Just a quick thought. John Edwards has just admitted he has had an affair while his wife was in remission for her cancer. I was shocked … not expecting this from the good guy of American politics.

He says “I did not love her…” – as if that is going to make a difference. I ask you…does the fact that he does not love her not make it worse? In other words it was just sex…sex with a woman…sex with an employee…seems like Big John was ruling little John’s little head…

And once again, just like Spitzer’s wife, Elizabeth Edwards stood by dutifully so that the career of a cheating husband can take priority over her. Just like Hillary before her…

POST SCRIPT:

Maybe my Hubby can donate his shirt to John Edwards (see: Friday Funnies)

When he wears his new t-shirt and moves into his trailer maybe he should settle in the town of TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES in New Mexico. But maybe Elizabeth would have him move to CUT OFF in Louisiana!

It is a Thursday afternoon, actually evening, and I am sitting in a stuffy high school auditorium watching my daughter’s dance recital rehearsal. My youngest came at 3:30 and did her bit and then I took her home to dinner and dad was armed with the Wii.  My eldest is in a number of items in the show and has rehearsal from 3.30 all the way through to 8pm tonight. It is a long day but the girls enjoy it so much. All the make up, the hair is done, the costumes are organized. At least my kids’ costumes are organized. Young little Anna Pavlova’s costume is just one outfit, one hair piece, one pair of shoes and very little stage make up. I have a laundry basket for her and all her goodies are in there.

Older daughter A.K.A. Dame Margot Fonteyn is a little more complicated. She has three numbers, three different costumes, three head pieces, two sashes and two different pairs of shoes. I hate not finding things and definitely do NOT want to make an enemy of the girls’ dancing teacher so I have really jacked my game. Each costume is in a separate suit bag, marked in the costume and on the bag. Each head piece, different pair of tights, sash and shoes each has its own Ziploc bag inside the applicable suit bag. All suit bags are in the laundry basket together with snack, make up bag, hair and reading material, the DS and her cell phone. Okay so now you think I am totally anal about this and that actually:

1. I need to get a life,
2. I need to get a job,
3. I am seriously disturbed.

But you know, I do not do this because I am one or all of the above. I do it for my children and I will tell you why…

The rules of the studio are clear:

1. Keep all your costume pieces together and have all of them for dress rehearsal.
2. Have your hair in a bun with no wispy bits.
3. Have full stage make-up (big girls) and just the blush and lips for the really little ones.
4. Be on time…

The rules are simple and easy to follow. However, there are some parents who think that the rules don’t really apply to them. After all these are just kids and not really anything to take too seriously. They arrive late…one woman today did not do her child’s make up…another lost a head piece and was very blasé about that and the fact that the girl’s hair was not done…the last mother also was missing the rope from the bodice of the costume. The principal was horrified. And so was I actually.

You do these things and keep to the rules so that your children look the part. So that they don’t look like the odd one out with no hair done or costume pieces missing. I do it out of respect for my children and the hard work they do throughout an entire year of practices and going to dance class in the snow and the heat waves. I do it for them because I love them and I want them to have a good time.

I must be honest though on Monday, I was so wishing that the concert would just fly by. There is so much to organize and there is so much to juggle.  My eldest is fine…she loves all the action and excitement…it is the youngest one that is the most testy. She is not fond of all the schedules and deadlines but today she coped like a true little star performer.

I am sitting here watching the rehearsal. The kids are brilliant. Not just my kids…all the kids…they are living in each and every moment. The older girls are breathtaking and the young ones bring tears to your eyes. All their hard work is paying off and I am proud of each and every one of them and I am especially proud of my two girls…So to those mothers who could not care less…take one singular moment and realize just how sensational your children are!

*****

Please go to Just A Thought and watch the clip linked to Sylvie Guillem…

I am on new uncharted territory for me. I have a tween – you know the children that are precariously balancing between being a young child and teenager – a tween. I am flying blind and by the seat of my pants here because she is my eldest.

Tweens find themselves in difficult positions. They are trying to create their own identity – independent of their parents but somehow letting go is difficult because they are facing so many new challenges in their young lives. My 11 year old daughter is at that stage now. We joke about it occasionally when her eyes roll at our suggestions – that we have a teenager in the house but sometimes at the end of the day, I look back and it is no joke.

My daughter loves being with us – she still enjoys family days out, eating around the table as family (which we do without thinking or planning at least five times a week). Family time for her is number one. She has many friends that don’t have that stable time in their lives. Their parents eat separately, different meals, and don’t spend any quality time with their children. So my bright child does consider herself lucky to have that.

But the problem I don’t think is her being a tween – it is me being the mother of a tween. I am not sure how to cope. How do I let her discover who she is without letting the rules fly out the window? How do I let her explore her world without cramping her style and become that nagging parent.

Make no mistake. I am a firm believer in my personal mantra: I am my child’s mother, parent, first and foremost. I see so many parents making the mistake of trying to be their child’s friend. It does not work because the loss of respect, I feel, is inevitable. There is such a fine line between wanting your child to have fun with you and enjoy your time together and losing those boundaries that ultimately lay the foundation of a good parent-tween relationship.

So every day I am tested: I get eye rolling, the sighs and the skirting around tasks which ultimately makes me feel like I am losing a bit of control. So ‘punishments’ for the lack of a better word (I hate the word punishment by the way) are figured out. But how do you discipline some one who is by all accounts as close to perfect as I could possibly hope or pray for?

My daughter does her homework with being asked to. She does extra credit work because she wants to. She excels academically. She is committed to her after school activities. She is a good friend. She does not watch more than 30 minutes of television a day and that even is generally when we all sit together at the end of the day so it ends up being a program on National Geographic or the Discovery Channel. She does not play on the PSP or tv games console during the week – only on the weekends and then even for less that 90 minutes. She reads a lot, she plays outside….the list of her good habits goes on and on and on.

But the attitude is a little dodgy sometimes. She tries to control every situation and will point out details and little shortcomings on my part often and the respect wanes in the way she speaks and acts at times. But as I write this, I also realise that in fact, this does not happen as often as what I might think. But what does worry me is that I seem to pointing out her faults and mistakes to her more than maybe I should.  I do praise her for her goodness, her dedication and her good work but when I point out the error in her ways, I get a look of disappointment – as though I have failed somewhere. I just want her to grow up being the adult that I know she can be – because she is our child we cherish and love and my friends all point out that we are lucky.

So my big question I suppose is – how do you give guidance without breaking the spirit? How do I become a successful mom of a tween so that my tween can be a successful, fulfilled adult?