life continues to be utterly insane. i took my exams and passed them, i assume. work is exponentially increasing, and my ability to find time to write is exponentially decreasing. or rather, my brain power to write is exponentially decreasing.

i have thought more and more about the 'mommy wars' book, and my reaction to it, and i still think it is basically how i feel, and i finally came to the following conclusion: cat fights among women will always exist, and if 2 women are going to have a catfight, they will. motherhood does not create or alter this predisposition. motherhood only clarifies what the catfight will be about.

in the meantime, i finished the book '3 cups of tea' (you may wonder where i get the time--i always, no matter what, read before falling asleep. i cannot sleep any other way. it does not matter if it is 2 am, i cannot settle down without it). anyway, i would love to write a long reflection on that, but i have not had a chance to get my thoughts together. all i can say is that it is incredibly difficult for me to reconcile the fact that in many places in this world, children and their parents are desperate for a school, and would do anything for one, and yet in this country, not only are most kids desperate to get away from school, but in many cases, their parents are equally as desperate to get them away from what is increasingly a very very negative environment-- one that is counterproductive and actually discourages learning and thinking. it is pretty sad.

now i am on to "animal, vegetable, miracle" by barbara kingsolver -- i knew it would make me feel even more guilty about the food i bought, but i was dying to read it--and it is 100% worth it. it is another book that merits a huge reflection, but in the meantime, i can say it is a book that EVERYONE should read. where does your food come from? can you answer the question? and how much oil was used to make it? not frying oil, OIL. as in saudi arabia. i know that most people are aware of the local food movement, but this book explains the issue in such entertaining detail, that even the most devoted farmer's market shopper will learn something, and laugh while learning it.

as for the kids, they are loving summer and the beach. ava has been out on her ski skimmer several times--enough to confirm that she needs trainer skis. carter is still waffling. it scares him. for all his bravado, he is not as willing to throw himself willy-nilly into a new pysical endeavor the way ava is. he is athletic, but carefully athletic. an irony, given their respective pain tolerance.

ava graduated from pk4--very cute ceremony. "bye bye pre-k! were on our way to kindergarten...so long, can't stay..were something something something! in the middle of the presentations, carter yelled "HI AVA!" and she waved from the stage. each kid got an award, (idea kid, book kid, music kid, best buddy, etc...), and ava received the "kind and gentle" award. i nearly exploded with pride. (carter probably was debating that one in his head, but he refrained from objecting....). apparently, this parenting thing sometimes works.