Thursday, October 26, 2006

What do you do all night?

After going out to an author talk/mom-gathering with fellow bloggers (neither of whom I had met before, but who were both very charming and funny), I...


  • Briefly consider checking my email/blogging but decide instead to go up to bed.

  • Tell my husband all the interesting and funny parts of the evening, even as I consider what I can blog about.

  • Wonder whether/what my companions will write about the evening and meeting me.

  • Think about hair and how unfair it is that some people have such amazing long curls while I suffer from the blandly mid-length, not a curl in sight yet completely frizzed out in places 'do.

  • Consider whether Amy Scheibe (the author whose reading we attended) realizes that she kind of lost us when she talked about her live-in nanny.

  • Feel catty for even thinking that, considering what a pro-mommy, we-are-all-connected kind of event this was.

  • Decide it is ok not to feel at one with all mothers, given what Amy said about the tendency for there to be an upswing in all things pro-mom during wartime. (See WW1, WW2...) Interesting point, and as an editor she's got to know that momlit is a nice little marketing niche. But her book seemed funny and I was entertained by the reading, so what's with the snark? Why do I have a stick up my butt about fiction targeted at women (much less at mommies)? Is it a holdover from continually refusing to allow my bookclub to read books I find insulting to my intelligence, gender and common sense? I think that I am resistant to this kind of book (mommy lit) because it is such a hot marketing niche. I'm sure the sponsors of last night's event (a mom-focused cable channel that also dabbles in blogs) like to get women together for discussions and snacks. But they also want to promote their ventures, and this is a cheap way to do it. Pay for some two-buck chuck, some crackers and cheese and Voila! buzz for you and your featured authors.

  • Laugh about how quickly a literary event turns into a discussion of breast-feeding, naked children and naked parents and how much sex is expected/wanted/hoped for after babies.

  • Inspired by some things Ms. Scheibe and this clever blogger said last night, I wonder how to write a full post about the extent to which (mom)blogging provides a format in which we are supported for sharing our insecurities, failings and misgivings, at the same time we are ridiculed or slammed for pronouncing our strengths and joys (particularly when those are outside of the traditional realm of parenting/wifedom, or suggest we value other things as much as our families...).

  • Decide to think about these things in the morning, roll over and slide quickly into sleep.

7 comments:

  1. I'm so jealous. I want to hang out with you guys! It sounds like a very interesting and fun evening.

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  2. I don't! clever AND curly? far far too intimidating.

    perhaps I could just serve the drinks?

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  3. Nora, to be fair, Mel introduced the topic of sex being a no-no to blog about, that is, actually getting any, and then you really took it in a fascinating direction when you mentioned the thing about comments and support. So -- credit goes to you and Mel, truly.

    And, for the record, fabulous one, I was in awe of your beauty, height *and* sleek, glossy coiffure. So.

    p.s. the two-buck chuck from that tv program group was the thing that really rankled me. two-buck chuck? bleah. we aren't all in freaking college. insulted.

    (I'm such a drunk.)

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  4. I did? Wow.
    ::Can't remember much of what I said last night and I wasn't even drunk... sheeeit::
    I do know that both you and Debbie have the hair I wanted at various times in my life... sleek and dark, curly and full... ::sob::
    But it was a good time. Except the part about the nanneh, which, yeah, lost me, m'deah.
    If I could afford a by-god nanny, you would see a me-shaped cloud of dust as I high-speed toddled off to Cancun. To my hot cabana boy who would wave palm fronds and feed me fruity drinks.
    Anyway.
    It was great to meet you, too!

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  5. I hate to say it, but the chuck was my choice as host. I had a budget, and no doubt I could have bought fewer bottles of better stuff. But: a) I'm still new at this and wasn't sure how many bottles I'd need; b) I don't know wine, really, and c) I'm a mom with no time and three children ages 4 to 6; and d) I figured wine was wine, and all my non-wine-expert friends seem to like it okay. I'm really, really sorry you guys didn't like it. I swear, the blame falls entirely on my shoulders.

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  6. I'm so jealous I could cry.

    *sniff*

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  7. I'm still stuck on the you got to "go out" part. How is "out?" these days? I miss "out."

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