Funny But True Proverbs On Parenting (Bathroom Reading Only!)

If you aren't but want to be someday If you just want something light to laugh at Are you seeing the trend? I hope so, go read it: Happy Mother's day weekend! May 11, Tanya mom's small victories rated it really liked it. If you're a mom or a mom-to-be, this is a hilarious collection of short stories about motherhood. Each mom blogger brings a very dynamic, honest, heartfelt and downright funny moments of motherhood. From the challenges of sleepless nights with a newborn, the constant battle with a teenager keeping their room clean, to becoming their mothers, these moms have covered it all, the good, the bad and the ugly.

Things you might not have ever thought would happen to you I think this woul If you're a mom or a mom-to-be, this is a hilarious collection of short stories about motherhood. I think this would make a great gift for any mom or mom-to-be with a sense of humor. Or perhaps for a woman who has not decided whether to have kids, this book could very well be birth control.

It will certainly stir up interesting conversations! This review was originally posted on Mom's Small Victories Jan 05, Jamie rated it it was ok. I have had this on my Kindle app on my phone for the last 6 months and would read a bit of it when I had a few minutes and needed something to read. As the title says, this is a collection of essays by mom bloggers, so you can read a few at a time and put it down and pick it up later. Some really were funny.

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But as a mom myself, who has experienced many of the topics covered, I am actually starting to get a little tired of the cliched aspects of the genre. Your husband does moronic stuff, your I have had this on my Kindle app on my phone for the last 6 months and would read a bit of it when I had a few minutes and needed something to read.

Don't get me wrong, I have experienced all of those things and do like to break out "fuck" myself when needed, but maybe reading so very many of them in one collection wore me down. They seemed at times forced. Oct 16, Joseph Rizzo rated it really liked it. The authors accomplished what they set out to do The stories may be different but the lessons are the same, prepare to give up everything, prepare to be embarrassed and tested beyond your wildest imaginations.

Prepare to love these children more than you ever thought possible. You will laugh out loud and think of the things that your little one s have done. I have h The authors accomplished what they set out to do I have heard my wife say similar things to the title of this book and so I knew it would connect with her. She is reading it now as well and laughing in most of the same places. Everybody likes to hear a good and funny story and there are dozens in this book.

Laugh along with them. Oct 16, Laura rated it really liked it. A very funny collection of essays about the insanity of being a parent. I liked the little descriptions of each blogger who contributed, as well as their essays, and how the general tone was non-competitive, supportive, and dramatic. I loved this book. I read it yesterday and my face still hurts today from laughing so hard! It's like the best of each contributor's work.

I would recommend this book to all momsif you're not a parent you may not get some of the humor, but as mother to a toddler I found it hilarious! Aug 27, Becky rated it it was amazing. This book is hilarious for moms! I could totally relate to some stories, but others were just as funny since I could imagine these situations happening. As long as you don't mind the language, it is a hoot!!! Sep 30, Pam Dise-Moran rated it it was amazing.

Hilarious - a must read for any mom - you have been there And they will make you laugh at yourself: Aug 31, Angie rated it it was amazing. This is a hilarious book from multiple "mommy bloggers" who tell it like it is-really honest and funny. Oct 18, Carolyn Duran rated it it was amazing. Full disclosure - one blogger is a personal friend.

That being said, I thought this was a great set of stories - funny and relatable! Mar 14, Kimberlee Sinclair rated it it was amazing. If you're a parent and have a raunchy sense of humor - read this book! Nov 11, Chrissy Kruger-gruendyke rated it it was amazing. You will find yourself laughing to tears from these essays. Such a good compilation! Definitely recommend to any mom having a bad day! Oct 07, Ashley Thuillier rated it it was amazing Shelves: A great read for moms who aren't 'perfect' and want to feel like someone out there understands then. Mar 20, Sarah JF rated it it was amazing.

