(Another post on the Girl Scouts.)
Again, an announcement in the church bulletin. The diocese was seeking nominations for scout leader awards -- Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, and American Heritage Girls.
How about that? All of them lumped together in one sentence and going to be honored together at one diocesan function. The last group, the American Heritage Girls, was formed in direct reaction to Girl Scouts' losing their moral compass.
I was glad I had an appointment with one of our parish priests to discuss the issue. As far as I could discern from my research and conversations with local leaders, especially of the younger girls, it came down to me choosing to believe that the Girl Scouts are basically a good organization with some misguided individuals, or a bad organization worthy of my boycott.
The priest listened to my summary of the situation, about Girl Scout logos appearing on some Planned Parenthood brochures, of some GS councils co-sponsoring events with PP, of the local (parish/school) leaders' responses to questions. "If my daughter was a teenager, this might be more of an issue," I remarked "Everything goes haywire then, but now..."
"You want my opinion?" the priest asked, leaning his cheek in his hand, morning sun glinting off the edges of his rimless glasses. "Misplaced zeal" were the words he used. He recalled during his years at the seminary that some fellows passed around a list of stores and restaurants not to give business to because this one supported gay marriage, this one covered contraceptives to its employees, that one abortion... "I would have to be Amish to avoid all these places!" he told me.
Like anything else I do as a parent, I have to keep my eyes open. I can't spend my entire time protecting my girls from every possible danger; we need to pursue the good, positive elements of living too. Scouting and time with friends in service-oriented activities and fun learning adventures is a good thing.
Tonight we will attend a parent and Daisy Scout (and sibling) meeting. And if tomorrow one of my Girl Scout avoiding friends calls up and says, "Hey, we're starting that Little Flower group, are you in?" I'll reconsider. (The Little Flower group is another alternative scouting type group, named after Terese, the Little Flower.)
As I say to anyone that raises the "socializing" problem of homeschooling, it just means that Mom is more involved in choosing with whom my children spend time. Yes that's a lot of work. Welcome to parenthood! Even though we are not homeschooling now, this is the biggest lesson I learned from all the homeschool parents, Catholic and non-Catholic, that I hung around with and whose children played with my children, from the time Monkey1 was two until she started Catholic school part-way through her kindergarten year. It is a lesson that matters in school and out of school.
In the meantime, I think I'll be teaching my little Scout how to sew patches on her uniform. Oh wait, aren't they iron-on patches these days?
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Running Time
Today was another memory day.
Today in Washington some 22,000 people ran in the Marine Corps Marathon; six years ago today I remember stopping at a highway rest area and seeing a sea of purple race participant shirts. We had left Long Island, the moving truck the day before, our two Golfs packed with the odds and ends that would fit around a six-month-old baby and a bird cage with two parakeets. We were unemployed, and 99% of our stuff was going into a storage unit; a few things - our bed, the crib, some clothes, the video camera - were going to my in-laws' house, where we were going to live until... until whatever came next.
We, my husband and I, were glad to leave Long Island. Within a month or two of moving there in 2001 we had each concluded it was not the right place for us. Our jobs were there, so we stuck it out. September 11th and the Towers came down. The east coast electrical grid failure. Things just happen in New York. So when Monkey1 was born, the house we were renting was put up for sale, and notification that the grant paying my husband's salary would not be renewed - all in a month - we knew our Long Island exile was coming to an end.
So the Marine Corps Marathon is always a reminder of our our exodus, a marker of how long ago and how recent are the chapters of our lives.
Semper Fidelis!
Today in Washington some 22,000 people ran in the Marine Corps Marathon; six years ago today I remember stopping at a highway rest area and seeing a sea of purple race participant shirts. We had left Long Island, the moving truck the day before, our two Golfs packed with the odds and ends that would fit around a six-month-old baby and a bird cage with two parakeets. We were unemployed, and 99% of our stuff was going into a storage unit; a few things - our bed, the crib, some clothes, the video camera - were going to my in-laws' house, where we were going to live until... until whatever came next.
We, my husband and I, were glad to leave Long Island. Within a month or two of moving there in 2001 we had each concluded it was not the right place for us. Our jobs were there, so we stuck it out. September 11th and the Towers came down. The east coast electrical grid failure. Things just happen in New York. So when Monkey1 was born, the house we were renting was put up for sale, and notification that the grant paying my husband's salary would not be renewed - all in a month - we knew our Long Island exile was coming to an end.
So the Marine Corps Marathon is always a reminder of our our exodus, a marker of how long ago and how recent are the chapters of our lives.
Semper Fidelis!
Friday, October 28, 2011
Twenty weeks
Yesterday we got our first look at Monkey3 with the twenty-week ultrasound.
"If I can see," the technician asked, "do you want to know the sex?"
"I don't," I answered, "my husband does."
She looked from one to the other of us uncertainly.
"We've done it before, it works just fine," I reassured her.
The ghostly black and white images filled the small monitor screen, difficult for me to understand at first, but as I grew used to it, I was able to pick out features of the face, the little hands and feet with all the glowing fingers and toes, the pumping heart...
At one point the technician turned the monitor away, "Come on, open your legs," she cajoled the baby.
I'm not sure she got a good look. She did say "Aha!" once, but that might have been for something else. Our baby was basically chilling out and taking a nap, not moving much. I got up and bounced up wand down the hallway a bit to try to get the baby to shift position because we were getting no clear views of the spine, but this was unsuccessful. I need to come back another day, if my OB thinks it is important enough.
Twenty weeks. We're half-way through.
"If I can see," the technician asked, "do you want to know the sex?"
"I don't," I answered, "my husband does."
She looked from one to the other of us uncertainly.
"We've done it before, it works just fine," I reassured her.
