Browsing all posts in "mother".
You Say Hysteria, I Say…???
Hysteria is a very complex topic. It has been examined exhaustively by historians of medicine, social historians, feminist historians, feminists, sociologists, neurologists, psychiatrists, neuropsychiatrists… Here’s the thing–not any of them agree on what hysteria actually was. Or is. Or might have been. Or probably wasn’t. They do agree on one thing–Hippocrates was wrong. Hippocratic tradition [...]
The Mother’s Guide to Empty Nesting
Granted, I don’t quite have an empty nest. My youngest doesn’t yet drive, but he is going to real school in the fall, so I’m feeling empty (-er.) But I do have an idea of what I am going to do with myself when my little ones (currently 5’8″ and counting) no longer require me [...]
The Mother and the Horrible, Awful, No-Good, Terrible Day
Every once in a while, every mother has one of those days. Those are the days when you cheerfully would give half your life to just skip forward a tad. They, luckily, are mostly rare. When they happen, it feels as though the world is caving in. There are few remedies for the Horrible, Awful, [...]
A Terrifying New Chapter in the History of Motherhood
We interrupt our regularly scheduled Nefarious History of Motherhood post to discuss modern history–or at least history that is about to be made (and perhaps, a little, because I haven’t had time to do my research this week). The Houston Chronicle reported yesterday about a woman who locked her son out of his Facebook account [...]
Cleanliness, Godliness, and Allergies
“Cleanliness is next to godliness.” How many times have you heard that? Do you have any idea where it comes from? Turns out that it appears to be the grand wisdom of a 2nd century rabbi. If you are at all familiar with the wisdom of the ancient rabbis, you are probably rolling your eyes [...]
How Old is Too Old?
I am taking a break from ancient Greece (which deserves much more time than I have had to devote to it recently) to cover some breaking history of motherhood from our own time. Hey–it’s still history. In the making. The world’s oldest mother, having given birth at the tender, young age of 66, died last [...]
The Pythagoreans Have a Number for That
Before we get to Hippocrates, our next step in the medical history, we should look at a little pre-Socratic thinking about motherhood. The Pythagoreans date from the 6th through 5th century BCE, predating Plato (and Hippocrates) by a century or so. By modern standards, they would be considered a cult. They were very secretive about [...]
Awesome!
The Lawyer Mom hit me with a meme. I’m supposed to explain seven ways in which I am awesome. I can’t imagine why anyone would want a list of my awesomeness, but apparently Lawyer Mom does (or at least, she hates suffering alone). So here goes. 1) I am AWESOME at avoiding memes. Really. I [...]
The Curious Case of the Phone Call in the Afternoon
I have a theory about college age kids. Ready? THEY’RE NOT KIDS ANYMORE. Eighteen-year-olds are adults. They are, at the age of eighteen, responsible for themselves in the eyes of the law, and in the eyes of the MOTHER. Mom and Dad pay for college, as long as we can afford it, and as long [...]
Here’s $200. Lose my Kid.
Anyone else following the Continental airlines snafu? In one week, Continental managed to lose TWO, count ‘em, TWO unaccompanied minors. They were both placed on the wrong planes. Their luggage got there, but not the children. I’m having a blast. (Continental is having a bad week. They also lost a pilot, mid-flight, over the Atlantic. [...]