Haven't laughed out loud this much since I read Chelsea Handler! View all 3 comments. Nov 26, Jennifer Maben rated it it was amazing. This should be mandatory reading for all moms or moms to be! Motherhood is easily the toughest, most rewarding, funniest job you'll ever love. The pay sucks, your boss is a tyrant, and the working conditions are terrible. You can't even take time to go to the bathroom without being interrupted! I think every mother has, at some point, said this: Included are stories from the authors of People I Want to Motherhood is easily the toughest, most rewarding, funniest job you'll ever love.

You'll find hilarious essays including: Honestly, the stories in this book are so relatable, so on point, and so funny. They tell stories about those mommy experiences where you just have to laugh, or you'll wind up crying. But if you do live a more aware life, then consciousness is clearly different in some contries.. Why do you suggest i am deluded, suggesting when you clearly have no info to really even make such a statements of me. That is putting me into a belief you have of me, and does not make it true..

Well, I suppose anyone could do that — but WHY? Why embrace a racist philosophy — just because one man believed it to be true? Or are you the product of a Waldorf school? Feel free to believe whatever you like, however. If they were real, we would have detected them by now… Oh wait… Steiner did. So do lots of people who do drugs. Why would I need to know any of that to evaluate what you have written? You might be the most wonderful racist in the world. Your comments indicate you are.

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Or do you want to continue living your life as a racist? This is very well reasoned and researched. However, I think there is a broader discussion that is missing. Why is it that this worldview, that perhaps you consider to be superior, should be forced on my children? Why is your philosophy the standard upon which we treat all of education? I went to a public school in the US and a Waldorf school. I received a very poor education in the public school, and was lucky enough to have parents who were well educated and could find an alternative.

That alternative was the Waldorf school. The education was far superior. From all of us as tax payers! I will never be able to convince you that the Waldorf school is superior, just as you will never convince me that the main stream school is superior. Is that not fair? Daniel — I am not sure whether you have not read my post, misunderstand it, or choose to misunderstand it.

I do not want to deny parents choice. I want to make sure that choices parents make are made on the basis of all relevant information. Steiner schools systematically fail to disclose very relevant information. Andy Lewis, I associated your grievance with others who you quoted in your article, such as Dan Dugan. Also, you talk in some detail about the impact of Waldorf schools on particular communities, such that they dry up other establishments. Now perhaps this is not an outright condemnation of the principle of public funding for Waldorf schools, but it comes quite close.

You are arguing that it is not practical, or feasible to fund a Waldorf school because it has too great an impact on the broader community. It is not as though you are simply looking to get better disclosure for Waldorf schools; you are skeptical of the funding in the first place. If I misunderstood the section I quoted, please clarify your position. Most, if not all other Waldorf critics who I have read on the net argue against the notion of public funding for Waldorf education, as a matter of principle.

In other words, even disclosure of some standardized sort would still disqualify a Waldorf school from funding. I see two or three major questions: I am not a lawyer and have next to no knowledge of the statutory requirements on educational establishments in the UK, but I imagine that some of what the above article describes would should… be considered to be of borderline legality if taken to court.

But the situation in the UK is not so clear cut… a few attempts to discuss along those lines follow:. The parallel with the medical quackery aspect of this blog will hopefully be glaringly obvious to many. Even private schools have to demonstrate that a basic standard of education is being achieved and that the children in their care are being psychologically and physically cared for or at least I believe and hope that is the case.

That requirement is all the more critical when the school s in question are being publicly funded. A fire department must be able to put out fires and this is a basic requirement. If so, then clearly there are standards of education and the Waldorf school must prove that it can educate students. As long as the public school is measured to the same standard, then we agree. Both fire departments must prove they can put out fires, and both schools must prove they can educate students.

Andy Buckley, Your post is quite reasonable. I am here simply to advocate for Waldorf education, as my experience with it has been a positive one. I also want to make sure it is being dealt a fair hand. Take your point about choice being nice, but not always practical. Andy L also related concerns with regard to this. I have ideas about how a mechanism would work to achieve this, but until it is tried it is only an idea.

