Saturday, January 27, 2007

Birthday wine


Doing my regular grocery shopping at the fabulous Wegman's this afternoon, I not only had some yummy, yummy cheese fondue they were handing out samples of at the cheese shop, I found this terrific wine. OK, I haven't tasted it yet, but how I could I not buy wine named for me?! I'm saving this bottle for my birthday, which is just around the corner, but now I know what we'll be pouring at my book release party.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

The Great Wall of Brooklyn

Well, I'm sure these kids will come out of this whole thing unscathed....sheesh! This is the kind of story Hollywood shows us and we laugh, thinking, 'no one is that nuts.' Well, turns out someone is.

No more happily ever after


Roy Disney and wife Patricia are splitting after 51 years of marriage (can people return all the gold gifts they bought the couple last year?). Another gray divorce for the tally board.

Monday, January 15, 2007

She's alive!

The blog has been a little quiet lately, and I apologize. The holidays have been busy and I've been working hard on interviews for the book. (By the way, I need more women to share their stories of being the child of divorced parents. Email me if you'd like to volunteer.) I've also got a couple of other writing assignments I'm working on, houseguests in and out, my regular full-time job, and I'm looking for just the right puppy to adopt. Welcome to January!

Over the holidays, we made a trip to New Jersey to retrieve some furniture and whatnot from Gram's house. She's in a nursing home now. She and Grandma C. are the only grandparents I have left, which feels really odd. When I was born, I had both sets of grandparents, three sets of great-grandparents, and a great-great-grandmother--that's 11 grands! (I have a really cool picture, which I'm too lazy to scan and post right now, of five generations of Steakleys--hunched-over great-great-grandma Steakley on one end of the sofa, and teeny newborn me cradled in my dad's lap at the other end.) I lost great-great-grandma, and three of my great-grandparents when I was little; but I acquired a whole new set of grandparents when my mom remarried. True, one was a pudding-stealer, but still they were grandparents, and grandparents are cool.

So this is officially "hug a grandparent day." Even if you've got a lot, they won't last forever. Hug 'em while you can.

Monday, January 08, 2007

Supernanny summary

As previously mentioned, tonight's episode of Supernanny featured a family on the brink of divorce. Mum and Dad have five little ones, all under the age of 9. The oldest two are Mom's kids from a previous marriage, although their biological dad is never mentioned. The two oldest boys refer to their stepdad as "Dad" and he doesn't talk about the older boys any differently than the younger ones, although they did have to develop a closer relationship throughout the show.

One of the telling things about this show was that the tension between Mum and Dad was one of the key factors in the boys' bad behavior. The children were out of control before Jo arrived, but Jo's first observation was not about the naughty children; it was about the palpable anger between Mum and Dad. Mum had filed for divorce six months earlier, so Dad was living with a Damocles' sword over his head.

By the end of the episode, Mom handed over the divorce papers, announcing that she had withdrawn them. The oldest boy (who, remember, has already lost one dad) eagerly jumped up, a pair of scissors in his hand. Obviously, the kids knew that their family was in a precarious position and their joy at having a family that felt secure was infectious. As Jo bid Mum and Dad good-bye, they were standing together, arms around one another, peaceful looks on their faces for the first time in the hour-long program.

Good job, Jo!

Friday, January 05, 2007

Virginia group pushes for tougher divorce laws

The Washington Post reports today that the Family Foundation of Virginia is lobbying for a law that would require mutual consent for divorces of couples with children. Couples without children would still be allowed to split willy-nilly, but the proposed legislation would prevent one spouse from abandoning the marriage without repercussion. Exceptions would be made for cases of abuse and cruelty. A local county delegate put it all in perspective by saying, "There is less security in the covenant of marriage than if you and I agree to open up a hamburger joint." And what of the poor hamburgers caught in the middle? Tuesday can only be put off for so long.

Kristin Armstrong on God and divorce

Lance Armstrong's ex-wife, Kristin, has a new book out, a 365-day devotional for women who have gone through a divorce. I hadn't realized that Kristin was a woman of faith, but Happily Ever After is a faith-filled book. Kristin was interviewed by Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America today. Watch the video here and read an excerpt of the book here.

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Supernanny rescues a family

Just saw a commercial for Monday's episode of Supernanny. On January 8, Jo steps into a household on the brink of divorce. Sounds like this time it's Mum and Dad who've been very, very naughty. The good news is that Jo-Jo can make anyone behave. Go Supernanny!

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Stepping into a new year

Happy New Year!

Over the holidays, I finished a book of essays, My Father Married Your Mother. Anne Burt, the editor, is a stepmother who collected the musings of other writers who happen to be part of stepfamilies. The great thing about this book is the variety of perspectives it offers. Some essays are written by stepchildren, others by stepparents, some address stepsibling relationships. Most of the step relationships in the book are the result of divorce, but some are due to death. Some are happy, some are decidedly unhappy, many are somewhere in between. The collective result is delightful and poignant. Here are a few choice quotes.

"it's not really fair to try to 'share' a child. The parents may each get half, but the child never gets a whole." - Jacquelyn Mitchard, "Losing Janey"

"Daddy had died that January, and his house was immediately sealed and later sold by the bank. My parents were divorced, so my mother wasn't allowed to go inside to retrieve any of her belongings. Her piano, wedding presents, personal items, and all of our things were permanently gone. I have nothing from my early childhood; not one toy, school paper, piece of clothing. Years later, a psychiatrist would tell me it was as if I was a refugee, leaving home with only what was on my back." - Alice Elliott Dark, "My Room"

"Back in our apartment during a break from school, I pulled open my mother's dresser to borrow a scarf and discovered she'd packed all her belongings." - Dana Kinstler, "My Father's New Muse"

"In all the stories, the stepmother is always wicked, always cruel to children. Wolves are cruel, too, but not wicked. Wolves are the natural enemies of children, and they're meant to be savage. Widowed kings and poor woodcutters don't marry wolves and ask them to raise their children. They marry women, the natural protectors of children, who are meant to be warm and maternal. So why was it that women who became stepmothers acted like wolves?" - Roxana Robinson, "Wicked"

"For Jonah and me, our parents' marriage provided an ideal opportunity for a natural coalition. We both lacked siblings, and by virtue of the nuptials we each gained a brother. ...What happens when the marriage that forged the alliance no longer exists?" - Ted Rose, "My Papa Married Your Mama"