Eleven years ago I was answering questions and sharing free bottled water (and cool bracelets) at Wine in the Woods. No surprise: I was volunteering in support of the Inner Arbor Trust at a booth sharing information about the new park in town: Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods. Having the booth was a smart move. What better way to spread the word about what was coming to the very place where guests were engaging in their traditional seasonal revelry? You are here in the present. This will be here in the very near future. I had some great conversations that day. I did not drink any wine. When I was sent to take a break I had the following exchange with a gentleman sitting at the table where I was having a quick meal. Nice man at my table: would you like some wine? Me: oh, no thanks. I don't drink in the heat. Man: ??? Only later did I realize how hilarious that was. You’re at Wine in the Woods and you don’t drink wine? But no, I don’t. Because wine in the heat give...
This week Dr. Mehmet Oz made the public declaration that 1 in 3 Americans are “underbabied.” I have questions. Underbabied? Is that a medical term? Isn’t his job in the field of medicine? One in three? Where are the scientific studies? Where’s the data? This is all sadly connected in my mind with the emotional contortions that women are often subjected to every year on Mother’s Day. I posted this on Facebook at the end of the day on Sunday, with the words: Having some trouble with the sentiments of the day for some reason. For years my issue with Mother’s Day stemmed from my unhappy relationship with my own mother. But now I’m just so frustrated by the horrible wave of trying to redefine woman as breeders - - praising them only for adhering to that one narrow role. And what happens to anyone who is different? It makes me sad and angry. We don’t do this to men. We don’t define them by whether they have produced offspring. We don’t ask if they fe...