stop. taking. pictures. now!

I'm just gonna throw something out there. How about we issue a cease and desist order on taking pictures with phones of private bits and sending them to other people. Period. No, don't send them to your boyfriend. No, don't send them to your girlfriend. Heck, stop sending them to your spouse - nothing is sacred anymore!  The pictures will get posted online. For the world to see. Even if it is an accident. I don't know about you, but I don't want my former World Civ teacher to have access to me in a shirtless photo.

It has happened to others, it will happen to you. Can everyone knock it off already. What am I missing here? Am I that old at 41 (hurts every time I type it) that I cannot understand why on Earth anyone, yes, anyone, would take a naked photo of themselves and ELECTRONICALLY send it to another person?

And no, I am in no way a prude. Just ask....nevermind. I just don't like to take acknowledged risks when it comes to my privacy. I am not judging Rep. Weiner or Brett Favre or Kim Kardashian (well, maybe her....NO). It seems, however, by participating in naughty photo taking and sending, people are getting caught, and subsequently hurt. The indiscretions tear families apart and destroy careers. Well, wait a minute. In the case of Kim Kardashian, it actually created a career. I can't keep up. Please dear readers, enlighten me. Tell me why this is a seemingly unstoppable phenomenon. 

It brings me to wonder if we as a culture lost the ability to express our love, like, lust in other ways besides virtually? How about letter writing? Whatever happened to long and luxurious phone calls? Oh, wait, how about a night out or even a romantic night in?  Old school? Maybe. Safer? Absolutely. 

Let's all try to follow the rule I keep preaching to my kids: If you don't want your parents or your principal to see the pictures, don't take them. Insert wife, family, boss, country wherever you like, the sentiment is still the same. Stop taking pictures. Now.

Summer Paradox

It's official. Sing it everyone: "Schools out for summer....." Phew. Another year passes, another summer begins and I'm simultaneously overjoyed and terrified. Overjoyed because summer marks the end of the nuisance of homework and tight schedules and playground nonsense. It marks the beginning of ice cream runs and beach days and my kids falling into who they really are. Terrified because I love solitude and I MISS IT SO MUCH DURING THE SUMMER. That's right, I like to be alone. I feel infringed upon when there is too much togetherness for too long.

Yes, I know there is a time in life for everything. This is my time as a mom who needs to be around for her kids. I love it. I do. And it's part of the package - the kids are my priority, and I take that seriously. I look forward to lazy pajama days and long days in the backyard. I love watching my son play baseball - all 16 games and three tournaments of it! I love to sneak peaks at them while they're running around the neighborhood in search of water gun compatriots. And I love trips to DQ at 9:00 on a hot summer night.

And yet. I'll miss my quiet morning time with my coffee. And I'll miss exercising freely, without the worry of rushing home for pick ups or drop offs or sitter time limits. I'll miss the quiet of the afternoon before the dinner rush. And I'll miss being exempt from refereeing during the daytime hours. I'll miss my secret days I keep just for me; the one's when I do something scandalous like see a movie by myself or sneak to the city just to meander through a bookstore. Those I'll miss most, because on those days, those rare days just for me? I get lost in being just 'me' again. Me, not mom,  not wife, just me. Those days keep me grounded, keep me fresh and keep me whole. I don't have nearly enough of those days.

And again, back on the other hand (good thing moms have so many hands) I revel in the question mark that is the summer. I indulge in the open afternoons and long evenings on our deck that sometimes morph into hilarity. I realize that summer is the best time for memory making. After a few weeks, all the kinks are out of being together again and the summer takes on the feeling of a gorgeous free fall into possibility. Most importantly, I keep reminding myself these days are fleeting. Sooner than I can fathom, my kids will prefer solitude and their friends over me.

So, I'll do my best to linger in the moments that create memories while trying not to cringe about my lack of aloneness. Maybe a babysitter is in order to sneak away from the moments; if only for a little while.