The ghostly black and white images filled the small monitor screen, difficult for me to understand at first, but as I grew used to it, I was able to pick out features of the face, the little hands and feet with all the glowing fingers and toes, the pumping heart...
At one point the technician turned the monitor away, "Come on, open your legs," she cajoled the baby.
I'm not sure she got a good look. She did say "Aha!" once, but that might have been for something else. Our baby was basically chilling out and taking a nap, not moving much. I got up and bounced up wand down the hallway a bit to try to get the baby to shift position because we were getting no clear views of the spine, but this was unsuccessful. I need to come back another day, if my OB thinks it is important enough.
Twenty weeks. We're half-way through.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
More about Wheels
Over the weekend we took in another round of car shopping. I'm enjoying our targeted and focused installments of this endeavor. While one sales floor was plainly disconcerted by our timeline (buy by March), the information gathering and discussions as we go along about what we need (room for at least three car seats and enough leg room for everyone), what we want (a back-up camera), and what we hope (to chose a vehicle that will last us another 10 years) have been so constructive.
Of course, talking in code to my husband while in front of the salesman has been entertaining too.
"How did you like the drive?" the dealer asked as I settled a vehicle back into park.
"It drives like a [name of brand]!" I said cheerfully.
My husband laughed, clearly understanding my message to him: "It's got that squishy steering that you hate."
"My first car was one!" I retorted.
The dealer however was clearly satisfied that I liked the vehicle.
...
"That's it? We're down to two?" my husband asked at the end of the weekend.
"Unless you have any more to add to the look-at list," I shrugged.
Next time out, we need to get the Monkeys and their monster carseats into the two vehicles, see how the interior spaces actually work for us, and give both another test drive.
Of course, talking in code to my husband while in front of the salesman has been entertaining too.
"How did you like the drive?" the dealer asked as I settled a vehicle back into park.
"It drives like a [name of brand]!" I said cheerfully.
My husband laughed, clearly understanding my message to him: "It's got that squishy steering that you hate."
"My first car was one!" I retorted.
The dealer however was clearly satisfied that I liked the vehicle.
...
"That's it? We're down to two?" my husband asked at the end of the weekend.
"Unless you have any more to add to the look-at list," I shrugged.
Next time out, we need to get the Monkeys and their monster carseats into the two vehicles, see how the interior spaces actually work for us, and give both another test drive.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Girl Scouts - In These Days
(This is the second installment in a series of posts on Girl Scouts. More to come as I gather information and reflect on it. I work slowly these days.)
In 2004 in Texas, several communities boycotted Girl Scout cookie sales, culminating in the local council severing ties and no longer co-sponsoring an annual event as it had previously done with Planned Parenthood.
Shortly afterward the then-CEO of the Girl Scouts, Kathy Cloninger, was interviewed on NBC’s "Today" show. She said: "The Girl Scouts in Waco, Texas, really made a decision based on local community context, they decided that in this particular situation that it would be in the best interest of girls and their families to discontinue the relationship with Planned Parenthood." Subsequently she noted, "We partner with many organizations. We have relationships with our church communities, with YWCAs, and with Planned Parenthood organizations across the country, to bring information-based sex education programs to girls."
Um, gulp.
Following this turmoil, a group called STOPP (Stop Planned Parenthood) conducted a survey of the then 300+ Girl Scout councils across the U.S. After several months, STOPP reported that 20% of Girl Scout councils admitted to having a relationship with Planned Parenthood. Some councils said they have no working relationships with Planned Parenthood, while the majority did not respond to the survey.
A "relationship" with Planned Parenthood was defined as any of the following:
Any troop in the council inviting PP to speak.
Having scouts attend PP events to earn a badge.
Co-sponsor Planned Parenthood event.
Co-sponsor, with PP, a third-party event.
Promotion of a PP event or event with PP participation.
PP execs/board members serving on GS board.
Giving award to PP executive.
What a mess! It really looks like local leadership sets the tone on this issue.
Meanwhile, the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM), which has been overseeing "Catholic religious recognition programs serving Girl Scout and Camp Fire units" (i.e., badges, pins, etc) since the early 1980's has said:
"Many Catholic Girl Scout leaders are feeling torn between their commitment to Girl Scouting and their commitment to their Catholic teachings because of the real or perceived relationship between GSUSA and organizations like Planned Parenthood. The NFCYM approach to this complex issue has been one of engagement, rather than detachment or withdrawal. NFCYM... needs to stay connected to GSUSA not only because thousands of Catholic girls and Catholic adult leaders are involved in scouting, but because Girl Scouting—like Boy Scouting—provides excellent character development for young people through their programs. NFCYM can only influence secular organizations by staying in relationship with them . . . by being at the table."
Ah, the very question that occurred to me! Withdrawal, boycott, or engagement, dialogue. The Youth Ministers play on the national stage, so their responsibility has a different scope than mine, as a parent dealing with my daughter, one particular potential Girl Scout at the moment. But the question is the same.
Of course, my husband framed the debate in an entirely different way. "This is Monkey1 we are dealing with. She may go to four meetings and decide it is boring."
Like ballet. Like swim team. Like cello lessons.
Although she has begged me in the past, "When am I old enough to be a Girl Scout?" (all three of her girl first-cousins are in or have been in Girl Scouts, and two of her aunts are leaders -- I need to talk to them next), when I told Monkey1 about a Daisy Girl Scout troop forming for her age with lots of her classmates, she just kinda shrugged. Girl Scouts may be something that Mom is more excited about than daughter.
In 2004 in Texas, several communities boycotted Girl Scout cookie sales, culminating in the local council severing ties and no longer co-sponsoring an annual event as it had previously done with Planned Parenthood.