I also may agree with you that the current system is broken or inefficient! As I stated, I am not defending the specific implementation of funding, but the idea of funding as a principle. In summary, I believe I should have the ability to send my child to a Waldorf school as I am a tax payer. I am sure there is not a perfect implementation of a funding system that achieves that.

I open to discuss what a better system for public funding might be. Choice is all well and good, but using State money to teach racist, anti-scientific garbage is not. If parents truly wish to brainwash their children into whatever religious peculiarities they wish then reluctantly I think we should permit them to do so, but not at the expense of me and the rest of the UK taxpayers. I extend that to all religious schools, not just to things like Steiner. She then looses her court case when the father has insisted on his rights and has gained limited access to his child, with whom he has built up a fantastic relationship.

I agree with the first part of this statement, but disagree with the latter part. All schools should have standards that apply across the board. There should be transparency on the pedagogy and tested quality, and perhaps achieved by standardized test scores or other measures. Whether a teacher is a member of a Lutheran, Catholic, Buddhist, or other church is not the business of any parent or education board.

If the teacher is a member of the Anthroposophical Society is also no ones business. So the standards for what is personal and what is public are quite clear. If you are a criminal, you lose rights due to your actions. If you are a law abiding citizen, then your academic credentials and professional conduct are all that matter. The Waldorf schools meet this criteria, and if an individual teacher falls short, then the legal system is utilized. Your article tries to make the assertion that Waldorf teachers do not have the rights of other citizens, and this aspect makes no sense to me.

What people believe always influences what they teach and the way they teach: If they teach what they believe we all need to know what those beliefs are. For example, when teaching economic development theory, I made a point of ensuring my students knew which theories I thought had merit and which not.

It did not prevent me from teaching opposing theories and explaining them properly but it did ensure that students could take any bias I had into account. If I had not been honest, the students would not have adequately been able to assess what was being taught. Not to be interested in the beliefs of the teacher is really not to be interested in the subtleties of discourse that can turn a message one way or another; it is a preference to be conned.

Anthroposophy is a very big deal to Waldorf schools — and they want to know that the teachers accept Anthroposophy, hook, line and sinker. With how our society, at least in the US is arranged it does create problems. Ideally if a teacher is a member of the AS it should be no ones business.

But it is a difficulty that should be addressed and overcome. My issue is as follows. I would call it a religion. That religion is one of materialism. When they interview teachers for their main-stream classrooms, they ask that if the teacher has a spiritual life, that they leave that behind, because the religion of materialism does not recognize the spirit. Your philosophy and worldview are confirmed by the main stream school. The fact that teachers in this school are not allowed to bring their spiritual understanding into their teaching is a positive outcome for you.

For this reason there is really no such thing as a main-stream school. There are only schools that have philosophies and worldviews. Schools may be publicly funded or privately funded. In either case, regardless of funding, they will hold to their philosophical cores and hire teachers that meet their requirements. I believe the parents should have a choice. The teachers are evaluated so that they demonstrate quality results.

Teachers should not be put through an experience that pries into personal matters; only items of a professional nature are evaluated. I believe it is enough to know that the school upholds a specific pedagogy. If parents wish that type of education, then they send their children, otherwise they choose another school. I think this will be its own robust conversation.

FULL disclosure is what is legally and morally appropriate. There is little difference between Steiner schools and other religious schools in that respect. Read theission statements for the major religions and all of them see education as an opportunity to promote their own set of beliefs to children, in the cery cynical knowledge that young children are most vulnerable to reloigious brainwashing.

I got pretty much the same response: The fact that the concerns were correctly identified and they still approved the school, as I had said in my letter, appeared to have passed them by. There are religions with notions of karma in which animals reincarnate in parallel to humans that is, bears or lions reincarnate, but bears always reincarnate as bears and lions always reincarnate as lions, etc. Anthroposophy is not either of these. Anthroposophy was originally a schism of theosophy and these Westernized versions of karma thoroughly reject those aspects of karma that they inherited from the religions of southeast Asia.

