Across the Pond Archive Page   

My Fifteen (Milli)seconds Of Fame

I wish I could be a famous blogger or newspaper columnist, just so I KNEW that somehow, something I might be saying might be reaching a wider audience and be considered worthwhile. BUT I received a little confirmation that I do have something to say—whether or not it is worthwhile is up in the air!

I read Reader’s Digest. I actually have a subscription to the Canadian one which keeps me in touch with Canada a wee bit. I know that might be kind of tacky to admit, but it’s actually not a bad read. (I think the Cdn version is much better than the British one, btw) I read an article a few months back about the riddle of how to bring up boys—the old chestnut of whether men should be tough, or tender or if it’s in their genes to be totally at odds with how women think and feel. The article was thoughtful but I feel that it didn’t go deep enough, that it was open to misinterpretation. The article was also the topic of the online forum for that month, where readers can sound off their opinions on selected articles. So I wrote my tuppence worth, thinking nothing of it. When lo and behond, a few months later, my comments appeared in the March issue! If you can find a copy of the magazine, you’ll see my name in print. Go down to your local Doctor’s or Dentist’s clinic, I’m sure you’ll be able to find the magazine, ha ha!)
But for those of you who don’t have access to it, here’s what I said…

“As a mom of an 18-month old son, I admit that I was intially frightened because my husband and I didn’t have a clue how to raise a boy in today’s world. Do we raise him to be tough? To be tender? Are boys supposed to be “rough-and-tumble” or should we raise our son to be softer and gentler? But at the end of the day, the ultimate goal of parenting should be to raise any child to be a productive member of society and to contribute to making the world a better place.”

Gosh, it’s so weird to see my name in print! I don’t think I’ll make a habit of commenting on Reader’s Digest articles in future, lemme tell you, but it was a nice suprise for them to pick my comment to print.

I’vealso been delving into Facebook which is actually kinda cool (it’s all Desiree’s fault. I blame her! Just kidding, Des). I’ve had fun getting in touch with people I went to school with and it seems way more mature than MySpace (ie users on there aren’t all 18 years old). It’s a nice adjunct to blogging as you can just post brief comments on there and I’ve felt comfortable posting photos on there that friends can see but not the whole world. So I hope that more of you sign up and I’ll friend you! It’ll be nice to chat with you on a different level than blogging.