Shortly afterward the then-CEO of the Girl Scouts, Kathy Cloninger, was interviewed on NBC’s "Today" show. She said: "The Girl Scouts in Waco, Texas, really made a decision based on local community context, they decided that in this particular situation that it would be in the best interest of girls and their families to discontinue the relationship with Planned Parenthood." Subsequently she noted, "We partner with many organizations. We have relationships with our church communities, with YWCAs, and with Planned Parenthood organizations across the country, to bring information-based sex education programs to girls."
Um, gulp.
Following this turmoil, a group called STOPP (Stop Planned Parenthood) conducted a survey of the then 300+ Girl Scout councils across the U.S. After several months, STOPP reported that 20% of Girl Scout councils admitted to having a relationship with Planned Parenthood. Some councils said they have no working relationships with Planned Parenthood, while the majority did not respond to the survey.
A "relationship" with Planned Parenthood was defined as any of the following:
Any troop in the council inviting PP to speak.
Having scouts attend PP events to earn a badge.
Co-sponsor Planned Parenthood event.
Co-sponsor, with PP, a third-party event.
Promotion of a PP event or event with PP participation.
PP execs/board members serving on GS board.
Giving award to PP executive.
What a mess! It really looks like local leadership sets the tone on this issue.
Meanwhile, the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM), which has been overseeing "Catholic religious recognition programs serving Girl Scout and Camp Fire units" (i.e., badges, pins, etc) since the early 1980's has said:
"Many Catholic Girl Scout leaders are feeling torn between their commitment to Girl Scouting and their commitment to their Catholic teachings because of the real or perceived relationship between GSUSA and organizations like Planned Parenthood. The NFCYM approach to this complex issue has been one of engagement, rather than detachment or withdrawal. NFCYM... needs to stay connected to GSUSA not only because thousands of Catholic girls and Catholic adult leaders are involved in scouting, but because Girl Scouting—like Boy Scouting—provides excellent character development for young people through their programs. NFCYM can only influence secular organizations by staying in relationship with them . . . by being at the table."
Ah, the very question that occurred to me! Withdrawal, boycott, or engagement, dialogue. The Youth Ministers play on the national stage, so their responsibility has a different scope than mine, as a parent dealing with my daughter, one particular potential Girl Scout at the moment. But the question is the same.
Of course, my husband framed the debate in an entirely different way. "This is Monkey1 we are dealing with. She may go to four meetings and decide it is boring."
Like ballet. Like swim team. Like cello lessons.
Although she has begged me in the past, "When am I old enough to be a Girl Scout?" (all three of her girl first-cousins are in or have been in Girl Scouts, and two of her aunts are leaders -- I need to talk to them next), when I told Monkey1 about a Daisy Girl Scout troop forming for her age with lots of her classmates, she just kinda shrugged. Girl Scouts may be something that Mom is more excited about than daughter.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Lost and Found
Usually I can reconstruct the reasoning and actions, albeit way after the fact, of Monkey1 and understand why her glasses ended up lost in a new location.
For instance, yesterday morning: after vainly ransacking the house in search of Monkey1's glasses, I stepped out the door to get Monkey2 at least in the car, and there were the glasses, gleaming bright pink and wet with rain on the edge of the sidewalk and lawn by the front step. The day before she had been playing Sleeping Beauty on the front lawn. At the sleeping part she took her glasses off. Then the ice cream truck had arrived, and everything else was forgotten.
But how did her glasses get in the scissors and crayon drawer?
For instance, yesterday morning: after vainly ransacking the house in search of Monkey1's glasses, I stepped out the door to get Monkey2 at least in the car, and there were the glasses, gleaming bright pink and wet with rain on the edge of the sidewalk and lawn by the front step. The day before she had been playing Sleeping Beauty on the front lawn. At the sleeping part she took her glasses off. Then the ice cream truck had arrived, and everything else was forgotten.
But how did her glasses get in the scissors and crayon drawer?
Shopping
About a month ago when I filled up the Golf, I had a bit of a panic attack over fuel prices. The car was almost completely empty, and filling it all the way up cost just shy of $50.
"When we get a bigger car," I thought, "it's only going to get worse!" Minivans, while not a favorite idea for either myself or my husband, do get significantly better gas mileage than the SUVs that would accommodate our long-legged Monkeys. Looking at the price at the pump, I wondered what would make a minivan more attractive to my husband. After all, he drove a VW Minibus for years. That's kinda the same, right?
Well, except for the coolness factor.
So what if... we painted a minivan with a white top and side posts and a solid color lower body? Make it the coloring of a 'bus?
Ah, the brilliancy of the pregnant mind.
When I pitched the idea to him, he just said "No." (One of my mom friends had at least laughed at me.)
But guess what? VW unveiled a prototype of that very thing this past spring! However, there is no timeline for actual production, and VW has been playing around with different van concepts for several years, without bringing them to market. (I discount the Routan, which is just Chrysler's minivan with a VW badge stuck on the front.)
Anyway, this past weekend we took our first trip out to visit some car dealers. We left the Monkeys with grandparents, which put us under some time constraints, so we just visited two dealerships and looked at and sat in the vehicles to get an idea of what might work for us.
Honda: Odyssey and Pilot
The salesman started with the Odyssey, and started from the rear of the minivan, opening the rear hatch and demonstrating the fold-down action of the rear seats. (Yawn.) Then he moved to the front, opening the sliding doors with a press of a button on the key.
"Can you open the windows with the key?" I asked suddenly.
He was puzzled. "Does it matter?"
I just waited, but thought, "Yes it matters! My 10-year-old Golf can do it!"
After a moment studying the key, the salesman made the windows go down.
He knew the interior better, because next he showed us the magical expanding bench seat, split in three sections for separate for fold-up or removal, that was made to accommodate three car seats. Three across right behind the driver! Since two captain's chairs are usually in this location, pushing someone way off into the back, I was hugely impressed by this new option for seating. Another nice feature was the integrated sunshades for those big side windows. No more screaming, "The sun's in my eyes!"
