May 18, 2007 by Barbara.

Dani over at Postcards from the Mothership wrote about The Dangerous Book For Boys a couple of time in the last week, the latest being a note that it is part of a MotherTalk Blog Bonanza. From the first reference, though, I’ve thought - now that’s a book I want to have for Reid. I grew up on a farm, was one of those kids whose mom’s really did put me outside, locked the screen door and said to find something (or nothing) to do. So many of the things that seemed a good idea would probably qualify for a “dangerous book” or maybe they were just dumb. Where is the line on that? I wonder though, if Reid will be a kid that seeks out danger. Despite my enthusiasm for the train set, the dollies and mini diaper bag were much better received at Christmas. I might be the mother of a girly-girl. I will support her in this although it makes me think of Nancy White’s song Daughters of Feminists which include the words:

Daughters of feminists love to wear pink and white
Short frilly dresses they speak of successes with boys,
It annoys their mom.
Daughters of feminists won’t put on jeans
Or that precious construction boot Mama found cute …

Maybe if I get the Dangerous Book for Boys, I’ll find some things to do with Reid that would keep us from being the kind of parents that George Carlin mocked in his one routine for being overprotective.

And even if I don’t get the book, I’ll have to be vigilant both that I or more likely Reid’s protective daddy (are there other kinds when little girls are involved?) don’t signal the need for so much caution that she doesn’t explore the world, test the limits of her abilities and run just a little bit wild. Okay, so she can be a little bit wild now but I want to nurture that. (I’m sure someone will remind me of this the next time that I’m complaining about something crazy that Reid has done ;+) 

Would I want to see a Dangerous Book for Girls? You bet. What do I want it to cover? I want it to tell stories of girly-girls who stood up for themselves, stories of girls who acted as boys, and ideas for doing the same.

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May 18, 2007 by Barbara.

When we were at Grandma Barb’s on Sunday, Aunt Lisa, Uncle Ron, RJ, Harley and Atira came over for brunch. It’s been a long time since we saw them but I hadn’t realized how long until they gave Reid and me Christmas presents. Reid got a Love-a-lot Care Bear (or I think that’s what the pink one with hearts is called). She loves it muchly. When we got home, Reid insisted it needed a diaper and it has been to bed with her every night (she even asks for it if she wakes in the night, a first for Reid), to daycare several times and is generally close to where Reid is. What a good present! I would have said that Reid doesn’t need more stuffies but apparently this *one* was needed.

It makes me think what a nice weekend we had. We had the chance to have Grandma and Grandpa to ourselves on Saturday and also the opportunity to see the others on Sunday especially since Reid is big into cousins right now. Sometimes I’m tempted to invite everyone to join us for everything, whether we’re with Ken’s family or mine. Often we end up feeling like outsiders since we don’t know, or barely remember, the people everyone else is talking about. A mix of small and large group time works much better.

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