My favorite part of riding is jumping. Today I spent several perfect hours at my friend Ann’s farm riding her quarter horse, Anna. We jumped and jumped - in the ring and out cross-country — and it was seriously fun. It’s especially fun when all the leaves are turning in beautiful East Tennessee.
If you have never gone riding on a sunny October day, I suggest you remedy the situation ASAP.
Along with all the other great stuff you will find at LiteraryMama.com, is this: Sex and the Suburbs — notes from the romantic life & times of a real married mama with little kids.
I know who the naughty mama in question is (and it isn’t me), but my lips are sealed.
“”As for me, I’ve chosen to follow a simple course: Come clean. And wherever possible, live your life in a way that won’t leave you tempted to lie. Failing that, I’d rather be disliked for who I truly am than loved for who I’m not. So I tell my story. I write it down. I even publish it. Sometimes this is a humbling experience. Sometimes it’s embarrassing. But I haul around no terrible secrets.”
I have a new column published today about my slacker-mom approach to feeding my kids.
Let me know what you think.
After emptying my e-mail inbox of ten more messages from people who wanted me to watch the hilarious
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When I got home from work the other night, my children were rolling around on the lawn in stitches. They had talked our nanny into driving them to Bush-Cheney HQ after school and picking up a large “W: The President” yard sign. Then they replaced our Kerry sign with the Bush one. They couldn’t wait for me to drive up and freak out that someone had switched our signs. It would have been a good joke except that the fact that they were howling with laughter and pointing at the sign sort of gave them away. I gave them an “A” for initiative though.
Lots of people I know long for light, bright, airy houses. I prefer a warm, private sort of space where I can coccoon for an afternoon with a good book and feel like I won’t be bothered.
I like warm wood and old paisley prints and enveloping velvet and drape-y silk. I like stacks of books and old lamps and cozy nooks and crannies.
But most of all, I love sitting in front of a fireplace, which is what I’m doing right now.
Evenings, after my children are tucked in, I have an hour or two (depending how tired I want to be the next day) all to myself to relax in front of my fireplace with a book and a glass of something good. My dogs, Fiat and Leo, usually stretch out in front of the fire with me. It’s my favorite time of day and my favorite spot.
I think maybe I like fireplaces so much because I grew up in an old farmhouse in Bell Buckle, TN with no electric heat of any kind. We heated with wood and were cold a lot of the time (I swear to God I slept in a hat and mittens in the winter. My parents seemed to believe that it would improve our character to know what it feels like to be cold unless someone went out and got more wood from the pile.) but the room with the woodstove was always toasty and I spent many afternoons sprawled out in front of the fire, reading. Now my children do the same, although we do HAVE heat we can turn on if we like.
Tonight the children and I were hanging out in front of the fire together. It sort of lulls them into a sleepy mood. They were each drawing or reading and Elliot, my six year old, said out of the blue: “Mama, I’m glad we don’t have TV and I’m glad we have a fireplace.” This was a switch, since my children tell me relatively often that I am ruining their lives by refusing to get cable (we DO have a TV, but it only gets two network channels).
I told him that I agree.
Today was one of those perfect fall days…sunny and cool. About 60 degrees. Time to pull out the jeans and sweaters.
It was also a very busy day, with all three children doing their things. First up was a drive to a horse show at Noah’s Ark Farm where I dropped Jane off to spend the day with our friends from Dogwood Hunt Club. Jane wasn’t showing, but she wanted to hang out with her gaggle of horse show pals for the day.
Then we headed back toward Knoxville, where I dropped Henry off at the paintball field for his weekly league game.
After that, we raced to Lakeshore Park for Elliot’s soccer game. He was very worried we were late (and I was too), but we got there in time. His team was playing his best friend Teddy’s team, which was cute. Elliot and Teddy love each other. I always wonder at what age (they are both 6 now)they will stop greeting each other with desperate hugs of happiness every time they see one another. Never, I hope 
The game was good. Elliot, as always, turns off the silliness as soon as the game starts and is 100% focused. He is very assertive and quick and just generally a really good player. He loves it, too. After the game, he was invited to go home and spend the night with Teddy, so I left alone.
Then it was back for paintball watching (which I admit to not understanding at all). I can never figure out which team won or why. But I try to pay attention and not look bored
I am honest with Henry that given my druthers, I would rather watch a horseshow than do just about anything else, so after a while I went and watched the show with my friend Ann Casady (who owns Dogwood). She had seven really nice ponies showing and all their kids did very well.
Horse show kids have their own fashions and it amuses me to see how they all dress alike even when they aren’t showing that day. Dozens of little girls, all with loooong hair (better for braiding under a helmet), Dansko clogs and horsey-themed t-shirts. The kids showing that day also wear their breeches or jodphurs and the new thing is ribbon belts straight out of The Preppy Handbook (circa 1984).
When Sydney Casady finished her classes, she left to come spend the night with us. I love Sydney — I would adopt her in an instant — so I’m happy when she and Jane get to play together.
And now my niece Eleanor is here as well and Henry has gone to eat Indian Food with my sister and brother in law.
A good day, all in all.
“I believe if God hadn’t meant for my daughters to be attired in Moschino, He would not have their toddler line discounted at Century 21.”
Or so says Mary Elizabeth Williams in her
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I am so sick of the Republican Party blaming everything from the flu vaccine shortage to the Space Shuttle crash on trial lawyers.
In my experience, just as with abortion, people are generally opposed to trial lawyers until they or someone they love needs one.
I sincerely doubt that George Bush or Bill O’Reilly or Ann Coulter would not sue if their child or parent or best friend or THEY were badly injured by a careless doctor or crazy driver.
Of course, if one of these people wanted to sue, they could pay an attorney up front to represent their interests. However, if the average, working or middle class American needs to seek redress through the civil court system, they wouldn’t be able to but for the fact that trial lawyers are willing to work on contingency, meaning that if one of these lawyers take the case and lose, they make not one penny.
My favorite quote (among many) from this story is this one:
”It sort of looked like a voodoo hand, with hooked, beckoning fingers.”
Dana “Daytrippn” Wilson
And I think I’m changing my middle name, too.
Here is a picture of Henry, age 13 as of last week. 
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