Sitting Down with Slouching Mom

I am cross-posting this at The Wink.

I read blogs. They're funny, intelligent, brilliant, poignant, honest, inspirational, authentic, passionate, crafty, consistently cool, unflinchingly direct, dear, endlessly readable, and their authors have come to be my friends.

I am not a master commenter, I tend to read and skip, read and skip. I know the majority of bloggers track their hits and know when I've been by, or if not me exactly, they know that nycap.res.rr.com has been on. Yet I know how precious comments can be, so I do try to slow down enough to leave them when I can.

One name that is always there, no matter the blog and no matter my number in the line of commenters, Slouching Mom. She and I exchanged emails one night as she tried to determine which of my blogs she should read. At the time I'd been a bit taken aback, "Why can't she read both? Am I not worth it? Is the writing quality on one not as strong as on the other?" Now that I know the scope of her reading terrain, I am honored to have her at all.

Recently she posted an entry of the memish variety, involving an interview. She offered to send out questions if readers were interested, knowing the questions would be well thought out and specific to each person I raised my hand. So, without further ado, my interview with Sarah minus, coffee and chortling kids.

Sarah- How on earth do you manage to run two blogs, and why do you maintain two blogs? How would you describe the differences between them?

A wing and a prayer? Seriously, I began Life with Briar, now Tumble Dry, as a way of sharing photos and stories with my family back on the West Coast. It was also a stand-in for the baby journaling I was so woefully remiss in doing. Although truth be told I always knew I wouldn't keep up with the baby journal, even as I forked over twenty dollar bill after twenty dollar bill at Hallmark and company. The second, The Wink was to be less, Briar is now a 3T and potty trained, Avery is a 2T and growing molars by the second, and more, well, more something. Turns out I like writing about my girls, Sean and life, on both blogs. I think it might kill me to say goodbye to one of them, perhaps someone could teach me how to merge them...hint hint.

I still believe they are distinct in that Tumble Dry continues to be written as if my grandfather were still reading it and The Wink is slightly more irreverent, and on occasion, profane. My stories tend to be more tender on Tumble Dry, though tenderness happens on The Wink too.

Sarah - You have two lovely girls, and now you're pregnant again. Are you hoping for a boy? Is Sean? Why or why not?

No official hopes for one gender over the other, just the standard 10 and 10 and devoid of our worst characteristics. Though it seems to me a girl would be easier, if only by avoiding the messiness you moms-of-boys describe with the pee sprays. I suspect Sean would love to see a little boy in a Sox cap, but the truth is our girls look cute in caps and do just fine in the rough-housing department.

Sarah - What music are you listening to these days?

Oof. I try not to talk about this because I am definitely sort of a C student when it comes to music. I like it, I sing along, I bob my head, but I get lyrics and names wrong. There is a song Sean put on disc for me, two actually, that I adore. I am certain they were a discovery of sorts when he did it, but are played out now. We call one of them (we being the girls and I) the Fairy Song. I think it's Lori McKenna with the lead singer from REM in the background and the other is a woman singing a song that Sean tells me is called, Bubbly.

Sarah - What were you like when you were Briar's age? Do you see yourself more in Avery or in Briar?

What was I like at Briar's age? Boy, I'm not sure. My parents were not yet divorced, I was an only child and my mom stayed home. I think it was one of the simplest and purest times of my life. I loved playing outside and reading. I'd like to think that I had her sparkle.

I see my physical strength in both girls, the echo of the lines of my body as they slip through a doorway, the curve of muscle as they stretch for a toy. I think I see a lot of my rigid belief in right and wrong in Briar, which tugs at me, it is something that will lead her on a noble path, but will cause heartache as she realizes that other people do not operate using the same playbook. And Avery, Avery is everything I have ever wished I could be, it is as if every daydream I ever had myself has come true through her. Ultimately, I hope I can see myself in both of them, better and stronger.

Sarah - Sean seems like a loving and involved father. Describe what you believe to be his finest parenting moment thus far.

And the pregnancy hormones come in with a rush and send me weeping. Touche, following up such a direct question about my girls with this about Sean. He is magnificent. I don't know if there is one moment that I can call out, rather there are so many times that I've been in the kitchen making dinner and I've heard him singing to the girls. I creep slowly to the doorway and there they'll be, Sean, guitar on his knee, smiling as Avery gently strums along, Briar stands, swaying to the music and watching his lips, learning the words as she mimicks him. It is a thing to behold, and each time I revisit in a blur all the bends and dips in the road, that led us to now, and I am rocked by how very right it is.

Thank you, Sarah. I so enjoyed answering these questions.

If you are reading this and would like to take a turn yourself, let me know, and I'll send a few your way.