the half a dozen fathers finished getting the track ready, Evan decided he was thirsty. I am not shy about breastfeeding, but since Evan has decided it’s fun to spend his mealtime trying to remove my shirt and popping off the breast to laugh at the spraying milk, I felt uncomfortable frightening the poor Dads in the room. Since the custodians were buzzing all over the school, cleaning the day’s filth, I decided to pull out a sugar tit bottle of juice/water. Evan was quickly satisfied and I forgot the whole matter. An hour later I was in the packed cafeteria, helping Amy with her pizza. At that point I realized that Evan had been satisfied, but I had been neglected. Evan was strapped in the stroller so that Sarah could spoon him his cereal and I scurried back to the gym. Two steps out of the cafeteria, one of the Dads decided to be friendly and chat. I mashed my arms against my chest and tried to stay two steps ahead of him. The faster I walked, the faster he walked. I was embarrassed and rude all at the same time. Once I reached the gym I sat down with our pile of backpacks and turned toward the wall. I tried to look busy doing paperwork with one hand while I alternated between fluffing and rubbing my soaked shirt with my other hand. Apparently I didn’t look strange enough, because Doug decided this was a good time to introduce me to another Dad. After introducing me, Doug decided to stand there and chat with his friend until he announced that Evan needed a change. I annoyed Doug by just nodding in agreement that Evan needed a new diaper. Frustrated at my lack of action, Doug grunted that he would change Evan if I would hand him the equipment. I handed it to him and pulled the stroller in front of me as a shield. Eventually my shirt dried, but I am sure that one of the dozens of videocameras running all night has evidence. Someday they will pull those tapes out and their jaws will drop. “Why does that woman look like she’s entering a wet t-shirt contest?”

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// March 2nd, 2006 // 4 Comments » // Uncategorized

It’s Girl Scout cookie time in East Tennessee. When you see the girls in front of the store, please be nice. You don’t have to buy the cookies, just don’t be rude and hateful. You would not believe the awful things that people will say to Girl Scouts trying to sell cookies. You’re on a diet and have no need for the cookies? Most troops are also collecting boxes of cookies for community organizations. Our troop is collecting cookies for STAR. Our troop is older girls and this usually elicits some negative comments from people who think scouting is only for cute little Brownies. Teens who are active in organized activities are healthier, happier and safer. Scouts is a place where it doesn’t matter if you are a goth, jock or prep. It is a safe place for girls to be friends and have fun. The cost of the cookies is the main complaint the girls hear. No, they are not a bargain. They are a fundraiser. That money pays for council staff, the camp’s maintenance and scout activities. Last year our troop used their cookie profits to spend a day in Chattanooga. It was fun, educational and something that some of the girls would never have done if it weren’t for Girl Scouts and the cookie sale. This year we want to earn enough to go white water rafting. The next time a Girl Scout asks you if you want to buy some cookies, ask her what her troop is going to do with their profits.

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// March 1st, 2006 // No Comments » // Uncategorized

“Lockdown is so stupid. We put a table in front of the door and the door opens out so the table does nothing. Then we sit under our desks silently with the lights turned off and everyone text messages on their phones.”

I remember crawling under the desk for earthquake drills and sitting along the walls of the hallways for tornado drills. We never had to think about strangers or classmates using guns in the school. In high school, lots of the students had guns in their trucks and nobody thought twice about it. Sometimes it all feels like busy work to make us believe that we can help, like sending husbands to tear sheets and boil water.