Tag: concept

A Single Story

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Inspired by the TED Talk “The Danger of a Single Story” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche.

What is the single story you think others have ascribed to you?
The single story I think others have assigned to me is that because I talk all the time, I’m never lonely. They think that happy, crazy me must have loads of friends. I think that when people hear that I have depression, they disbelieve me. They cannot seem to connect my normal, everyday personality with a person who sometimes struggles to do anything. That I could be a person who could think driving up the street for necessities was too hard. People sometimes assume that a Christian mum and teacher has never experienced any of the bad/wrong or misbehaving parts of life. People are wrong.

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This is my response to the question above that I set for my Year 11 English class and wrote along with them.

Veritas,

Eski

Mind Your Language!

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It may not come as any surprise to you that I have a bit of a ‘thing’ for words, meaning, phraseology, etymology and all things language. Due to Mummy interference, I expect, my kids learned to read very early on, the latest taught himself. I can validate just about anything; waffle and buzz words are a specialty and my poetic license renews quarterly, but I think this shortest kid, currently 5, is going to outstrip me. The imagination is amazing! I’m actually thrilled! 😚

Tonight’s moment:

VERY SMALL CAT (VSC):

Hiss! Scratch!😼

MASTER 5 (M5):

Ow! Aargh! (Genuine fright and real tears follow) 😢

VSC: exits quickly stage right 💨

M5: is gathered up by next youngest brother and mummy for cuddles

Sniffle. Sniffle. (2 minutes maximum)

M5: I want VSC to apologise! 😡

MUMMY: How would you like her to do that, sign language or meowing? Has an ‘I am hilarious’ look on face.

M5: 😠 I just want her to say sorry for hurting my foot and my feelings.

MUMMY: I know, but how can she do that? ‘Meow-ry, M5’?

M5: I have to tell her she’s not being pleasant and when she does that, I feel like she wants all the love and doesn’t want me to have any love.

MUMMY: 🤤😲😨 Pardon? (Apologies, but WTF would seem appropriate here.)

M5: repeats previous statement, with feeling and lip quiver. 😭😢

Where does he get these things?!

Last week we caught up with friends at an indoor play centre. M5 appeared to be immobilised in a very small ball pit by an unknown Miss 3 waving/hitting with a small kids’ book. From 3 metres away, I could see the look of surprise, shock and indignation on M5’s face, “Why would she do that?!”

I called to him to move away, a few times actually, before he shook off the apparent petrification and took two steps backwards. Miss 3 followed, book raised. By this time, all five of the mums with me were watching, interested in the stand off. Miss 3’s mum realised what was happening and stepped in to move her daughter.

Noticing all of us watching, M5, totally serious, raised his still tiny forefinger stiffly and intoned with purpose,

“If she does that one more time…

REVENGE!”

I am thankful that I was sitting on the floor. We all fell about laughing, much to M5’s disgust. He walked away to more mature interactions in the cubby house.

I did feel the need to tell my friends, still laughing, that we don’t teach revenge as a matter of course in our home.

Love the odd little being so much!

🤣 Eski

We Are Human

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We are all human. We are not girls and boys; we are not young and old; we are not black and white; we are human. Created in a womb and buried in the dirt. We are God’s creation. Skin woven together to hold our organs in does not determine our class. We are blood, sweat and tears, made to speak emotions, not to become a job. We are human. We are united by our similarities. We run on the same energy sources and live lives with the same needs. We wake with the sun and sleep by the moon. Because we are human.

We are not homelessness or poor government choices or malnutrition. We are not words on a page, or enemies or friends. We are human. We are not the clothes on our backs or the clips in our hair. We are not the endless race of who is better and who is faster. We are not broken relationships or torn families.

We are the kindness of strangers. We are the random smiles. We are the endless love that fills new parent’s hearts. We are human. We are the species that has a heart so fragile a simple sound can shatter it. We are one but we are many. There is nothing that unites us more than the feeling of love.

There are insects that spend their whole lives trying to eat children’s eyes from the inside out, plants which can kill us with a small touch; mosquitoes that are only 3 millimetres in length which are perpetuators of some of the worst diseases ever seen; bacteria which cannot be seen, yet we watch them take the lives of our loved ones. And yet what a person has between their legs determines if they are worthy of being paid or not. A person’s age determines their apparent ability. The colour of someone’s skin is the difference between having their say in their life, or not.

We still feel that we are a threat to each other and ourselves. We are our own worst enemy; we destroy ourselves so others can’t. We set up organisations, funds and protection programs with which to save us from us. We have created a world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are.

We are human. We smile with joy, showing white teeth and cry for many reasons with clear and salty tears. Children, reproduced humanity, drink white milk regardless of the hue of the breast by which they lie. Blood, spilled, stored or shared, is still red.

When we recognise our humanity, our similarity, and reinstate dignity and equality, we increase our integrity and solidarity. We create and affirm responsibility and let go of long held, closed-minded thoughts of normality.

We are human and the sooner we realise, recognise and remember, the better for us all.

With thanks and acknowledgement to Tahlya Andersen.

The importance of being social…

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I’ve had better days. I was up til 2 am and then awake with a small, bright little person again at about 5:30am. I have a cold; a floor that’s as well used as an outback landing strip; a broken vacuum cleaner; dinner and games for 11 tonight; a barking dog and a bad case of the self pitys!

I feel miserable enough that I’ve made Mr 17 drive to shops with me so I don’t have to get out to buy the crackers I’m taking to a mothers’ group that’s on now. I’ve stooped pretty low. Why not stay home? Well, why not indeed? Sleep could be had. There’s always a teen to request babysitting and housecleaning services from. But I can’t. I literally can’t.

You see, I’ve been afflicted or blessed (depending on the day) with an extroverted personality. I need people. I get energy from people. So to go out and be with people is more energizing to me than sleep. You either get it or you don’t with extroverts and introverts. It’s just one of those things. As well as being blessed with a need for people, I’ve been blessed with a husband and 4 lovely children (and a few ring-ins). All of my delightful housemates are INTROVERTS. Take a moment to let that sink in. I’m surrounded by people who need to recoup their energy by NOT being with people. More ironic than Alanis Morrisette, that one.

So, I got up and went out and had an awesome time with my Misfit Mothers’ Group. We’ve deliberately planned it this way. Probably shouldn’t have a title; that’s how out there we are! They’re extroverts too, so it suits us all. Misfit Mothers are the sorts of people who don’t always talk about their child or want to hear about yours. MMs are likely to laugh when their child (or yours) runs into a glass sliding door. Said sliding door was my offering to MMs group. However, mine is unlikely to be clean, so will perhaps provide less opportunity for accidental walk ins. Cleanliness of house is not important to hosting MMs and I’m thinking of implementing a No ‘sorry for the mess’ policy. I’m not certain that we have room for policies actually, but we do have the underlying idea that we are visiting to see one another and not to determine ‘what does your loo say about you?’

So back to my day. Brilliant time with my fellow MMs, talking about all manner of things, then back home in time to use energy gained from those interactions to clear floor sufficiently to avoid Lego brick fire walking;
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hide dirty dishes in the dishwasher that came with our home and make play dough out of what should have been delightful mushroom risotto. We had chicken pieces and salad instead – salad purchased by a guest after slightly frantic phone call.

After dinner we played numerous board games. If that’s your thing, I suggest you check out Concept, Pix and Anomia. Loads of fun had by all. And my favourite thing? I was surrounded by people, enjoying conversation, and even my introverts enjoyed the time. And if they did scatter like proverbial cockroaches when the light is switched on when the games finished? Ah well, that’s the way of it sometimes.

Veritas,

Eski 👍