Being a Mom Can Be Painful. Really.

So, have you heard about the latest group of "offendeds?"

Once again, I'm bemused by the many people in the world who seem to find themselves offended by anything said by anybody. Mostly I try to dismiss these perpetual victims out of hand. But I ran across this article today about a group of baby-wearing moms who are highly offended because Motrin (a pain reliever) dared to suggest that wearing a baby in a sling/carrier could be painful for the mom. Duh!

I've got two kids. I love them more than anything in the world. Anything.

I tried to wear both of them in two different types of baby-carriers. Thank God neither of them wanted anything to do with it, b/c it was the most uncomfortable, painful thing going. There were a few people who told me I must "be doing it wrong," or that I "didn't buy the right" carrier.

Gee, it couldn't possibly be the fact that I had 20 lbs. of baby strapped to my torso, could it?

These were the same folks who'd "tsk-tsk" me for having no desire or inclination to breast feed, or let the kids sleep in my bed, or for wanting to go back to work as soon as I possibly could after maternity leave. In my experience, every one of the baby-wearing, breast-feeding, co-sleeping, attachment-parenting people who surmised that I just wasn't wearing my baby correctly also were the same people whose entire self-image was based upon being a mother and nothing else.

Guess what? Sometimes being a parent is no fun at all. Sometimes it stinks. Literally. Sometimes it hurts. Also literally. So to pretend that being an earth-mother is just one glorious experience after another--and to organize a boycott against Motrin for stating the obvious (strapping on an extra 20 lbs. might hurt your back)--well, methinks the lady doth protest too much.

Disclosure: I will take ibuprofen for almost anything--it is a miracle drug. While I am sufficiently offended by the price of a bottle of Motrin to buy the generic equivalent, I am not offended enough to campaign against Motrin. Between working, raising children and trying desperately to keep my garbage cans poop-free, it's just easier to give Motrin a pass and get on with my life.

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First Responders

One of the best things about my north-facing window here at work is the ability to hear and see the city-sights/sounds on the street six floors below.

Several times a year, new recruits from the Chicago Police Department or the Chicago Fire Department run as a group down Fulton Street (today, it was the guys from the CFD). Usually they're shouting or chanting something in unison, military-style. I always hear them when they're about half-a-block away, so I have time to get to my window and watch them running by.


Several years ago, it was a pleasant amusement for a single woman. Now, I'm thinking that my three-year-old son would find the whole thing really, really cool because they're all wearing matching shirts and they're usually followed by a squad car or a fire department car.

Funny how things change. :-)

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Observations for Friday

Super Cool
The deposit feature at the new ATMs at the brand new Chase bank branch at 330 N. Des Plaines. Just insert your paper check into a feeder slot in the new ATM. Within seconds, an image of your check appears on the screen with a message: Your deposit amount is $154.99. Correct? No need to fill out an envelope or even use the keypad to tell the machine how much you're depositing. Why didn't someone think of this before?

Not-So-Cool
Seen for sale at the new Jewel grocery store at 330 N. Des Plaines: Potted Norfolk Pines bedecked with Christmas decorations. I'm as big a Christmas freak as anyone, but really ... it's the first week of November, people.

Also Not Cool
The fact that I popped out of the office at lunch without my cell phone. I could have supplied photos of both of the abovementioned items, which would have made this post a lot more interesting.

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What is News? (And why isn't it what I think it should be?)

I think this is something that everyone thinks from time to time. Especially with the proliferation of media outlets: it seems any flunky can get his own talk show and any soap box is good enough to televise.

This morning, I was having a discussion about what constitutes news with someone who thinks it strange that the Chicago papers gave front page treatment to the deteriorating economy pre-election; now that the election is over, the Chicago papers are running front page stories about President-elect Obama's family members and his choice of advisors.

When I was in journalism school, more than 20 years ago, one of the first things we learned were the five things that constituted “news.”

Timeliness, significance, proximity, prominence, and human interest were the five. And the stories that meet those five criteria will vary depending upon the media outlet, the location, the readership, etc. Proximity is a big one: meaning a story that is either geographically “close” to the readers or a story that has special significance for most of the readers of a publication.

So, for the Chicago papers and Chicago readers, the Obama girls and the Obama cabinet positions meet all five of the standards for a local audience, most of whom are not c-level execs. Many of them probably fall into the 250,000 people who showed up downtown on Tuesday. Hence, the front page treatment of Malia and Sasha and Rahm.

However, today's Wall Street Journal’s above-the-fold headlines are these:

“Global Push to Beat Economic Downturn”
“Hedge Fund Selling Puts New Stress on Market”
“A Snowblower Maker Braces For Slump’s Blizzard of Woe”

Those articles meet the five criteria for the WSJ readers, many of whom are c-level execs or business-owners, people who are definitely interested in the economy before anything else.

None of this implies that coverage is impartial in any media outlet. The days of any media outlet being impartial are over. Every publication writes for its own readers; and we, as readers, seek out the publications that please us, interest us or meet our own standards, and we read them. It’s called custom publishing, baby.

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A Great Day

It's a great day. A fresh start.

The scene at Grant Park was beautiful, at least from my vantage point (in bed watching TV).

The overwhelming majority of the crowd downtown was peaceful and happy; thankfully not in an "in-your-face" kind of way. (An aside: As the mother of two toddlers, I was surprised at how many parents seemed glad to stand outside for hours and hours, late at night, with their sleepy children in tow. Not in a million years, I say.)

The election was called early (by 10 p.m. CST) and there was no doubt about the legitimacy of the outcome. Refreshing.

And best of all, my husband and all the other police officers and public safety personnel made it home safely.

