Comments on Suburban Matron: It's A Vulnerable Time

Punctured. Yes. The attempting to wing it and then...

2012-01-19T18:02:57.423-05:00

Punctured. Yes. The attempting to wing it and then asking for help without copping to having wung it. Yes to all!

Nina, nah, since I've been watching my diet I've been off white carbs. I swear I think it's psychological.

Hm... Could it be to do with what you have for din...

2012-01-18T19:04:05.068-05:00

Hm... Could it be to do with what you have for dinner? Do you have potatoes, white rice, white pasta, bread? Then again it could be something to do with children, because when I used to babysit I'd go downstairs after the child(ren) had at last been persuaded to stay in bed, and I'd hoover up whatever chocolates, biscuits, etc. the parents had left for me. Or was that just because they had left those things there for me? I don't know. Calls for a second PhD, I think (yours, not mine - I don't even have one).

Fantastic. It is both totally sensible and a littl...

2012-01-18T18:45:58.631-05:00

Fantastic. It is both totally sensible and a little overblown to throw the word "narrative" into the discussion, and I can say this because I frequently deploy "discourse" in a similar fashion.

My chap came into the living room tonight to ask how to cook some leftovers (parsnip latkes, shallow fried, since you ask). I talked him through it in detail, and even as I was carefully explaining the process, the pancakes were already smoking blackly on a high heat. So there he was, politely requesting my input on a matter on which he was already freeforming. Pshaw.

Great post! Unfortunately for me, one of the occu...

2012-01-18T15:29:15.041-05:00

Great post! Unfortunately for me, one of the occupational hazards of living in a city is that even if I don't have junk in the house, there is always an open-late corner store stocked with candy right down the street...

I think the evening sweet craving must be epidemic...

2012-01-18T13:27:09.142-05:00

I think the evening sweet craving must be epidemic. I never keep it in the house for that reason, but I remember once calling my darling across the street neighbor in Atlanta, who is my mother's age, and not getting much more than "you don't have any chocolate laying around do you?" before she was at my front door with a chunk of the most divine hazelnut chocolate I've ever had. And the kitchen dance has been thwarted lately by a night owl 12 year old ... I miss it. Enjoy.

Hi, my name is Heather! Please email me when you c...

2012-01-18T11:29:29.801-05:00

Hi, my name is Heather! Please email me when you can, I have a question about your blog!

HeatherVonSJ[at]gmail[dot]com

GREAT post! One of your best, ever. (With each po...

2012-01-18T02:40:50.003-05:00

GREAT post! One of your best, ever. (With each post I keep saying that to myself, then the next one comes along!)

I had a huge, huge fight once with my three boys (...

2012-01-18T00:53:12.045-05:00

I had a huge, huge fight once with my three boys (that includes The Husband)over the chocolate that I squirrel away in my bedside table. I have self-control and can literally eat one or two small squares a night. The bar will last me for two weeks, literally. The three boys actually got into that sacred drawer and ate all of it and then had the audacity to laugh at my "hiding" it. No kitchen moment followed. I now hide the chocolate under my underwear.

I'm with you on the stuff having narratives co...

2012-01-17T21:18:37.344-05:00

I'm with you on the stuff having narratives concept. Or maybe that's my psych degree talking.

I did not used to be so into eating All the Things until my kids came around, but now it hits me big time at night too. This is not exactly what I intended to say in my comment, but on the topic of brownies, it just occurred to me that one of my favorite non-fat brownies are the no-pudge ones with orange zest. Must go hunt in the cabinet for a box now.

This same thing happens to me. I lie with the kids...

2012-01-17T19:36:08.754-05:00

This same thing happens to me. I lie with the kids and read as they fall asleep, and when I come downstairs, I'm desperate for a cookie or some ice cream or something. I make these cocoa brownies that are small (25 to a 8x8 brownie pan) but really rich and chocolaty, so if I can keep those in the house, they (along w/my evening tea) will usually do the trick. If I have no brownies, I'll put a bit of honey in my tea. That usually works.