We sat in different locations in the Odyssey, judging its leg room, as well as the driver's seat.
"Does it have a back-up camera?" I asked, looking at a large blank screen on the dashboard.
"The next model up does, with the leather seats."
I wonder how leather seats would fair against sun-melted crayons.
I exited the Odyssey much more impressed than I ever expected. Its design to seat three car seats in the row behind the driver, rendering it an eight-passenger vehicle, really changed its usefulness in my mind.
With the Pilot, again the salesman started from the rear.
"The trunk space is smaller than the Golf's!" I blurted out in horror.
I can't remember anything else about the vehicle, though I know we climbed in it and discussed the leg room and various features. No way are we downgrading the cargo area; more kids means more stuff to haul!
My husband and I thanked the salesman, took his card, and headed off discussing the two vehicles. We crossed the Pilot off our list and freely admitted to each other that the Odyssey greatly exceeded our expectations with its expanding bench seat for three. We agreed that it was worth looking at again and taking for a test drive sometime.
Toyota: Highlander, Sienna, and Sequoia
Highlander first, the little SUV that also comes in a Hybrid for better fuel consumption. Too small in the back row. Lots of vehicles come with a third row these days, but the amount of legroom is really cramped. We want a functional third row.
Sienna, minivan, next. Again, the fold-down third row, but this time I was struck by all the nooks and crannies in the floor that said seats fold into... sure to fill up with rocks, crumbs, crayons, and who knows what grossness. Why didn't that occur to me before? Oh vacuum cleaner!
The seats behind the driver were the two captains chairs, not my preference, and then we discovered that the van only has LATCH (carseat hooks) in three places! Since we currently have two kids in carseat boosters requiring the use of LATCH, seating options are looking pretty limited.
Not to mention that the backup camera screen is smaller than my $20 cell phone. ("It's not that you are a bad driver," my husband told me, "but it's a bigger vehicle. And they just don't build cars to see out the back.")
So the salesman pointed us to the next bigger SUV, the Sequoia. This had better trunk space, more leg room in the third row, more LATCH hooks, a bench in the middle row, and it sat up higher, as I found myself doing the familiar climb-and-hop that I had perfected over the summer with the Suburban. As I inspected the vehicle, I heard the salesman explain to my husband that the difference between the Sequoia and the Sienna was $30,000. "And the gas mileage," my husband pointed out, nodding to the vehicle spec sheet in the window. 13 mpg city driving. Yuck!
Toyota off our list.
As we drove away, seeing a Chevrolet sign, my husband wondered what would happen if he asked asked a salesman if a diesel engine could be dropped into a Suburban.
"They'll laugh at you."
"Probably. But what if they don't?"
"Then they'll say it'll take six months to build."
"What's wrong with that?"
"That's cutting it a bit fine!"
"So?"
I sighed. "I probably won't be driving for the first two weeks after the baby is born anyway."
So first trip out, looked at five sets of wheels, and found one to revisit. Not bad. Looking forward to our next trip out. Not to mention it is such a novelty for us to go anywhere without the Monkeys.
"When we get a bigger car," I thought, "it's only going to get worse!" Minivans, while not a favorite idea for either myself or my husband, do get significantly better gas mileage than the SUVs that would accommodate our long-legged Monkeys. Looking at the price at the pump, I wondered what would make a minivan more attractive to my husband. After all, he drove a VW Minibus for years. That's kinda the same, right?
Well, except for the coolness factor.
So what if... we painted a minivan with a white top and side posts and a solid color lower body? Make it the coloring of a 'bus?
Ah, the brilliancy of the pregnant mind.
When I pitched the idea to him, he just said "No." (One of my mom friends had at least laughed at me.)
But guess what? VW unveiled a prototype of that very thing this past spring! However, there is no timeline for actual production, and VW has been playing around with different van concepts for several years, without bringing them to market. (I discount the Routan, which is just Chrysler's minivan with a VW badge stuck on the front.)
Anyway, this past weekend we took our first trip out to visit some car dealers. We left the Monkeys with grandparents, which put us under some time constraints, so we just visited two dealerships and looked at and sat in the vehicles to get an idea of what might work for us.
Honda: Odyssey and Pilot
The salesman started with the Odyssey, and started from the rear of the minivan, opening the rear hatch and demonstrating the fold-down action of the rear seats. (Yawn.) Then he moved to the front, opening the sliding doors with a press of a button on the key.
"Can you open the windows with the key?" I asked suddenly.
He was puzzled. "Does it matter?"
I just waited, but thought, "Yes it matters! My 10-year-old Golf can do it!"
After a moment studying the key, the salesman made the windows go down.
He knew the interior better, because next he showed us the magical expanding bench seat, split in three sections for separate for fold-up or removal, that was made to accommodate three car seats. Three across right behind the driver! Since two captain's chairs are usually in this location, pushing someone way off into the back, I was hugely impressed by this new option for seating. Another nice feature was the integrated sunshades for those big side windows. No more screaming, "The sun's in my eyes!"
We sat in different locations in the Odyssey, judging its leg room, as well as the driver's seat.
"Does it have a back-up camera?" I asked, looking at a large blank screen on the dashboard.
"The next model up does, with the leather seats."
I wonder how leather seats would fair against sun-melted crayons.
I exited the Odyssey much more impressed than I ever expected. Its design to seat three car seats in the row behind the driver, rendering it an eight-passenger vehicle, really changed its usefulness in my mind.
With the Pilot, again the salesman started from the rear.
"The trunk space is smaller than the Golf's!" I blurted out in horror.
I can't remember anything else about the vehicle, though I know we climbed in it and discussed the leg room and various features. No way are we downgrading the cargo area; more kids means more stuff to haul!
