This week’s Saturday Sidebar Question comes from Alison Lee of Writing, Wishing. She asked our writers,
“How can you tell someone you love them without using words?”
Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…
Ms. V of South Korea writes:
“By listening and being present, being willing to sit with their joy and their pain without trying to fix things.” (more…)
I’ve always been determined that my children will have every cultural advantage I had as a child, which means that they will know how to swim competitively, to read music, to play at least one instrument, and have an additional sport of their choice. It seemed a matter of course that they would also go to the Symphony (ballet, opera and theatre) and have cultivated a great love of reading from an early age.
But I’m starting to realize that I’m setting an unfair expectation. First of all, they do benefit from many of these things. My 8-year old daughter takes classical ballet twice a week, and has solfège (music theory) along with her piano lessons. My 7-year old son has soccer once a week, introduction to solfège and instrument discovery, which will help him choose what he will want to play in the future. My youngest son, who is only four, is taking multi-sports – his own particular activity that he takes very seriously as a participating member of the under-ten set in the family.
But Symphony and theatre? It’s too far, too expensive, too inconvenient. Swimming lessons? We can’t fit them into our already packed schedule. And reading? I’m not inspired to go to the library each week like I did as a child, because it means that they will be reading even more French, and they already get plenty of that in school. What about that love of literature they were supposed to have cultivated in English – in my native tongue? For heaven’s sake, they don’t even know they’re half-American, and keep asking when we’re going to go visit their grandparents in England again! (more…)
This week’s Saturday Sidebar Question comes from World Moms Blog writer MamaMzungu. She asked our writers,
“How do you “kiss a boo-boo” in your country/ family?”
Check out what some of our World Moms had to say…
ALadyInFrance of France writes:
“In France we rub the affected area and say ‘aye-aye’.”
Carol @ If By Yes of British Columbia, Canada writes:
“We kiss things better, but my husband’s grandmother from Wisconsin rubs things better instead. ‘C’mere and let me rub it’ was a constant refrain when we stayed with her.”
Eva Fannon of Washington State, USA writes:
“I give them a big bear hug and kiss, and then gently rub the affected area and say “Sana, sana, colita de rana, si no sanas hoy, sanarás mañana”. That was what my mom always did for my brothers and I. It literally translates to “Heal, heal, little tail of the frog, if you don’t heal today, you’ll heal tomorrow.””
Hamakkomommy of Japan writes:
“In Japan, they put a hand over the ouchie and say “Itai no itai no, tonde ike!” Which means something like “Pain, pain, go away.” One version of this lets you command the pain to go to other people. Dad is the usual victim.”
We’re starting this week in a beautiful corner of the world. On Monday we will be in Cape Town, South Africa with Mama Simona. As a former nanny with some impressive qualifications, she was perfectly equipped to have a smooth-sailing birth experience. Or was she?
On Tuesday, we head to India for another birth story, this time from Fire Crystals! She gives us an eye-opening account of how her hospital treats the birth experience and the new mothers who have just gone through it.
On Wednesday, we will be in Washington with Tara B., who lives far away from the family she grew up with. She tells us about how she took her two-year-old to a place she likes to go when she’s missing her family and needs to find a sense of peace.
We are in four continents this week, starting with Africa! Mama Simona starts us off on Monday, writing from the beautiful city of Cape Town, South Africa. She tries to break down some stereotypes about South Africa as she tells us what it’s really like to live there and raise a family there.
On Tuesday, we are off to China, where Taryn writes about how she strives to feed her child food that is safe – no mean feat when you live in a country that has had its share of food safety scandals.
On Wednesday, we will be in Illinois with Jill Barth, who lives close to the Lincoln Memorial Gardens. She loves to visit the gardens with her daughter, to share some of its beauty and heritage with her. Reading her description of it will make you want to visit too!
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