In Oz until 10th

Wealth

The problem is that wealth ceases to move freely when all things are counted and priced. It may accumulate in great heaps, but fewer and fewer people can afford to enjoy it.
Lewis Hyde “The Gift”

Labels and haircut

Last night I missed a step while walking downstairs and ended up on the floor in a lot of pain. I feel pretty silly about spraining my ankle in my own house and frustrated at the limited ability to move around. As the result today we are spending most of the time on the couch and on the floor: reading books, making puzzles, watching TV and sending strange emails and SMSs to my husband (my daughter seems to be at the stage of the total fascination with the letters and the various form of communication, which also includes making and sending birthday cards). In reply my husband sent me a link to this article about another study into how mothers’ working choices affect the childrens’ weight. Does it seem to say that thoughtful parenting, healthy eating and physically active lifestyle are the keys to raising a healthy/happy/etc child? I feel that most studies like this one (or at least the way they are reported in the media) raise a lot of questions without providing interesting or helpful answers. Maybe I would feel differently if the news reports included graphs and numbers.

While trying to find (unsuccessfully) the actual numbers to see how significant the differences were I stumbled on this article. How many of us think of ourselves in terms of the job titles? How many of the mothers would label themselves a janitor and a psychologist? Maybe I should add a hairdresser to the list of my titles. 10-points to Rachael for spotting that my daughter has a new haircut. Few weeks ago I got frustrated at the tangled mess that her hair was becoming and timidly trimmed a bit off. The success of doing it myself spurred me to try cutting her hair even shorter yesterday and after watching this video on youtube we ended up with this (I obviously need more practice and better scissors).