My husband and I thanked the salesman, took his card, and headed off discussing the two vehicles. We crossed the Pilot off our list and freely admitted to each other that the Odyssey greatly exceeded our expectations with its expanding bench seat for three. We agreed that it was worth looking at again and taking for a test drive sometime.
Toyota: Highlander, Sienna, and Sequoia
Highlander first, the little SUV that also comes in a Hybrid for better fuel consumption. Too small in the back row. Lots of vehicles come with a third row these days, but the amount of legroom is really cramped. We want a functional third row.
Sienna, minivan, next. Again, the fold-down third row, but this time I was struck by all the nooks and crannies in the floor that said seats fold into... sure to fill up with rocks, crumbs, crayons, and who knows what grossness. Why didn't that occur to me before? Oh vacuum cleaner!
The seats behind the driver were the two captains chairs, not my preference, and then we discovered that the van only has LATCH (carseat hooks) in three places! Since we currently have two kids in carseat boosters requiring the use of LATCH, seating options are looking pretty limited.
Not to mention that the backup camera screen is smaller than my $20 cell phone. ("It's not that you are a bad driver," my husband told me, "but it's a bigger vehicle. And they just don't build cars to see out the back.")
So the salesman pointed us to the next bigger SUV, the Sequoia. This had better trunk space, more leg room in the third row, more LATCH hooks, a bench in the middle row, and it sat up higher, as I found myself doing the familiar climb-and-hop that I had perfected over the summer with the Suburban. As I inspected the vehicle, I heard the salesman explain to my husband that the difference between the Sequoia and the Sienna was $30,000. "And the gas mileage," my husband pointed out, nodding to the vehicle spec sheet in the window. 13 mpg city driving. Yuck!
Toyota off our list.
As we drove away, seeing a Chevrolet sign, my husband wondered what would happen if he asked asked a salesman if a diesel engine could be dropped into a Suburban.
"They'll laugh at you."
"Probably. But what if they don't?"
"Then they'll say it'll take six months to build."
"What's wrong with that?"
"That's cutting it a bit fine!"
"So?"
I sighed. "I probably won't be driving for the first two weeks after the baby is born anyway."
So first trip out, looked at five sets of wheels, and found one to revisit. Not bad. Looking forward to our next trip out. Not to mention it is such a novelty for us to go anywhere without the Monkeys.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Girl Scouts - Today?
(This is probably the beginning of a series of posts on Girl Scouts. I work slowly these days.)
A week ago now I went to a parent information and organizational meeting for a Daisy Scout troop. One of the first grade moms at Monkey1's school had responded to the bulletin announcement. A troop was in the works! I think eight moms attended, women I knew to varying degrees due to our daughters all being in first grade this year, the kindergarten class last year, and the preschool "Bunny" class the year before that. Only one mother had never been a Girl Scout.
The meeting hostess, a leader for a troop of now sixth graders at our Catholic school, showed us her daughter's Daisy apron, and Brownie and Junior sashes, talked about some of the things they had done to earn badges, and what we needed to do to start a troop.
With one or two meetings a month, Daisy Scouts would introduce the girls to earning "petals" (patches to attach to their uniform) for different activities. Troops are allowed to take a pass on cookie selling the first year of existence.
I came home from the one-hour meeting exhausted. This pregnancy I've been climbing into bed between 6:30 and 7:00 (and shouting directions to get the Monkeys through the pajama, teeth brushing, etc. part of bedtime preparation - which is not very effective - culminating in them climbing into bed with me with books to be read), and this meeting had started at 7:00.
Soon one of my college friends sent me a series of messages, attaching articles titled: "Planned Parenthood distributes sexually explicit brochures at Girl Scout meeting," "Children Leaving Girl Scouts Due to 'Planned Parenthood' Affiliations," and a website called Speak Now Girl Scouts, set up by two teens, former Girl Scouts.
I had a sleepless night. I had heard about a Girl Scouts- Planned Parenthood connection before, as one of my friends had colorfully put it, "Planned Parenthood has their hands down the pants of the Girls Scouts," and I had looked into it briefly at the time, but it was a bit ago and didn't exactly stay uppermost in my mind.
Was this bad enough to keep my six-year-old out of Girl Scouts? Or do we join, and I become a thorn in the side of National?
Wait - when did I become an activist?
I kept searching and reading.
At lot of uproar centered around a closed door meeting (workgroup/panel participants only, one extraneous observer was shooed out) at the U.N. in 2010. Except the last time I heard about this meeting, I'm pretty sure it was dated 2004 or earlier. But I can't find anything but 2010 now, so I'll leave it at that.
I found the following at the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry:
"In the last several days NFCYM has received inquiries about a meeting at the United Nations with Girl Scouts of the USA and whether or not Girl Scouts of the USA distributed offensive material to girls. Our practice, as an organization, is to investigate such matters by going directly to the source involved. Therefore we contacted GSUSA and they have officially offered the statement below. Please share this with those in your diocese who have voiced any concerns with you. This is a good reminder that at times we can be quick to render judgment without fact, that not all information offered on the Internet is accurate, and that our organizational integrity is at stake when we fail to properly investigate allegations.
Statement from Girl Scouts USA
Earlier this month, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) was honored to attend and participate in the 54th Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations, where girls were encouraged to take action on global issues concerning women and girls. Our participation in that conference was recently the subject of numerous internet stories and blogs that are factually inaccurate and troubling. Here are the facts of that meeting:
*The Girls Only Workshop was jointly hosted by Girl Scouts of the USA, UNICEF’s Working Group on Girls, Girls Learn International and The Grail. The meeting was only open to the girls and participating sponsors.
*Only seven adults were in the room at the time of the meeting, each representing one of the sponsors of the event. No one from Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute was in the room to report on the event.
*30-35 girls from across the world participated in this event. All teenagers.
