Figleaf's Real Adult Sex

Photo by Flickr user cuorhome. Used under a Creative Commons license.

There’s an old aphorism that I remember my brother the budding graphic artist making into a middle-school poster. It says

He peels potatoes best who peels them one at a time.

Source: My little brother.

That’s probably too gender-specific for general distribution but it’s remarkably appropriate in my specific case. Although even then, come to think of it, I could change it to

Figleaf peels potatoes best when he peels them one at a time.

Between influenza, musical rehearsals, family members with influenza, full-time courseload, the controlled chaos of hundreds of cases of Girl Scout cookies all over the living room which I haven’t had to manage directly but even so…, a largely unreduced domestic workload doing much of the shopping, most of the cooking, much of the cleaning, laundry, bedtimes, and all the million other great/awful burden/pleasures of stay-mostly-at-home parenthood, and planning for a long-format videotaped presentation today (that went about 12% over time this morning but was otherwise actually well-received thank goodness) I seem to have thrown my blogging off balance. Outright cranky rather than merely curmudgeonly posts, peculiar formatting (all strike-through? not so hot) decisions, jumbled comment replies, unfortunate photo highlights, and now a notice from YouTube that an HNT video I posted last summer violated community standards after all… well, what’s a blogger to do?

Well, sometimes it’s just good to sit down in our lovely myth-of-rational-self-interested and remind one’s self “I am not a human being, I am an animal!”

It’s often said we wouldn’t treat a friend as harshly as we treat ourselves. It’s probably not necessary to add that very few people would treat an animal as harshly as they treat themselves either. (The irony was not lost on anyone at the time, or since, that the first child-protection suit was brought under animal cruelty prevention laws as, theretofore, animals had more protection than did children.)

There’s much to be said about sex, power, politics, gender, prostitution, agency, ability, and self-photography. But there’s also something to be said about taking a nap, sitting down and reading a book alone or with children, watching TV shows on DVD, and spending hours simply holding hands… and peeling potatoes one at a time. In real life as well as in metaphor.

Aahh, the kettle’s whistling. I have more to say, and I’ll say it soon but… One thing at a time! :-)