Steiner always emphasizes the differences between humans and animals. Animals are not thought to have souls in the way that humans do. That only works if you are entirely honest and forthcoming about what your philosophy is when you try to recruit my child for enrollment in your school. In that case you are asking for my funds, yes? Yes, I agree with you. Each school, whether main-stream or Waldorf, must disclose its pedagogy.

My only wish is that it is done equitably. For example, in main-stream schools evolution may be taught with natural selection and mutation as the only mechanism for the advancement of a species. Today, there is quite a bit of debate on how evolution is taught in the classroom. Yet there is a specific philosophy underlying it. If we are going to probe and disclose the philosophy of a Waldorf school, we must do the same for the public school.

The point is not to put a school on trial, but to disclose enough about the philosophy and pedagogy so a parent can make an informed decision. Too often Waldorf critics are not even-handed. They really just want to disparage Waldorf education, not seek a solution for society. Then why is it that when Waldorf schools hire teachers, they give preference to anthroposophists? I do hope you misspoke. Regarding the teachers membership in the AS, I started to address this in my prior response to Pete.

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On the other hand, if a teacher commits a sexual crime, that is clearly not protected. I should add that I was also careful not to ask for the names of individuals and their Anthroposophical affiliations. The purpose of my request was to find out whether or not this information is recorded at all. Teachers have the right to a private life, while parents have the right to choose the pedagogy that is right for their child. We need to find a happy medium here, where both interests can be attained.

Membership in the AS is really a very private matter. Events and meetings are done on the teachers own time, if they so wish to attend at all. They are not reimbursed for conferences or their time at conferences of course I am not overseeing schools, so this is a generalization and may have exceptions. The AS is akin to church on Sunday. When a regular teacher attends church, they may have Gospel lessons that inform their teaching or give them some wisdom that helps them better understand a child in their classroom.

For the Waldorf teacher, this same type of inspiration comes from attending an AS study group. Even the pedagogical section of the AS is not setup to create apostolic constitutional decrees, like the Catholic pope. They make no decrees. It is a free association, and a personal one at that. Now it is true that the pedagogy of the Waldorf school must be reviewed by every parent.

But this is analogous to reviewing what takes place in the classroom. Every main-stream school parent is not reviewing the various churches that inspire their teachers. They are leaving their children in the hands of a professional institution that has demonstrable results, and regulations. However, there is a certain philosophical worldview as the foundation for the pedagogy.

This is where it becomes more complex. I already mentioned in a prior post that main-stream schools actually have the same problem, but their worldview is centered on materialism. I am not sure the way our society is organized is really ready for this. My issue is that society must transform and become ready. It is denying parents the freedom they deserve to not resolve this situation.

In the mean time, I think regulators are doing what they can to try and accommodate those parents who want an alternative. This is more complex than it needs to be because of the way schools behave when asked about it. The eventual answer from Hereford was actually less interesting than their initial reaction to the question. There are good and bad mainstream schools and a great deal of variety in ethos and approach, even within the constraints of the UK national curriculum. Sometimes the state has to step in and put a stop to child abuse. This is what they should do with Waldorf schools.

Mark H is quite right that:. This — when it comes to waldorf schools, which base their entire organisation, their methods and so forth on anthroposophy — is simply not true. As a former waldorf steiner student myself, I disagree with Daniel about another thing too: He also claims that parents should be able to make the choice they wish at the expense of others. And I would say that for a parent to make an informed choice when the schools obfuscate the role of anthroposophy is pretty difficult.

I think choice would require basic honesty about the contents of the alternatives offered. Alicia, This is far more complex than your attempt at framing it as a binary issue. As I posted earlier, the main-stream schools have their philosophy and worldview. But I view a different approach as more equitable. Namely, allow parents to choose and keep the regulators responsibilities only to educational results. There is no need to delve into what a private teacher does on their own time for spiritual renewal.

And if this is not enough for you, then figure out a mechanism whereby I can be allowed to apply my funding to my preferred philosophy. Therefore, what I grant you is that we may not be setup as a society to handle this complex situation properly. Ideally we would allow teachers to have their own spiritual life, and allow parents to choose what school and what pedagogy their children are exposed to.

