Weekly Geeks v9.08 & v9.09: Political & Social Issues / Quotes

This past week has been so messed up for me.  I was so planning on doing last weeks theme and I’ve even had this post written for the better part of the week; however, I haven’t liked the way it was written.

Since this week’s theme is Quotes again, I’m going to merge the two and say everything is good.  So for this week, we’re doing an old favorite where we post a quote a day for the next week.  To start out this week, here’s a few quotes from one of my favorite series – Night Huntress (Halfway to the Grave, One Foot in the Grave, At Grave’s End, and Destined for an Early Grave) by Jeaniene Frost.

It’s the bloody show hound. – Bones (At Grave’s End p160)

The balls on you, that’s what! – Cat (At Grave’s End p143)

This would only bring disaster, I knew it. Knew it as sure as I knew I was a half-blooded freak, but looking into his eyes, it didn’t matter. – Cat (Halfway to the Grave p197)

Here lies Cat. Killed not by fang but Ferragamos. – Cat (One Foot in the Grave p111)

Ah, yes. Your galloping yeast infection. A very clever move. I’m sure Mini-Mob won’t be able to get it up for days. – Chance (Weddings from Hell – “Happily Never After” p131)

We’re going to knock those demons out and slay them with the power of Jesus. Hallelujah, Can I get an amen? – Timmie (Halfway to the Grave p230)

Alright, so last week’s topic was another old theme – political and social issues – and we’re not allowed to talk about the same issue as last year (Net Neutrality).

Choose a political or social issue that matters to you. If you were a Weekly Geek last May and already did this theme, pick a different theme than the one you did at that time.

Educate readers about your topic by telling us a little about it and any involvement you’ve had in this issue.

Find books addressing your issue; they do not necessarily have to be books you’ve read. They can be non fiction, fiction, poetry, etc…Give a little synopsis of the book or a link to the description.

Use images which you feel illustrate your topic.

Ideally, this shouldn’t have been that hard of a topic to discuss.  There are a few issues that I do have strong opinions about, however, I really haven’t kept up on any of them.  Over the last couple of years, my life has undergone a drastic change and while I had time to keep up on some of issues during the previous year, I haven’t had time over the past year.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that right there was the issue I could talk about (although it has taken me all week to write something that was focused and not running off on tangents). Staying home with Ian has been a blast.  We’ve both have done and experienced so much over the last two years that I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  At the same time, I would have gone mad had I not found something to keep me mentally stimulated.

Being a Stay-at-Home Mom (SAHM) can be rewarding, but sometimes the cons can be a little heavier than the positive moments.  Yes, you’ve made the decision that it makes financial sense to stay home with your child instead of paying a day care, but the affects of being a SAHM can have mental, emotional and a physical impact on a person.  Yes, you may be thinking of all the wonderful experiences the two of you will have, the places you can go, and how everything will be seen through new eyes, but the novelty of that will soon wear off.  There’s only so much that can be done with a child, depending on their age.  If you a first time SAHM with a newborn (like I was), it doesn’t take too long before you begin running on automatic and the monotonous days begin to blur together.  Where your days are filled with nothing but a crying, pooping, eating machine.

Granted, it gets better as your child gets older – they are able to do more for themselves – but that also adds new routines that center around your child and still doesn’t give you much time for yourself.  Not only time for yourself, but after awhile, you can start feeling like everything in your life is now at an infant/toddler level – adult conversation?  What is that? When Ian was about 9/10 months old, I got to a point where I needed something that stimulated my brain more than finding something for dinner or wondering what else I can do that will get (and keep) Ian’s attention for awhile.  That’s where Literary Escapism came in.

Ian just turned 2 on the 26th and it’s still a little mad around here.  He’s running all over the place and wanting even MORE attention (I guess this is the time where the “mama only” phase starts) and I’m wondering how other SAHMs are able to get everything, and anything, they want done.  And I’m sure I’m not the only one who is wondering, so I started looking around Amazon for books on this topic and I actually found a couple that sound promising.

1. The Stay-at-Home Survival Guide: Field-Tested Strategies for Staying Smart, Sane, and Connected While Caring for Your Kids by Melissa Stanton
2. Domestically Challenged: A Working Mom’s Survival Guide to Becoming a Stay-at-Home Mom by Alana Morales
3. The Stay-at-Home Parent’s Survival Guide by Christina Baglivi Tinglof

I’ve been working on this article for a week, it still sounds a little disjointed, but I’m going to call it good.  Although, it’s kind of ironic that I’m finishing this post up now – Ian is currently sitting on my lap with a bead maze between us and my laptop.  Reaching around the maze is really working my arms.  So I have to ask: What are all of my other SAHMs secrets?