Can't a Girl Have a Little Peace and Quiet?
The term "empty nest Mom" is really misleading. Of course, the term was coined for the Moms who's children have left the home for college or work and there is some void in the parent's life. But what society doesn't share with you is that once the kids leave, the nest mysteriously fills up with thoughts and inquiries you never wondered or cared a hoot about before. A Mom can get so bogged down with these ideas and thoughts that the house cleaning, the job and the husband can go abandoned for days.
Take this morning, for example. I wake up have my coffee and some cookies (oops...sorry Casey and loyal HASAY friends) and start remembering being in Girl Scouts and selling their cookies. And suddenly, without warning, the topic of the day pops in my head and there goes the next two hours! The questions: why does the girl scout pledge require you to stick three fingers up? Did I ever challenge the oath and the hand signal when I was young? Didn't the boy scouts use only two fingers? Why?
Well forget it. Not today. I can ask my Mom these questions and she'll have the perfect answers because she was my girl scout leader for years.
I am simply not going to spend 30 minutes asking myself why the boy scouts are taught to "Be Prepared" while the girl scouts are focused on being "honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring......". I am not at all curious why its so important that we teach little girls to be door-to-door salespeople selling cookies by the truckload, while we teach the boys to be "physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight". I happen to think the people behind these two organizations are decent and don't believe they have plans to set up the two sexes in some sexist fashion. But the mind can wander...
All I want to say here is that for so many years, Moms and Dads work hard to bring up their families, make money at their jobs to support their families and drop dead into bed nightly. Just read all the wonderful younger Mommy and Daddy blogs out there and you know it is exhausting!
Once the kids finally leave the nest, can't we have a little peace and quiet? No thoughts, no new ideas. Just a little blank space in time where nothing needs to be done or understood? I don't think that's too much to ask.
Take this morning, for example. I wake up have my coffee and some cookies (oops...sorry Casey and loyal HASAY friends) and start remembering being in Girl Scouts and selling their cookies. And suddenly, without warning, the topic of the day pops in my head and there goes the next two hours! The questions: why does the girl scout pledge require you to stick three fingers up? Did I ever challenge the oath and the hand signal when I was young? Didn't the boy scouts use only two fingers? Why?
Well forget it. Not today. I can ask my Mom these questions and she'll have the perfect answers because she was my girl scout leader for years.
I am simply not going to spend 30 minutes asking myself why the boy scouts are taught to "Be Prepared" while the girl scouts are focused on being "honest and fair, friendly and helpful, considerate and caring......". I am not at all curious why its so important that we teach little girls to be door-to-door salespeople selling cookies by the truckload, while we teach the boys to be "physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight". I happen to think the people behind these two organizations are decent and don't believe they have plans to set up the two sexes in some sexist fashion. But the mind can wander...
All I want to say here is that for so many years, Moms and Dads work hard to bring up their families, make money at their jobs to support their families and drop dead into bed nightly. Just read all the wonderful younger Mommy and Daddy blogs out there and you know it is exhausting!
Once the kids finally leave the nest, can't we have a little peace and quiet? No thoughts, no new ideas. Just a little blank space in time where nothing needs to be done or understood? I don't think that's too much to ask.
posted by beth at
12:00 PM
Emtnester
8 Comments:
So what you are saying here is that there is never a break, EVER? Darn.
I think that's where drinking comes in.
You're right, Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts are completely sexist, let's train our little girls to grow up and obey their men and our little boys to provide for their wives and keep them in line.
Ok, I'll admit, it's late and that may have been harsh.
AMEN!! Really there isn't a break from it all!!
Oh I never thought about them being sexiest....you are right! Can a girl join the boy scouts these days and vice versa?
Cub Scouts use two fingers, Boy Scouts three fingers. I hope girls never are allowed the Boy Scouts and vice versa. Also, after Cub Scouts, mommy STAY AWAY!
Never really thought about the scouting situation. Because I was a camp fire girl, selling mints, and earning those beads!
hehe i would love to have inane ideas right now on my sunday morning because i've got nothing to blog about!
but i do realise, that once i open my textbook to start studying for the day, my mind usually bogs up with crazy and weird thoughts and ideas! haha perhaps its the same rationale behind this? i dunno!
also,here in singapore, we do not even have girl scouts, they are called "girl guides" hehe so the boys are thought to defend themselves with jungle tactics and rope-knotting activities while the girls go to sick-homes and old-folk-homes to to charity work and collect donations from the public. Here, they go around public areas (bus stops, malls) with tin cans asking for donations of coins or dollars, with no cookies as incentive! hehe
have a sweet smashtastic sunday, beth =) and a good new week ahead!
Hi there, just catching up. With you on the whole boy/girl scout thing.
Also? It would appear Google is putting you through what I have been put through as the ad on your site right now is to browse Phillipino women. Their contextual relevance, or lack thereof, never ceases to amaze me!
Mary Anne/The Stiletto Mom: you mean my blog is about finding Asian women to date? 'Emtnester does the Philipines?!' Who knew?
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