In the focus group on academic motherhood, the moderator asked us, "Tell me about the support network you have--who else besides you helps parent your children?" Everyone mentioned partners and a few mentioned parents, and while they were talking, I was counting on my fingers. "There are 16 people," I said, "I would be comfortable leaving my daughter with for a weekend." Sixteen people is a lot of people, although top of that list are Lucia's grandparents, Grandma and Abuela top, bolded, and underlined. It's not just about the weekend, though. For more than a year, I've been living with my in-laws and "commuting" to my retired parents' house for work hours, largely because of the support that Grandma and Abuela are able to provide. This may be an aberration for Mary's life, but having grandmothers around are part of our evolutionary heritage : families have long depended on the support grandmas and others give, especially fo
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And for my horribly honest moment: While if I ever have children I'm very much a traditionalist in names I really like (and therefore my name choices will be quite normal) I really, really like bizarre names as well. Just not for my family. :)
Here's a fun one for you. I have a second cousin who has 11 boys and one girl. These are their names (in no particular order, I can never keep them straight...)
Packer, Oaks, Taylor, McKay, Taft, Perry, Talmage, Maxwell, Kimball, Holland, and Fielding. Their daughter's name? Emma? Sariah? Rebecca? Lucy? NO. They named her Jamie.
Isn't that unique! (They're really cute kids, and perhaps outside of Utah it won't be quite as noticeable, but...)
I wish I could hear Sarah Palin's little girl introduce herself... just once... "Hi. I'm Piper Palin!" It IS sort of funny...