What the heck day is this, anyway?

[wesleysgirl]

Ah right, Wednesday.

Took the boy in for his kindergarten assessment this morning. The teacher said he did well -- I'd gone to the nurse's office to drop off his medical check-up form so I wasn't there for the actual assessment, which took about 10 minutes at most. I got the impression that they preferred the kids to do it on their own without their parents there. I'd forgotten to write his SS# down on two of his forms and had to bring them home again with me; I'll bring them in on Tuesday when he goes for his first day. Eep.

Message to people who walk around my neighborhood knocking on doors: If I ask you a direct question and you know what I'm getting at, please answer it honestly. There's some kind of point system thing where young adults "earn points" by selling shit, then get to go on a trip as a reward. We've had half a dozen of them knock on the door over the past three years or so. This guy went blah blah blah into his spiel immediately. As soon as he paused, I asked, "Is this the thing where you're selling magazines?" "No," he said. "I'm earning points so that I can go to Cancun and drink beer!" (Well, at least he was honest about that part, though I think it might have been better if he hadn't been.) "And how do you earn points?" I asked. "By selling magazines?" And he looked down and admitted sheepishly that yes, that was the system, and I said sorry, I wasn't going to buy any. As much as I enjoy reading a good magazine, they aren't long-term reading material (I don't save them for ages and read them over and over again the way I do books) and I feel guilty about the massive waste of paper they represent. The only magazines we get right now are the Mac magazine (which we get a free sub to) and Vegetarian Times (which we got a free sub for through a Stonyfield Farms Yogurt lid-saving program.)

I haven't been sleeping well and I'm completely exhausted. I have no motivation to cook dinner, although we have plenty of food with which to cook it. I have no energy for writing. And strangely, I seem to have lost weight -- when I went to put on a skirt this morning, the first two I tried, which I've worn several times in the past year, fell off over my hips before I could take two steps. Now admittedly they were loose-waisted to begin with because I don't like the feeling of being strangled, but this seems odd. (I'd prefer not to be congratulated for weight loss, FYI, just like I wouldn't expect anyone to yell at me if I admitted I'd gained five pounds. I'm trying very, very hard to get away from the ingrained societal belief that by losing weight I'm being "good" and by gaining it I'm being "bad." I judge myself enough as it is.)

Comments

[kimberly-a.livejournal.com]

I feel the same way about losing weight. Even when I've been overweight and lost weight, I don't like people acting like it's a wonderful thing. I feel a little weird about people even commenting on it ("Wow. You've lost weight!"), because I feel like praise is implied.

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

It's awkward because I apply it to other people as well as myself (I wouldn't dream of saying,"Wow, you've gained weight!" so I don't say "Wow, you lost weight, good for you!" either.) And sometimes I do feel like I'm failing to do the polite thing by praising someone for having lost weight, even when I know it's been a long, difficult road. I do occasionally in that circumstance comment on how happy or energetic they look, and also sometimes on how they look at that particular moment in time (for example, "Wow, you look amazing! That dress looks fantastic on you/your haircut is so flattering!")

I remember having gone on a really strict, not very healthy diet and losing about 50 lbs over the course of a few months, and how I felt when people said, "Wow, you look great, you've lost a ton of weight!" Admittedly I felt a moment of warm fuzzies, but that always melted quickly into "Gee, did I look that bad before?" and I'd end up feeling worse.

It's a really difficult issue.

*Hugs*

[yasminke.livejournal.com]

Wow! Next Tuesday. Is he excited? Nervous? Kid1 was nervous, kid2 couldn't wait. How are you handling it?

It must be the moon phases or something -- I'm not sleeping well, either. But I can't shift weight for anything.

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

I think he's a little nervous, a little excited, a little annoyed. He doesn't particularly care for being told what to do ("You're not the boss of me!" Um, yeah, actually, I am.) I'm a little nervous and a little excited and a little relieved and a little worried. That pretty much sums it up, LOL.

*Hugs* Good sleep is SO important.

[yasminke.livejournal.com]

Add this in your list of changes: kindergarten mentality is a huge change. Not all bad, but different.

All you have to do is figure out what to do with all your free time.

[ephemera.livejournal.com]

"wow, hoave you lost weight?" "I don't think so. Why - has someone found some?" It's corney but people generally don't do that twice ...

I like tht the anbnoying Sles!boy was rereshingly honest, though ;D

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

Hee! That's a good idea. In my current case a few pounds here or there aren't likely to be noticed (I suppose that's one good thing about being fat!) so I don't expect to hear any comments.

[nwhepcat.livejournal.com]

I once got rid of a phone magazine salesperson (whose amazing deal was actually, if you did the math, not that great) by saying, "The idea of getting seven magazines a month to my house fills me with despair." There's nothing in the telemarketer script under "despair."

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

Ahahaha, that's awesome! Mr WG once got rid of someone trying to telemarket him another credit card by finally saying, in a pitiful, whiny voice, "But I don't WANT one!"

[lostgirlslair.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's great for the boy. Is he excited to be going? Also, my family has an interesting history with people who come to our door. Most of my family is outspoken and not at all worried about being rude. I inherited some of the outspoken, but have tried not to fall into the rude trap. The last time a telemarketer called, however, I was in the middle of writing an intense bit of story and I found myself saying, "Excuse me, but I don't want anything and you're interrupting my gay porn." ::looks sheepish::

I'm sorry to hear you're not sleeping well, darlin'! ::sends you good sleepy thoughts:: I know what you mean about the weight loss thing. I don't diet, never have (partly because my mother has a tendancy toward anorexia), but I tend to loose and gain weight fairly regularly. When someone tells me I've lost weight, I never have any idea what to say and I tend to feel awkward.