Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Odds & ends

  • I am hopelessly behind on my blog reading. :p But I haven't given up!! ; )
  • Saturday was my birthday -- #52. For some reason, the phrase "52 pickup" keeps going through my head. So far as I can tell, though, I am still playing with a full deck. ; ) (For now, anyway...!)
  • I had a great birthday weekend -- a LONG weekend. (Yes, I did just get back from vacation too, lol.)  I took Friday off work and (what else?) headed to the spa for some pampering -- dh gave me a gift certificate for Christmas and I decided to use it sooner rather than later. : )  I am glad I did.
  • Feb. 1, the countdown begins to Freedom 55. ; ) It's the first day that I'm officially eligible for early retirement. (Edited to add: Feb. 1, 2016, that is... three years to go!! Hence, the countdown...) Whether I actually get to retire then remains to be seen... but it's something to aim for and look forward to!
  • I saw this article in yesterday's New York Times, about the parents of the children murdered at Sandy Hook school in Connecticut last month, speaking out and joining forces for change. I was struck in particular by this quote from David Wheeler, whose son, Benjamin, 6, was killed, explaining why he and his wife, Francine, joined the campaign. “What I have recently come to realize is that I am not done being the best parent I can be for Ben. Not by a very long measure," Wheeler said. It says so much about the lifelong relationship bereaved parents continue to have with their children, long after the funeral is over and everyone goes home and assumes you are "moving on" with your life. They will always be your children. You will always be their parents.
  • Jody Day at Gateway Women was interviewed last fall for an hour-long podcast called Dream Corner, which profiles inspiring women. Listen in here -- Jody makes some excellent points on behalf of those of us who are living childless/free, for whatever reason. The interviewer admits to being childfree by choice, but I think even she learned a few things from Jody -- demonstrating why it's so important for us to keep speaking and writing about our lives, even to people who are sympathetic to our position.   
  • The Globe and Mail has started a weeklong series about the growing numbers of people who are living alone (read the first installment from Saturday, here).  While it's not strictly about childlessness per se, and (obviously) focuses on singles vs couples, life without children is part of the overall picture. There is a lot of food for thought here re: societal assumptions and how and why some of us choose to live outside the established norm.

6 comments:

  1. First, happy birthday, and congratulations on your full deck! (And thanks for coming over and reading so diligently!)

    I appreciated your "odds and ends," especially the link to the NYT article, which I'd missed. Thank you for that. I think that's what I was trying to get at when I wrote my whiney post about #26acts ... that the bereavement is lifelong, and that it changes everything. I'm glad that the parents are finding a way to put their energies together for advocacy ... David Wheeler's quote puts it beautifully.

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  2. Happy Birthday 52! Glad you had a good weekend, and I think pampering in the form of massage is an EXCELLENT way of celebrating the day.

    I'm also very jealous of your option to retire. We couldn't financially (and won't be able to for many years) ... and yes, I know we would be better able if a) I worked full-time and b) we stopped travelling. I bet the knowledge that you can is wonderful!

    Yes - a parent will always be the parent of their lost child. My brother-in-law lost his son (who was 21), but C is still a real part of the family in many ways.

    Found the article interesting. The "pro-family" people annoyed me, trying to impose their decisions onto others. I particularly liked this paragraph, and thought it could equally be applied to those without kids, and to families. The sentence in question:

    Rather than “selfish singles,” sociologists are increasingly using the term “greedy marriage” to describe the way domestic responsibilities can pull couples away from the wider world.

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  3. Ah, heck, girl, I missed your birthday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Glad you made it to the spa. I'm going to go catch up on your links later tonight.

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  4. A belated happy birthday! Hope this year of 52 brings all kinds of happy discoveries.

    Thanks for all the terrific links. I'm bookmarking and will be adding them to my reading list

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  5. Belated Happy Birthday from me too!
    Thank you for the links - I got the Rod Stewart biography on your recommendation and I am thoroughly enjoying it, even though I am hardly the fan. Thnak you for that too.

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  6. Happy Belated-Birthday!! I am glad you had a fabulous long birthday weekend :) And that's so exciting about early retirement!!! A very great countdown indeed :)

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