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A lot has been going on around here. As of May 15, we have a new addition to our family: Campbell Grace. She is 7 pounds of cuteness and squeakiness and is keeping me on my toes. I am grateful for a smooth (and surprisingly early) delivery.
Also, three of our favorite people are graduating from law school this weekend, celebrating across Alabama, Georgia, and Virginia. We are so proud of them! Pictures to come.
Have a great weekend!
I awoke yesterday to the sad news of the death of Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are, among other children’s books. I’ve developed what is a genuine appreciation for the author since watching his hilarious two-part interview on The Colbert Report in January and also getting excited about reading Where the Wild Things Are and Chicken Soup with Rice to the baby girl soon. Yesterday, I heard a clip from an interview on Fresh Air, in which he recounted how much he hated book signings because he made kids cry without realizing it and because book signings are inherently confusing for kids who are told not to write in books. In both interviews, Sendak seems to have a unique appreciation for the minds of children. And, as one commentator put yesterday, his books free kids to identify darker, more difficult emotions, rather than just happiness and fairy tales. If you have a few minutes, watch the clips (Part 1 and Part 2) from his interview with Stephen Colbert–they are quite entertaining.
Update: Colbert released another portion of the interview on his show last night. Very moving. Watch it here…
Photo via geektyrant.com
I hope you have enjoyed your weekend. We’ve been playing around with our new camera…
I watched Julia Louis-Dreyfus on HBO’s Veep this week. As a fan of Seinfeld and a Washington D.C. resident, I have been intrigued by the ads for some time. As it turns out, I really enjoyed it! The characters are interesting, and the show left me curious about how they would develop. Have you enjoyed any new shows lately?
Image via twitchfilm.com
In the past day, I’ve come across two instances of serious foes engaging in games–for the fun of it. First, a group of Western journalists faced off with members of Hezbollah, a match-up which apparently took more than a year to coordinate. Next, Democrats and Republicans will battle it out in a dodgeball tournament in Washington–I received the Living Social ad for it yesterday. There is something refreshing about this…what do you think?
Image via Pinterest
Todd came up to Virginia for the annual law school softball tourney (see posts on previous years here and here), so we trekked down to Charlottesville to show our support and hang out. It was a beautiful weekend, and the Cumberland team played well. Watching Todd play sports is one of my favorite past-times, and I felt lucky to be there.
Authors: Becky Beaupre Gillespie & Hollee Schwarz Temple
How I came to pick up this book: My brilliant mother loaned (and eventually just gifted) this book to me after helping to run a women’s leadership conference where it was sold and where one of the authors spoke. I read the back-of-the-book synopsis and was hooked: it’s all about balancing work and motherhood, an issue I’m mulling over a lot these days.
Basic scenario: Two women who were linked by the experience of motherhood changing their planned-out career paths collected data from women across the country about how they approach motherhood. The authors used surveys, interviews, and focus groups to gather information. Basic results of the study: there are two types of women–(1) the good-enoughs and (2) the perfectionists. They found that women who let go of being perfect–in work and as a mother and as a wife–led much happier lives. The book discusses some of the findings and uses various women’s experiences to show the complexities of navigating these issues.
Favorite quote: “We see her everywhere, that specter of maternal perfection…she’s at work, exuding the healthy glow of a woman who has never arrived in the office with Cheerios in her hair and someone’s empty juice box in her handbag. It doesn’t matter that this woman exists only as a composite. In our minds, she’s there, and she’s succeeding where we fail.” (p. 57)
Strengths: The authors manage to capture the complex dilemmas that “our” generation of mothers and mothers-to-be continue to face. On a personal note, it was relieving and validating to read about the multiple pressures that women feel these days, not just relating to work and motherhood but also to how to be a mom and a spouse/partner.
Weaknesses: The book has a few cheesy, cliched moments that may seem overemotional.
Where I found myself reading this book: Before bed–one chapter at a time, in very manageable chunks.
Let’s call it what it is: SB and I have hit a blogging slump. To apologize to our readers seems self-important, but I do feel sad that we have lost the momentum of sharing thoughts, ideas, memories, experiences, and insights. With Spring comes new beginnings. And we are glad for the chance to begin again….
Here are some highlights of the past few months…things have kept us busy and happy.
- Awaiting the arrival of our girl in May. Two special showers and lots of love from friends and family.
- A million-dollar gala to support for the Houston symphony.
- Some very fun weekends in Birmingham celebrating exciting happenings, including Mom’s birthday and dear friends’ nuptials.
- Enjoying long walks on lighted evenings.
- Murph and Finn
- Family/Mom visits to Houston and DC
- Writing, writing and more writing
- Yoga
- Power-walking
- A visit to see friends in the Midwest.
Sarah Beth Seifert
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