Switching to a 36 hour day

So.
I am thinking about switching to a 36 hour day.
I think it's the only way to go.

There are currently 2 loads of laundry in the kitchen waiting to be folded
Clothes in the washer (that should probably be washed again because I am not sure how long they have been sitting there)
Dishwasher to be emptied
Bathroom is primed, still needs to be painted (and put back together)
Kate emptied her dresser of clothes today in anticipation of getting out summer clothes

sigh

and all other stuff ...

cleaning up dinner, getting kids baths, picking up toys, sweeping the sand off the floor (after Kate gave herself a sand-shower today),

Okay, okay. So, I am currently on the computer, wasting precious minutes out of my measly 24 hour day. Did I mention that we spent the day outside (wasting more minutes)? Kate made sun-angels and gave herself sand showers. David and I played baseball.

right ...
So. It's settled. 36 hours in a day.
Just give me 36 hours so I can get it all done
and manage 5 minutes for myself.

fences make good neighbors

Our neighbor across the street may have passed away.

I think he had been sick, but to be honest I don't really know.

There had been signs of "something" going on

We live on a fairly busy road

Which we chose primarily for the privacy

And our huge backyard

I grew up in a cookie cutter development in suburbia
We always left our garage door unlocked

Because everyone knew everyone

We could sit on our deck and see the neighborhood
(and the neighborhood could see us)

But ...

I could ride my bike anywhere I wanted in my development,
I just had to step outside to find other kids to hang out with

And there was always something sort of comforting about entering a home that looked sort of like your own

I fell once while working and fractured my wrist. My parents weren't home at the time, so I went to my neighbor - who was a nurse. She took me for X-Rays.

You always knew what was going on in the neighborhood
the good and the bad
(because everyone knew everyone)

You definitely knew when someone passed away

And, that is difference

(Before I built a wall I’d ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence.
from Mending Wall by Robert Frost)

post-apocolyptic feminism revisited

While watching the Butler - VCU game last night, Kate asked me "What sports do girls play?"

Well, they can play all the same sports that boys do, we just don't usually watch them ...

I said the statement as fact and then realized that maybe I should have thought of a way to say that a bit better. Because, of course, Kate's next question was ...

"Why?"

(There's a family guy scene where Peter is mocking women's basketball. I forget what the actual episode is about. They flash to a women's basketball game, one of the announcers is commenting about the strain on the players bodies and another wonders if it's worth the $7,000 a year she commands. "You would have to ask the fan." The one fan in the stands cheers.)

"I don't know Kate."

We watch baseball, basketball, soccer on tv - but, only mens. The simplest conclusion must be that women don't play sports.

I forget sometimes how the world must look to her and David.
I started thinking about the broader picture, of girls and boys, of choices and perceptions ...

And so - I don't know.

(My first job out of college was at a consulting firm. At the time I was hired, another female engineer was hired as well. That brought the total number of female engineers of the firm of about 50 to 2.)

I don't know that the world will change much in a generation.
The simplest conclusion, is, well that reality is a bit more complex.

I hope I can instill in Kate that there is nothing she can't do.
Whether she has one fan or many.


Update:

We watched the Western New York Flash take on the Boston Breakers on Sunday.
When the game first came on, Kate was amazed.
"It's glrls! Glrls are playing!"
She could have cared less about the game though.
She could really care less about watching most sports on tv.
David thought it was great though -- it was soccer and it didn't really matter who was playing.