I live in a fantasy world and i have ocenfront property
Categories: uncategorized
Date: 21 August 2006 22:40:03
... says my purple, "tainted love" brand bubble bath that I have just placed back on the shelf. "Lose your grip on reality" it instructs on the front of the bottle, printed underneath an artist's representation of a 1950s/60s blond, bobbed, sunglassed, bathing suited (1960s covering everything and still looking elegant kind of bathing suited) woman sitting on the beach with a wide smile on her face. "Escape" it declares on the other side with another picture of a 1950s apron wearing housewife opening a sash window with a large grin. Sometimes when things get too much, it seems tempting.
Presumably, my bubble bath would like to think that it has just trasported me to the Costa del Sol or more likely the California coastline. (although I suppose my personal preference would be the French Riviera!)
I guess everybody has an off day, and everybody needs to escape now and then. Even (especially?) parents and parents to be? And if I can't have that ocenfront property on the French Riviera, I suppose I can at least take it easy on myself every now and then. I can't say that neither mr. dots nor I were disappointed when our Social Worker called and said her double glazing was being put in last week on the same day as our appointment. We rearranged for early September.
on the phone to my mother the other night:
me: mom, I'm not doing so well. I need a break from the whole adoption thing. We're taking some time off.
mom: when you have a child you won't be able to take time off.
me: I know. That's why I'm doing it now.
You see, I don't personally believe that taking things a little easy on myself is selfish. I know many people feel this way, that "lazyness" is unacceptable. And many more people feel this way in relation to themselves but not towards others (self is always the toughest critic). But I have learned the hard way, that it does no one any favours. Especially a child, who will need you to be strong for them. Not Hercules, but "strong enough". (do a google search for "the good enough principle" if you have never heard of it before. It's a parenting must) This belief of mine is coupled with the "prevention is better than cure" tactic.
It's simple maths, "the law of the conservation of energy" about which wikipedia says:
"Conservation of energy states that the total amount of energy (including potential energy) in an isolated system remains constant. In other words, energy can be converted from one form to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed."
Which I translate to mean that the occasional bubble bath and shutting the rest of the world out, whilst dreaming of the French Riviera, prevents what energy I do have from being converted from useful to children type energy into a frazzled mess peal me off the ceiling type energy.