Working from Home

I'm working from home today because of the winter storm that swept the area last night. Fortunately, I do have some project-type tasks to do today so that I have some consistent work I can do to justify my billable hours instead of just being 'on call'.

But it's hard to concentrate on business while The Kids Next Door are having a battle over Rainbow Monkeys. . . . (The Daughter is watching Cartoon Network, and I can't shut the door to the living room because most of the heat for the basement comes through that room.)

Diva in Training

My daughter received a kids mp3 player for Christmas, which I just loaded it for her with songs she chose from my music library.

She's new to headphones/earbuds and doesn't seem to quite realize that just because no one else can hear the music she's listening to doesn't mean that they can't hear her sing too.
;-)

She' wandering around the bedroom singing: "I hope you're happy! I hope you're happy now. . . to grovel in submission, to feed your own ambition!"

It's very cute and heartwarming.

"Children of Men"

I went to see the movie Children of Men this afternoon with _storyteller_, and I strongly recommend it.

The premise is that all human women have become infertile approximately 18 years previously (dogs, cats, cows and other animals continue to breed). The world is in a state of collapse as our already existing problems are heightened by the awareness that human life is about to come to an end. Into this world-wide despair comes a young woman of color, an illegal alien in England, who is pregnant. Fearing that the government will take her baby and pass it off as the child of a rich citizen, the girl is taken in by a resistance movement which promises to get her out of the country. An everyman, played by the always-excellent Clive Owen, becomes her coincidental guardian.

There's a lot to like about this movie: fine performances, intelligent script, marvelous cinematography. But the movie was important for me because of one brief but powerful scene.

( Cut for spoiler )

Although I am a mother myself, I had never before really 'got' the reverence for woman as life-bearer, never really felt the sacred power of the mother, especially in the face of the warrior. I had never before understood the profound hope that a baby embodies. I had tears in my eyes as I felt the new awareness go through me.

Will this make a difference in my life going forward? Perhaps not. Most of us who want children (and I am acutely aware right now of those who are exceptions) are able to conceive. I have never defined myself or my value by my fertility or my status as a mother, nor do I intend to. Woman's cycle of fertility has never been part of my spirituality, nor will it become one.

But I will remember that scene, and the power, and I will not take certain things for granted anymore, and I will listen to certain stories with a deeper, more reverent understanding than I was able to previously.

ETA: For a reviewer's take on the movie, see _storyteller_'s post here

Positive Self Image Quote

"I'm like the most expensive, exotic item on a gourmet menu. People can wonder about the sensuous delights of the dish, but they can't afford such expensive luxury."

- Anna Kournikova, tennis ace