*The girls received a copy of the only document they were working on titled (“The Girls’ Statement”). No other documents were given to the girls as part of this event.
*The room in question was also used to host other events over the course of the multi-day conference. Prior to our girls entering the room, we did not “sanitize’ the room to ensure that no trash or other items were left behind. We did request that those not associated with the sponsors to leave the room prior to our session.
*The Girl Scouts of the USA was not contacted by Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute (C-FAM) regarding its initial story to discuss the facts of this event. Had they applied these basic journalistic standards, perhaps the true details of this event would have been reported.
Our Mission in Girl Scouting is to build girls of courage, confidence and character–who make the world a better place. We continue to be proud of our girls and look forward to showing the world what our girls can do. We thank everyone for their support of Girl Scouting."
Well now. Are the Girl Scouts pulling the wool over the eyes of the Youth Ministers, or is this an urban legend?
A week ago now I went to a parent information and organizational meeting for a Daisy Scout troop. One of the first grade moms at Monkey1's school had responded to the bulletin announcement. A troop was in the works! I think eight moms attended, women I knew to varying degrees due to our daughters all being in first grade this year, the kindergarten class last year, and the preschool "Bunny" class the year before that. Only one mother had never been a Girl Scout.
The meeting hostess, a leader for a troop of now sixth graders at our Catholic school, showed us her daughter's Daisy apron, and Brownie and Junior sashes, talked about some of the things they had done to earn badges, and what we needed to do to start a troop.
With one or two meetings a month, Daisy Scouts would introduce the girls to earning "petals" (patches to attach to their uniform) for different activities. Troops are allowed to take a pass on cookie selling the first year of existence.
I came home from the one-hour meeting exhausted. This pregnancy I've been climbing into bed between 6:30 and 7:00 (and shouting directions to get the Monkeys through the pajama, teeth brushing, etc. part of bedtime preparation - which is not very effective - culminating in them climbing into bed with me with books to be read), and this meeting had started at 7:00.
Soon one of my college friends sent me a series of messages, attaching articles titled: "Planned Parenthood distributes sexually explicit brochures at Girl Scout meeting," "Children Leaving Girl Scouts Due to 'Planned Parenthood' Affiliations," and a website called Speak Now Girl Scouts, set up by two teens, former Girl Scouts.
I had a sleepless night. I had heard about a Girl Scouts- Planned Parenthood connection before, as one of my friends had colorfully put it, "Planned Parenthood has their hands down the pants of the Girls Scouts," and I had looked into it briefly at the time, but it was a bit ago and didn't exactly stay uppermost in my mind.
Was this bad enough to keep my six-year-old out of Girl Scouts? Or do we join, and I become a thorn in the side of National?
Wait - when did I become an activist?
I kept searching and reading.
At lot of uproar centered around a closed door meeting (workgroup/panel participants only, one extraneous observer was shooed out) at the U.N. in 2010. Except the last time I heard about this meeting, I'm pretty sure it was dated 2004 or earlier. But I can't find anything but 2010 now, so I'll leave it at that.
I found the following at the National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry:
"In the last several days NFCYM has received inquiries about a meeting at the United Nations with Girl Scouts of the USA and whether or not Girl Scouts of the USA distributed offensive material to girls. Our practice, as an organization, is to investigate such matters by going directly to the source involved. Therefore we contacted GSUSA and they have officially offered the statement below. Please share this with those in your diocese who have voiced any concerns with you. This is a good reminder that at times we can be quick to render judgment without fact, that not all information offered on the Internet is accurate, and that our organizational integrity is at stake when we fail to properly investigate allegations.
Statement from Girl Scouts USA
Earlier this month, Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) was honored to attend and participate in the 54th Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations, where girls were encouraged to take action on global issues concerning women and girls. Our participation in that conference was recently the subject of numerous internet stories and blogs that are factually inaccurate and troubling. Here are the facts of that meeting:
*The Girls Only Workshop was jointly hosted by Girl Scouts of the USA, UNICEF’s Working Group on Girls, Girls Learn International and The Grail. The meeting was only open to the girls and participating sponsors.
*Only seven adults were in the room at the time of the meeting, each representing one of the sponsors of the event. No one from Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute was in the room to report on the event.
*30-35 girls from across the world participated in this event. All teenagers.
*The girls received a copy of the only document they were working on titled (“The Girls’ Statement”). No other documents were given to the girls as part of this event.
*The room in question was also used to host other events over the course of the multi-day conference. Prior to our girls entering the room, we did not “sanitize’ the room to ensure that no trash or other items were left behind. We did request that those not associated with the sponsors to leave the room prior to our session.
*The Girl Scouts of the USA was not contacted by Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute (C-FAM) regarding its initial story to discuss the facts of this event. Had they applied these basic journalistic standards, perhaps the true details of this event would have been reported.
Our Mission in Girl Scouting is to build girls of courage, confidence and character–who make the world a better place. We continue to be proud of our girls and look forward to showing the world what our girls can do. We thank everyone for their support of Girl Scouting."
Well now. Are the Girl Scouts pulling the wool over the eyes of the Youth Ministers, or is this an urban legend?
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Girl Scouts - Memory Lane
The notice in the church bulletin was brief, who to contact if interested in a Daisy Scout troop, and that the Girl Scouts were soon celebrating 100 years.
I did the math, concluding I had been in seventh grade at the 75th anniversary. It had been a bitter cold day outside the state house, with some official remarks and I'm not sure what else, and we went inside afterwards. Someone knew someone who knew someone, and my troop ended up in the governor's office. She was out that day, and we each got a turn to sit in the governor's chair and have our picture taken. (Why hadn't I taken off my ski jacket?) How funny that my grandfather spent twenty-two years in the House as a Town Representative, yet it was the Girl Scouts that got me in the governor's office! Not that I had any ambition in that direction, but how many teenagers can say they sat in their state governor's chair?