Oh man, this is a great post! Lots to sink one'...

2012-01-17T19:35:50.892-05:00

Oh man, this is a great post! Lots to sink one's teeth into. Speaking of delicious discount Christmas candy.

Hank's line about snot is one of the funniest things I've heard lately! "I know its true name!" LOL Do you doze off when you're up there? Cause I find that if I take a nap at any non-bedtime, I seriously have the munchies when I wake up. I don't know why.

As for the narrative of the candy? I have to say I'm with Matt on this one. That is totally your PhD talking. I've never asked for the narrative of the clean clothes still in the laundry basket or the never ending supply of USB cables I'm always finding around the house. But hmmm, maybe I should.

And yes--we have kitchen moments FOR SURE. It is something to do with the changing of roles for the evening, but I'd never thought of it that way. Funny! I can totally visualize this conversation between you and Matt--him laughing at your narrative comment and you being all annoyed and low blood sugary. :) Love it!!

I'm not sure what my narrative is in this comment, but great post!

I just asked my husband if "Minority Report&q...

2012-01-17T17:17:12.663-05:00

I just asked my husband if "Minority Report" was the one with the ball & Tom Cruise. When he answered weakly in the affirmative, I asked him to tell me what happened in it, because I only remembered a ball, Tom Cruise, and [a bunch of stuff I rattled off before correcting myself as having mixed it up with a zombie movie, then kept talking for a long time about this zombie movie I eventually realized was, in fact, a vampire movie, then I gabbled on & on with a lot of visuals and also a few obscure character-developments before demanding he name *that* vampire-not-zombie movie based on my weak, plot-free summary, after which I relented & said, "OK. But now tell me what happened in Minority Report."]

So, as you see, I can understand why you need to tell all the things to get to the marital thing. Also, I totally understand not wanting to know where the candy is. No good will come of it because, yk, when you're not eating it, you're not eating it.

Yet again with your writing, I did the equivalent ...

2012-01-17T15:41:29.287-05:00

Yet again with your writing, I did the equivalent of a reading double take when I read "All The Things" because, YES! What the heck is that?
I am little miss nutrition (albeit not all that little and not much of a miss) throughout the day and then 8pm hits and WHAM I start pawing through the cabinets looking for anything that is crunchy. These days I'm not just battling a sweet tooth, but a crunchy tooth. My teeth (I'm certain it's my teeth and not my brain) would like to do a little crispy crunching in the PM. My thighs sigh sadly, my teeth long for a crunch, and my brain wonders what the H just happened. All of this is to say that I'm very thankful that you are shedding light on this subject as it tends to occupy at least a little portion of my night each day.

OMG dry brownie batter! And you weren't even h...

2012-01-17T15:28:35.594-05:00

OMG dry brownie batter! And you weren't even high (were you)?!? But yes. Candy of One's Own! And when do we want it? NOW.

Beth, there was definite suturing of narratives going on, out the wazoo. But you identify the larger thing--this sense we have that we need a treat for a job well done at the end of the day. I usually have a little netflix moment for that purpose too.

Girl, you need your own candy bag. Set yourself f...

2012-01-17T13:53:01.741-05:00

Girl, you need your own candy bag. Set yourself free!

The narrative of my candy is that I didn't hide it well enough and when my college-freshman daughter came home for winter break she ate all my candy. At those times (and they are many) that I needed to eat All the Things I was reduced to eating brownie batter, dry from the box. A woman just needs Candy of One's Own.

Ugh, parallelism. *having

2012-01-17T12:45:14.181-05:00

Ugh, parallelism. *having

I am so glad that I am not the only one who feels ...

2012-01-17T12:44:43.785-05:00

I am so glad that I am not the only one who feels like she needs to eat All the Things (pace Hyperbole and a Half!). I think it is something emotional about being done with the day, about indulging oneself after the kids are in bed and have a treat for job well done, or, at least, done.

I think the narrative of the candy got sutured to the narrative of the kitchen dance, and hence, it all needed to be unpacked. Says my PhD.