A Secret to Success as a Working Mom: Turn Burn Out Into Bliss and Embrace Joy

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Last weekend my youngest was committed to going to the "Water Steps" a man-made water fall in Pittsburgh by the rivers. (Fun Fact: Three rivers converge in Pittsburgh--The Ohio River, The Monongahela River, and the Allegheny River.)  He kept asking. I knew he was serious when he said, "If you won't take me, I'll ask  daddy!" Given that it was highly unlikely that would happen on an unscheduled day, I relented. So, we went. It wasn’t planned in the way most things in my life are. No calendar block. No checklist. No “productive” purpose attached. And, so in some respects it was uncomfortable. And yet, it seemed necessary. It was the idea of my 8-year-old—offered with the kind of urgency only children possess when something is profoundly important to them.
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Mommy Mondays: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Safe Food

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            This Monday I began my day as I usually do. I was greeted by my alarm clock and I struggled to awaken.  Again, I failed to rise at 5:30AM, but by 6:15AM I was in the game. I was up folding clothes, sorting through mail and getting ready for the day. I am amazingly productive before dawn. Even though I am not a morning person, I do excel during the mornings when I finally wake up. 
            One thing I didn't have to do was make my toddlers lunch. We had leftovers from the previous night. She has a thing for beans. So, we eat them in abundance.  We used to eat beans and rice, but last week Consumer Reports announced that there are concerning levels of arsenic in the rice.  Children are vulnerable to brain damage and other issues if they eat too much of it.  For that reason, we will be eating more couscous. 
          Ever since they announced that there is arsenic in the rice I have been apoplectic.  Simply put, balance is harder to achieve when I am worried about the safety of the food that I serve my daughter.  Also, I am upset that I cannot rely on the safety of the food that is sold.  We may debate about the role of government in this election, but can't we all agree that we want to eat food that lacks poison?!
 
         Instead, they are blithely selling poisonous food and we are accepting it. 
 
        We should be rioting in the streets.  Instead we merely whine to our friends.  I even had sushi rolls for dinner and only had a passing thought about the arsenic levels. I care about what I eat.  Still, I ate rice today. Am I insane or merely complacent???
            It’s curious to me that in this election year the arsenic in the rice hasn’t generated any discussion among the candidates.  I believe that the pursuit of happiness that Thomas Jefferson referenced included having safe food for our citizens.  Perhaps it’s because neither candidate has had responsibility for making dinner for their families. I know that the deficit is important, as is health care, and the amount of funding the military receives. However, this country will become paralyzed if we are unable to produce safe food for our citizens.
                I wonder what would happen if moms united to protest this. What if moms organized and demanded safe food for their families? What if we made safe food an election issue?  What is more non-partisan than that?!

Below is a photo of the light of my life. I will do anything to protect her, including march for safe food.  Is anybody with me?!
 
 

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Comments

Unknown said…
I did not know this about rice! Yikes! Now I'm scared--we eat so much of it. Thanks for the head's up.
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