I started Girl Scouts as a Brownie, at the tail end of second grade. After a school year commuting to out of town, my mom was looking for ways for me to have friendships close to home. The troop had already completed their community service project, so for me to earn the service patch at the end-of-year ceremony, I (with several grown-ups helping) planted flowers around the Mary statue at our church. Not that the troop had anything to do with our church, but planting flowers was a good Brownie Scout level community service project.
I continued with Girl Scouts through most of grade school, with a few different troop leaders, earning badges for the different activities we did: first aid, Green-Up Day, wild life interest, camping, ... A few summers I did a Girl Scout day camp, and later, a two- week over night camp for several years, swimming, horseback riding, singing, cooking over a camp fire, and grumbling when we got rained on. It was all a lot of fun.
I left Girl Scouts shortly after I flew up to a more senior level, where there were few still involved, and joined a troop with no one I knew. The troop leader planned a weekend camping trip with no provisions or regard to my needing to get church on Sunday. Strike one. The amount of work she expected us to do independently for our badges was beyond what I could manage; all the other girls attended public school, with little or no homework, while I attended Catholic school and had a considerable amount of homework. Unlike my previous troops, no actual badge work was done at meetings, so Strike two. And I didn't hang around for anything else. I moved on to high school and found other activities that fit my life.
Although my departure from Girl Scouts was on a low note, I enjoyed the many many other years and experiences as a Brownie, Cadet, and Junior. So much depended on the troop leader, and the early ones were terrific. Who wouldn't remember first aid after having real medical dummies sprawled on the school library floor? Or creating prize-worthy Fourth of July floats several years in a row? Or collecting $300 worth of returnable soda cans while filling trash bags and bags and bags of roadside junk on Green Up Day? (A precursor to Earth Day.)
Monkey1 has been watching older cousins in Girl Scouts and asking when she will be old enough.
100 years, and we could participate.
I did the math, concluding I had been in seventh grade at the 75th anniversary. It had been a bitter cold day outside the state house, with some official remarks and I'm not sure what else, and we went inside afterwards. Someone knew someone who knew someone, and my troop ended up in the governor's office. She was out that day, and we each got a turn to sit in the governor's chair and have our picture taken. (Why hadn't I taken off my ski jacket?) How funny that my grandfather spent twenty-two years in the House as a Town Representative, yet it was the Girl Scouts that got me in the governor's office! Not that I had any ambition in that direction, but how many teenagers can say they sat in their state governor's chair?
I started Girl Scouts as a Brownie, at the tail end of second grade. After a school year commuting to out of town, my mom was looking for ways for me to have friendships close to home. The troop had already completed their community service project, so for me to earn the service patch at the end-of-year ceremony, I (with several grown-ups helping) planted flowers around the Mary statue at our church. Not that the troop had anything to do with our church, but planting flowers was a good Brownie Scout level community service project.
I continued with Girl Scouts through most of grade school, with a few different troop leaders, earning badges for the different activities we did: first aid, Green-Up Day, wild life interest, camping, ... A few summers I did a Girl Scout day camp, and later, a two- week over night camp for several years, swimming, horseback riding, singing, cooking over a camp fire, and grumbling when we got rained on. It was all a lot of fun.
I left Girl Scouts shortly after I flew up to a more senior level, where there were few still involved, and joined a troop with no one I knew. The troop leader planned a weekend camping trip with no provisions or regard to my needing to get church on Sunday. Strike one. The amount of work she expected us to do independently for our badges was beyond what I could manage; all the other girls attended public school, with little or no homework, while I attended Catholic school and had a considerable amount of homework. Unlike my previous troops, no actual badge work was done at meetings, so Strike two. And I didn't hang around for anything else. I moved on to high school and found other activities that fit my life.
Although my departure from Girl Scouts was on a low note, I enjoyed the many many other years and experiences as a Brownie, Cadet, and Junior. So much depended on the troop leader, and the early ones were terrific. Who wouldn't remember first aid after having real medical dummies sprawled on the school library floor? Or creating prize-worthy Fourth of July floats several years in a row? Or collecting $300 worth of returnable soda cans while filling trash bags and bags and bags of roadside junk on Green Up Day? (A precursor to Earth Day.)
Monkey1 has been watching older cousins in Girl Scouts and asking when she will be old enough.
100 years, and we could participate.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Bug Scientist
Monkey1 said that Monkey2 caught the escaped grasshopper.
A minute later, she reported that the grasshopper had bit Monkey2, who showed her finger in evidence: "The orange. He put his poison on me!"
"I don't think the grasshopper wanted to go back in the cage," I observed.
"That's his spit," corrected Dad.
"Go wash it off," I suggested, "You can have a bandaid if you want." Though clearly there was no blood, which is usually the criteria for a bandaid. (Otherwise we go through far too many bandaids in a day.)
However, my little bug scientist was only temporarily discouraged. The next day at the playground she had a whole pack of children catching crickets and carrying them around in sand buckets. The following day, three grasshoppers ended up in our cricket cage which was already getting crowded with five crickets.
Yes, my four-and-a-half-year-old calls herself a bug scientist. At a family BBQ she found a cicada nymph's discarded exoskeleton and was then directed to one of my husband's cousins, an entomologist at the University of North Carolina. They had a lengthy conversation, and she came home with a string of big words and a plastic cup full of the exoskeletons.
The next evening my husband found a live cicada nymph on our sidewalk, put it in Monkey2's bug box, and by the next morning, it had climbed out of its skin and now looked like a giant fly. She was enthralled.
Ever since, a terrorized scream of "A bug!" from Monkey1 has Monkey2 charging to the scene proclaiming, "Out of the way! I'm a bug scientist - I'll pick it up!"
A minute later, she reported that the grasshopper had bit Monkey2, who showed her finger in evidence: "The orange. He put his poison on me!"
