I could not be more thrilled to watch my little Reindeer and Polichinelle prance across the stage in this afternoon’s production of The Nutcracker. One of the greatest joys of parenthood is watching your own children beam with pride.
I began my morning watching this TED talk, “The US needs paid family leave – for the sake of its future,” and I urge you too to watch it and pass along.
As I contemplate my family’s upcoming parental leave, I recognize that I am one of those 12% of families in this country that have the luxury of paid leave. But it shouldn’t be a luxury. I shouldn’t feel lucky that my husband and I get paid time off from work to heal and bond and nurture postpartum. In fact, though I recognize that by US standards my four months of paid leave, and my husband’s four months of leave (2 months paid, 2 months unpaid) are unbelievably generous, I am still critical of how limited this time is during such a fleeting yet crucial stage in a person’s life (mother, baby and partner alike). An investment and commitment to breastfeeding alone is enough to warrant a minimum of 6 months paid leave for all mothers given that solid food isn’t introduced until that time.
One of my dearest friends welcomed her first child into the world last month, and because she lives in Stockholm, she and her partner each receive 285 days of fully paid leave from work to be used however, and in whatever arrangement, they deem best for their family and their careers over the course of the baby’s first five years of life. Talk about empowering families and providing a work/life balance! And once they return to work, their child will have fully subsidized (read: free) childcare, so economics does not have to be the primary driver of their family’s decision-making.
As conveyed in this talk, the US is one of only 9 nations (all the rest of which are countries with fewer than 8 million people, as compared to the US’s 320 million) that do not offer paid family leave. If the rest of the world can figure out how to support new families, we sure as hell better be able to come up with a reasonable solution for our country.
It is long since time for the most powerful country on Earth to offer national paid leave to the people doing the work of the future of this country and to the babies who represent that future. Childbirth is a public good. This leave should be state-subsidized. It should have no exceptions for small businesses, length of employment or entrepreneurs. It should be able to be shared between partners.
^^More cowls because they are so quick and so cozy.^^
^^Love this sweet baby hat pattern.^^
^^Leaves necklace with seed beads interspersed^^
^^Sweet lord we need to refinish this floor. Oof! But the pattern is adapted from Silver’s Sock Class tutorials. I knit both socks, toe up, on two size 5 circular needles. I did a seed stitch pattern on the top of the foot.^^
Happy December! We spent our Sunday cleaning up Thanksgiving and hauling our Christmas gear up from the basement. It’s astounding how many bins we have filled with ornaments and garlands and Christmas themed decor. hashtagthisisparenthood
It was a full day affair that included a trip down the hill from our house to the local tree farm to select our tree. As usual, we opted for an equilateral triangle that absolutely takes over the living room. Such is the plight of a home with low ceilings, but the delicious scent of evergreen is reminding us why all that work was so worthwhile. Our dropped ceiling might limit the height, but the festive spirit fills the space with joy. A few snaps from the tree farm…
^^Sunny counted the rings. Our tree is 12 years old.^^
We had a jam-packed Thanksgiving weekend, complicated and tempered by a memorial service for James’ dear grandfather. It made for lots of travel and added stress (both emotional and physical), so I can’t say that I’m feeling all that rested coming off of this holiday (does anyone ever?), and my usual SAD November slump is hitting me hard this week (Welcome, December and your freezing rain!). But, looking at these images I’m reminded that Thanksgiving Day was quite a happy, family-filled, food-filled, turkey-filled affair, for which I am incredibly grateful.
^^Doda performing surgery on a turkey hand puppet from my childhood in order to bring his gobble back to life. Very important work indeed.^^
^^Arts and crafts while the bird cooked. The girls made Turkey Crowns for everyone to wear throughout the day. A good look considering the holiday.^^
^^A viewing of The Peanuts Thanksgiving to pass the time until pie and stuffing.^^
^^Beautiful rose apple pies – a new addition to our feast courtesy of Auntie Kimmy.^^
Grateful for these people and this life, even if it’s hard to remember that during these gloomy mood slumps. Off to bathe by my sunlamp and kick myself out of this funk. We’ve got round two of holiday adventures this weekend with the girls’ Nutcracker performance. Ready for some serious nostalgia and cuteness.