Some random thoughts as I deal with the second day this week of four hours of sleep (though, mercifully, not consecutive):
- Boston's hours might give you the impression that we're nothing more than a showy bedroom community. We're most reliably available between the hours of 8 AM and 8 PM, though only on weekdays. Saturdays, so it has been decreed, don't seem to start until 9 AM, and Sundays don't start until 10 AM if you're lucky. Don't believe me? Try finding a good place to get a non-caffeinated beverage while walking around on a Sunday morning before 8 AM. Never have I missed New York City so much.
- Given the number of ways in which women who aren't white (I loathe "of color" in general -- by which standard? Right, we all know. So let's just cut to the chase and say "not white".) are told that they aren't good enough, the wonder isn't that we have panic attacks, it's that we don't have them every single day.
- No one has made me wish for the existence of Hell this much since Bashar al-Assad, the Butcher of Syria, but Vladimir Putin should get his own ring within the worst ring. But also, everyone who only cares about Syria now because of what's happening in Ukraine, if you're under the age of 25, what is the matter with you?
- I searched like a demon to find a history book I could use for my older-middle school/younger-high school students that would be both age-appropriate and not be Eurocentric. I failed to find anything comprehensive, so we read shorter books on other topics and used a survey textbook for what would have been their first year of high school. My husband and I are now reading Tamim Ansary's Destiny Disrupted, which is explicitly from the point of view of the Islamic world. Great...but not perfect. How I wish there was a version of Power and Plenty that covered cultural/political milestones and/or was available for older teens.
- However sleepy Boston is, I pine for my walks, especially as various family members' anxiety makes those difficult to get. It's easy for me to sink into bitterness (especially when I'm sleep-deprived), but I realized a few days ago how much I will miss having children who want me around. Boston will be there (I mean, I think...), so long, daily walks can wait. In the meantime, I can workout at home.
- Much as I've walked away from my identity as a foodie, walking into pastry shops to buy things for the members of my family who can eat wheat got to me. I've been baking a number of things from Erin McKenna's cookbooks. Brownies are still my favorite, but my husband likes cupcakes (both of us can live without chocolate chip cookies, although he has a soft spot for oatmeal cookies -- no accounting for taste). I'm loving pumpernickel bread all over again (obviously, best with vegan cream cheese and strawberry jam, but you knew that), but I really want to try challah because it would be nice to have that for Fridays again. Because really this whole baking jag was set off by my desire to avoid paying $39 for a challah (plus shipping). Now, can anyone tell me where I can find a good pan?
- How I wish I could drink tea again. (Did I mention that I'm sleep-deprived?)
Deb in the City