"I don't think the grasshopper wanted to go back in the cage," I observed.
"That's his spit," corrected Dad.
"Go wash it off," I suggested, "You can have a bandaid if you want." Though clearly there was no blood, which is usually the criteria for a bandaid. (Otherwise we go through far too many bandaids in a day.)
However, my little bug scientist was only temporarily discouraged. The next day at the playground she had a whole pack of children catching crickets and carrying them around in sand buckets. The following day, three grasshoppers ended up in our cricket cage which was already getting crowded with five crickets.
Yes, my four-and-a-half-year-old calls herself a bug scientist. At a family BBQ she found a cicada nymph's discarded exoskeleton and was then directed to one of my husband's cousins, an entomologist at the University of North Carolina. They had a lengthy conversation, and she came home with a string of big words and a plastic cup full of the exoskeletons.
The next evening my husband found a live cicada nymph on our sidewalk, put it in Monkey2's bug box, and by the next morning, it had climbed out of its skin and now looked like a giant fly. She was enthralled.
Ever since, a terrorized scream of "A bug!" from Monkey1 has Monkey2 charging to the scene proclaiming, "Out of the way! I'm a bug scientist - I'll pick it up!"
Friday, October 7, 2011
The Missing Months
While I was MIA, on this blog I've missed writing about
my tenth anniversary of leaving Vermont,
Vacation Bible School, with both Monkeys participating and me leading the preschooler craft activity,
being so sick that I'd take a rest on the sofa and wake up to find the Monkeys had given each other and me a pedicure, or painted the front doorstep purple, or made a snack of pretzels, yogurt, and jam and then abandoned it in favor of marshmallows and chocolate chips,
a family beach vacation, with 30 members of my husband's family,
an earthquake,
my addiction to the 39 Clues series,
Monkey1's obsession with Harry Potter,
Monkey2's cicadas, grasshoppers, and crickets,
the ins and outs of getting a city building permit,
Monkey1 starting first grade,
Monkey2 starting a second year of preschool and having a teacher her sister had two years ago,
major car trouble the second week of school,
the ten year anniversary of September 11th,
grappling with the concept of buying Halloween costumes because I'm still not well to sit at my sewing machine,
...
It all lands me here. 17 weeks pregnant, tired, pretty much over the puking several times a day, craving Popeye's chicken, biscuits, and coleslaw OR iHop's crepes stuffed with omelets. Knowing our lives will change all over again when we welcome a Monkey3, probably the week of Saint Patrick's Day, when we already have three out of four birthdays, mere weeks before my husband and I mark 10 years of marriage.
my tenth anniversary of leaving Vermont,
Vacation Bible School, with both Monkeys participating and me leading the preschooler craft activity,
being so sick that I'd take a rest on the sofa and wake up to find the Monkeys had given each other and me a pedicure, or painted the front doorstep purple, or made a snack of pretzels, yogurt, and jam and then abandoned it in favor of marshmallows and chocolate chips,
a family beach vacation, with 30 members of my husband's family,
an earthquake,
my addiction to the 39 Clues series,
Monkey1's obsession with Harry Potter,
Monkey2's cicadas, grasshoppers, and crickets,
the ins and outs of getting a city building permit,
Monkey1 starting first grade,
Monkey2 starting a second year of preschool and having a teacher her sister had two years ago,
major car trouble the second week of school,
the ten year anniversary of September 11th,
grappling with the concept of buying Halloween costumes because I'm still not well to sit at my sewing machine,
...
It all lands me here. 17 weeks pregnant, tired, pretty much over the puking several times a day, craving Popeye's chicken, biscuits, and coleslaw OR iHop's crepes stuffed with omelets. Knowing our lives will change all over again when we welcome a Monkey3, probably the week of Saint Patrick's Day, when we already have three out of four birthdays, mere weeks before my husband and I mark 10 years of marriage.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
All Creatures Great and Small
The safety barricades blocked off half the school parking lot. There were dogs on leashes everywhere. And a hedgehog in cage, a hamster hiding under his bedding, two frogs in small aquariums, two gerbils, a bird in a cage, ... it was the Feast of St. Francis and the annual blessing of the pets.
Monkey2 had her two crickets and grasshopper in their box, and she had brought Monkey1's Zuzu pet. I think Monkey1 was pleased to have her battery-operated hamster. She was not shy about showing it to classmates and teachers, one of whom nicely said it was the best behaved of all the pets there.
The cricket and grasshopper cage suffered such earthquakes in the car ride and being carried about in the school yard that Monkey2 decided to clean it out upon our return home. During the grasshopper's transfer to another bug box, he made successful a bid for freedom. Monkey2 was upset. I consoled her that St. Francis would watch over him. The crickets were much more docile, and I think they are happier without the grasshopper in their cage. Certainly they spend less time hiding under their egg carton houses.
By evening, the Monkeys had captured a half-dozen slugs in a bowl.
Apparently our postage-stamp-sized backyard contains plenty of pets.
Monkey2 had her two crickets and grasshopper in their box, and she had brought Monkey1's Zuzu pet. I think Monkey1 was pleased to have her battery-operated hamster. She was not shy about showing it to classmates and teachers, one of whom nicely said it was the best behaved of all the pets there.
The cricket and grasshopper cage suffered such earthquakes in the car ride and being carried about in the school yard that Monkey2 decided to clean it out upon our return home. During the grasshopper's transfer to another bug box, he made successful a bid for freedom. Monkey2 was upset. I consoled her that St. Francis would watch over him. The crickets were much more docile, and I think they are happier without the grasshopper in their cage. Certainly they spend less time hiding under their egg carton houses.
By evening, the Monkeys had captured a half-dozen slugs in a bowl.
Apparently our postage-stamp-sized backyard contains plenty of pets.
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