1.21.2011

Sword-Wielding for Girls and other stories

Our cat and I went through the following conversation more times than I can count this week:
Maia: Play with me!
Me: Bring me your toy, and I'll throw it for you.
Maia: I brought you my toy.
Me: You didn't bring it to me. You left it all the way over behind the coffee table.
Maia: You're supposed to get up and get it. That's part of the fun.
Me: I'm sick. I don't feel like moving. Bring it to me.
Maia: I'll get into your box of telescope accessories.
Me: I'll squirt you with the squirt bottle.
Maia: I CAN BE PERSISTENT.
Needless to say, she usually won. At least, until I moved the said box of telescope accessories out of her reach. But I think she's grateful that now I'm back to playing like cats' people are supposed to.

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Did I mention that Lou got me a little telescope for Christmas? We've had rain for a couple of weeks solid, but before that we braved the cold long enough to see Jupiter's moons, resolve the star Albireo into its double form, and look at craters on our moon. I'm loving it.

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The blog posting schedule may switch up a bit next week. I'm running out of recipe ideas, and I've found a couple of book memes that I think have better questions than Booking through Thursday, so probably Tuesday and Thursday will change up. Hopefully the shift isn't too annoying. :)

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Okay, open-heart moment.

If you were ever taught that it's wrong to fall in love with someone you're not already engaged to—or that boys and girls should be "shamefaced" around each other—or that kissing and holding hands and saying 'I love you' are best saved for marriage—or that it's a sin to marry without your parents' approval, no matter why they're withholding it—or anything similar... Darcy's post on emotional purity is for you. Please read it.

My parents did not subscribe to all of these ideas, and they understood grace too well to stay under such teachings for long. I've had friends who were less fortunate. But the concept of emotional purity appealed straight to my natural legalism, and it took me years to get free. I still struggle with some of the effects.

Also from Darcy: this one's for the girls. We get to wield swords and slay dragons, too. YESSSS.

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Writer's link of the week: With brilliance and brevity, here's Alan Lastufka on trust and the creative life.

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Music of the week: According to my sources, Meghan Tonjes sang on the Ellen show this week. But she started on YouTube.



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Funny of the week: The Onion on building excitement in the NFL.

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I'm off to clean house. Happy weekend, everybody!

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for the great links Jenna, I could really relate. I linked the post on my blog too, seems like a lot of people I know should read it as well.

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  2. So glad you liked it, Sarah! That one was definitely worth sharing. :)

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  3. My wife & I have multiple conversations with cats each week, often every day, that go along similar lines. And persistence is demonstrated even in the face of the squirt bottle. :)

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  4. I believe you, George. I always thought of cats as not liking water, but if Maia really wants something, it takes a squirt right in the face to stop her.

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