That ideal may fall short in our current societal order. Alicia, you had a bad experience with a Waldorf school. I had a fantastic experience. We both have our anecdotes and these clearly do not make a statistical conclusion either way. That is my point. I respect your experience, please respect mine. No, you did not read what I wrote. I want the funds I pay for school taxes to go to the school I choose for my child. This is not at the expense of anyone else. I agree with you here. There should be complete honesty about the pedagogy, while protecting the privacy of the teachers.

Alicia, I understand you had a really rough experience in your school. You are blinded by that bad experience and attempt to keep other people from having the freedom to pursue their own experiences. Try and transcend the person feelings and think about the interests of innocent citizens. However, WHEN this spirituality directly informs the pedagogical practices — it is not longer a private matter as far as those consequences go.

The privacy of the teachers cannot be protected at the cost of the children. Daniel, I understand you had a really good experience in your school. Try and transcend the personal feelings and think about the interests of innocent children. To be frank I very much doubt it with how judgingand against Steiner this all seems. Simply seeing that Counties that suffer more and may be less evolved is simply visible when we look around. We poison our lands, and actually on the subject of vaccinations, my daughters legs swelled up blus after her injections at age 2 and she screamed uncontrolably and was admitted to hospital.

AND no this was not a coloured person that doubted clearly in their body language and how they treated us when all we wanted was our daughter helped, and my partner is actually foreign, though not dark skinned. Re your floating isles post. And btw I had msg you on fb since this system with you not having the reply option on your recent posts mean posts are all over the place. Lewis also comments on a remark in passing by Steiner, that the British isles are floating which they are as part of one of the tectonic plates, that float on the interious of the earth.

For some comments on this perplexing comment, made when the theory of plate tectonics was only in its infancy, see. What are the central ideas in anthroposophy as the general philosophy at the basis of Steiner Waldorf education? Did Steiner as originator of both Steiner Waldorf education and anthroposophy think it that should be?

The whole of anthroposophy is an effort and work to make public, develop and fruitful in personal and public life spiritual understanding that in earlier times was held secret by small groups of people. All of it is published, also on the net, much in English translation at. For a description of some of the typical myths about about Steiner Waldorf education and anthroposophy, as the general basis in the broad sense of Steiner Waldorf education, see. Maybe, finally, a picture of Rudolf Steiner as the main originator of Waldorf education and anthroposophy can be of some interest.

Coincidentally, Sune has made this claim multiple times. You yourself said we need to actually quote Steiner. Can you find the quote? It says they swim in the ocean. They have parent evenings where Anthroposophy, if mentioned at all, is shown in a good light — not a racist doctrine. How about doing away with any form of segregation. All kids no matter what background go to their local school.

We want to be able to choose between musical genres, politicians, and different kinds of foods, because these things are important to us. Why would we eliminate all choice when it comes to the education of our children? Surely not because every local state school is surely providing a fantastic educational experience? I truly wonder what irritates people about choice in this one area, when they demand choice in every other?

This makes each available to any family, whatever the income level. This seems a sensible solution. In Hungary, all the state schools and private schools have a big schools fair, where they present their strengths and focus. Each family can choose which one they would like their children to attend. The private schools there also receive significant government funding: This makes these schools also affordable to most people.

I was wondering when someone else would have the courage to speak the truth, and straight to the point too! Nobody is eliminating choice. You can choose to send your child to private Waldorf. Or do you expect it for free? The offending parent must be removed from the picture. There are many, many cases on record of this happening and of Waldorf schools conspiring to get one parent out of the way. Many thanks for your reply, Peter. I was fearful that that might be the case. I am just waiting for the Steiner mafiosi to have me bumped off since I am the other parent in the equation. I have always been a very sceptical person by nature, but was essentially abused by a born again Anthroposophist: She subsequently turned around and told lies about me in order to prevent me from having access to my daughter, to the courts.

