This Week I will mostly be ...

... reading 'The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde'
... going to see 'Peter and the Wolf' on Thursday
... eating. Just eating. I need insulation!!
... worrying about how few presents I've bought
... drinking warm drinks, particularly tea, hot squash and echinacea and cranberry tea (yucky but good for colds)

The 200-word review: 'The Family Way' by Tony Parsons

As a typical married twentysomething female I am practically obsessed with children, and so naturally I was drawn to The Family Way. I was slightly cynical about a book dealing with motherhood written by a man, but that only intrigued me more. I quickly found that this isn’t just about motherhood; it’s about family and all the issues that come with it.

If you’re looking for a fluffy, cooing view of parenthood, this isn’t it. Parsons deals with the good, bad and ugly of family life – the story revolves around three girls abandoned by their mother as children, and their own complications as adults. There’s the infertile couple, the unintentional single mother and the woman convincing herself that her partner’s vasectomy is not a problem. Throw in endometriosis, pre-eclampsia and Caesareans, and there’s really not much else to discuss. Parsons portrays the female perspective surprisingly well, but also shows us the views of the men, so often left silent in works and debates about parenthood and family.

This book isn’t a literary classic, but it isn’t soppy pulp fiction either. It drifts between heart-warming sentimentality and gut-wrenching honesty, much like family life, I suppose. A must-read for other broody twentysomethings!

Generous Journal: Crisis!

Ok, I've been using the time excuse for too long - the reason for the lack of Generous Journal entries is that I'm in a massive rut. Yes, I am now adept at avoiding the dreaded plastic carrier bag. Yes, I am being careful not to waste water, electricity or any other resource. And yes, as ever, I'm still trying to shop ethically, be it Fairtrade goods, charity shop items or local produce. But now I'm stuck.

I have two choices: continue to develop my eco-warrior status or branch out into other forms of generosity. But I'm stumped for ideas either way. I don't want to focus on just one issue, but the thing about being green is that it is easier to think of things to do. Living ethically, supporting local people, general kindness - it's actually harder for me to know what to do in these areas.

My problem is I do things blindly, not really learning why it's so important. When talking about Fairtrade recently, a work colleague who had worked in parts of Africa told me that the Fairtrade movement is actually damaging the African economy and described it as 'a moral salve for the middle classes.' I wasn't won over by her arguments and wanted badly to argue back but I realised I didn't know as much about Fairtrade as I thought. I believe it is a good thing, but had no evidence to back this up when faced with her real life experience.

Basically, I'm having a generous crisis. I feel like I know nothing of the real issues behind my actions and could easily be doing more harm than good. But I've got so much to learn, where do I start?

This Week I will mostly be ...

... catching up on blogging!
... reading 'The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde'
... picking out Christmas presents
... eating rubbish because it's winter and I need the insulation
... wrapping up warm
... trying to plan interlogue for youth club before Thursday

Yikes!

Just looked at my last few posts - why have I only had time for This Week posts? What is eating up my time so? Not even a Generous Journal entry in weeks! I suspect it is my evil job, for which I greatly apologise. But hey, if you want more posts - get me a better job!!

This Week I will mostly be ...

... not blogging. Work have banned us from personal internet use altogether (even in lunch hours) and I'm not in most evenings
... reading 'The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde' by Joseph Pearce
... trying to squeeze in reviewing 'The Family Way'
... sulking that three people leave work this week and they all started after me
... going to Meadowhall at the weekend
... longing for Friday

This Week I will mostly be ...

... reading 'The Family Way'
... eating pomegranates (yum!)
... suffering from headaches again
... trying to get back into knitting
... Christmas shopping (yeah right!!)

This Week I have mostly been ...

... Totally out of synch, sorry
... Reading 'The Family Way' by Tony Parsons
... eating chocolate and other comfort food
... suffering from fewer headaches since I got my new glasses
... waiting for a call that never came
... enjoying my new bathroom
... not knitting. Been too down to knit