Our popular new president and his beautiful family have their work cut out for them. (Another aside: After Obama's speech last night, I couldn't help but feel really, really happy for Joe Biden and his family.)

Every one of us will need to sacrifice something to put our nation on the upswing again. I hope President Obama specifically asks us for that sacrifice and lets us know exactly how we can help. And I sincerely hope we participate, step up and take ownership of this process, knowing that it won't be easy and it may not be fun and it will probably get worse before it gets better.

But it must be done.

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Just Plain Stupid

What follows is a true story about how the city of Chicago, or at least the 35th ward, managed to screw up the democratic process for hundreds of people on the most-anticipated election day in decades.

It all began more than three weeks ago.

On October 12, the "NO PARKING from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m." signs were posted on Palmer Blvd between Kedzie on the west and Sacramento on the East. The parking ban was in effect weekdays from Oct. 14-17, so that the badly pockmarked, potholed Palmer Blvd could be resurfaced.



For three days, hundreds of residents had to find somewhere else to park when they arrived home from work in the afternoons. Unless, of course, they wanted to get out of bed at 5:50 the following morning to move their car before the tow trucks arrived. (Click the image above for a better view ... everywhere there is a green line is where no one in the neighborhood could park for the better part of a month.)

Not the end of the world, and worth it if the street is resurfaced. Right?

Well ... things are just never that simple in Chicago. From Oct. 14 to Oct. 17, the road crews completed only the first step--grinding up the old surface, leaving the boulevard looking even more unsightly (but actually easier to drive upon).

The following Monday, Oct. 20, the signs were updated: "NO PARKING from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 21-24." So, another week when residents had to relocate their automobiles, sometimes blocks away from their homes. A lot of fun when you have two small children and all of their gear to transport from car to house.

Here's the great part: nothing was accomplished that week. Nothing. The street crews and their equipment NEVER SHOWED UP. So we were all displaced for absolutely no reason at all.

Guess what happened next? Yes, you're catching on. New, updated signs went up the following week, indicating there was no parking on the boulevard through November 6.

And it gets better.

The street crews actually resurfaced the westbound side of Palmer on Thurs/Fri last week. They began resurfacing the eastbound side today. Great, right?

Except for the fact that a major polling place (St. Sylvester school) sits at the corner of Palmer and Sacramento. Now, not only is there no parking available for residents, there is no parking available for people who will show up to vote. And--here's another kicker-- the side streets (Albany and Whipple) that are normally accessible to/from eastbound Palmer today are blocked off with orange cones and tape with steamrollers doing their thing. So, even if voters want to park on a side street, good luck with that.

When I left for work today at 8 a.m. it was already a clusterfu*k. People circling the block, backing up in the middle of streets, making U-turns, etc., to no avail.

Thanks Chicago. Thanks Alderman Colon.

You had nearly four weeks to complete the most basic of city services, and you choose ELECTION DAY to resurface a major street in front of a polling place, while blocking access to/from the side streets. During that time, there was at least a six-day stretch in which NOTHING happened. Job well done.

There's so many other ways this could have happened. Here are some ideas:

1. How about moving the parking ban from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. or 8 a.m? That way, residents can park in front of their homes at night and can get up at a decent hour to move their vehicles.

2. How about displacing people only when you know work will actually happen? Seriously, why was there a parking ban for a week when absolutely nothing happened?

3. How about resurfacing a street in front of a polling place ANY DAY BUT ELECTION DAY?

Sheesh!

Don't even get me started on the disgrace that is Palmer Square Park.

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Officer Friendly

Patrick and I are at the kids' school every day for drop-off and pick-up. But we make an effort to be there for other occasions. Like field trips, or holiday programs. Or safety week.

During safety week, the kids learn about ways to stay safe: everything from not touching a stove to what to do if there's a fire to not going anywhere with strangers.



























This is the second year that Patrick has visited the classroom of ODS, decked out in his police uniform (he's a detective, so we rarely see him in the uniform), riot helmet and bulletproof vest. In addition to the firearm, he's armed with coloring books that instruct the kids about various dangers they should avoid.

He has a great time doing it, and ODS is WAY excited when his dad shows up at school as Officer Friendly.

Officer Friendly will be in uniform for real this week: On Tuesday, Barack Obama scheduled an election-night rally in Grant Park and invited 65,000 people. Which might have been OK, except the mayor then went on TV and invited, like, the REST OF THE WORLD to attend.

Nevermind that the police are undermanned in this city; nevermind that our murder rate just shot past NYC and Los Angeles this year; nevermind that--the last we heard--there won't even be portable toilets available at this shindig. Yes. The best thing to do is encourage everyone, everyone, to converge downtown on a weeknight when Mr. Obama will not even make an appearance until 11 p.m. at the earliest. Great idea.

So on Tuesday, his day off, Officer Friendly will be working in uniform, at night, downtown. Everyone, please be careful.

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Halloween 2008

This year, my kids are old enough to understand that Halloween is a holiday of sorts. ODS (oldest dear son) has had a firefighter uniform for a couple of months now. He wore it to school for a field trip to a fire station, he wears it all the time at home (sometimes just the helmet, sometimes the whole thing) and he wore it to school again on Friday for Halloween.

















But the best part of Halloween, for him, was comparing helmets with a real Chicago fire captain (a friend of Patrick's) after school. What a kick!

YDS liked his Elmo costume, but it's too woolly to wear when it's 70 degrees outside. He wore the headpiece for a while, but abandoned the whole idea after a couple hours at school. He's not the clothes-horse his brother is anyway.

















Outside of the outfits, they got VERY possessive about their own candy housed in brown paper sacks they got at school. Enough to make YDS completely break down in a fit of anger and frustration when Grampa tried to look in the sack.

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