I have built up a very good relationship with my daughter, ever since the seven years that have passed since her birth. The mother, however has insisted on entrusting a Teutonic Cult to raise our daughter, and I have been powerless to affect a change. I am wondering what, if any advice you can offer me. My suggestion is to make the school famous! They have suffered greatly in the enrollment department. They had high hopes of constructing new performing arts buildings and renovating their entire campus.

They collected over a million dollars to do it… and all of that is gone now. They really became famous among Waldorf schools when they messed with my kids. You have written a great many words now. You have not addressed the specific criticisms of Steinerist beliefs that underpin and permeate the teaching. Nor have you addressed the apparent concealment of those beliefs, which, from the evidence that Andy has presented, looks deliberate. Only after you have dealt with those can one decide whether Steiner schools are a legitimate choice.

And only then could one properly discuss how that choice might be implemented if it is publicly funded. Interestingly enough, Rudolf Steiner predicted such an insane development, but more on that another thread. My impression of the present controversy in the UK over the public funding for Waldorf schools is that youse guys and gals across the pond are about a decade behind the parallel developments in the former colonies here. It appears that legally, you folks in the UK have a much better case against the Anthros and Waldis than Dan did.

Rudolf Steiner College was not the original name of the institution located in Fair Oaks, California, a northeast suburb of the state capital, Sacramento. Founded in , its original name rang ponderous and cumbersome: And the chief German was Rev. Carl Stegmann , one of the first Christian Community priests ever ordained and the man who was personally commissioned by Rudolf Steiner himself to carry everything Steiner had said about the spiritual destiny of America to that country in order to advance anthroposophy there.

Carl and his wife Christine, a eurythmist, finally emigrated to the USA in , both at the age of 70, and the Center formed 9 years later during our famed Bicentennial Year. But as destiny would have it, the Center quickly shifted within two years to a focus on training Waldorf teachers and was re-named Rudolf Steiner College.

I realize that my comment is easily expanding into an article now, so I will cut off here, with a tease of coming attractions.

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What came out was a 4 line poem, too long for a haiku, but somewhat haiku in quality, given that it seems to capture past, present and future all at once. A lot of important philosophers and thinkers of the past several centuries believed things that we no longer value today. That is no reason to discount the now-evolved values that have come out of their movements.

In fact, this is pretty much true if you study ANY great thinker of the past, there were some good ideas, and some not-so-good ideas, so we should take what benefits us and do something good with it like many of these schools do today. Why should they be told about every little historical detail that involved the creator of he movement? Do parents need to be hand-held and coddled? At any rate, there will always be a bunch of fearful, close-minded people like this on these sites drumming up skewed history in order to scare people into mindlessly following the masses.

Did you miss the parts where it has been shown that Steiner schools actively conceal their philosopohies and how they influence the teaching? What exactly is so obvious to you?

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This is a great post and I really hope somebody somewhere will be embarrassed enough to sort this madness out! All the older kids hating eurythmy. A lesson on how Gnomes were real for 13 year olds! AND the answers can never be answered, though spiritual revelations of the woorld we live in truely can begin to unravel it a little at a time. So are you ready to ignore this link and deny it also guys?. THE lectures are real, and I just wish you guys well with your issues of judgement in everyday life.

But yes, if a teacher at a school said anything about this or that culture is less developed in consciousness then that is not really appropriate at all for kids at school. Dr David r Hawkins calibrated countries, with much of the world, the majority being lower in consciousness, no one questioned that that I have ever heard. I mean where are all the handicap schools in every contient as Steiner was involved in bringign about. There is no gray area here. But thanks for acknowledging that Waldorf teachers who read Steiner have to bite their tongues to avoid having their beliefs slip out to their students.

Do you mean me personally? You can look it up on Wikipedia. What have YOU brought to the world Sune? Covering up harm to children? A puerile website attacking people and promoting racism?

Fake internet personalities that threaten to sue websites that host discussion critical of Steiner? One of the most abusive environments on the planet? You abusive liars do an even better job of harming people with disabilities than you do with children. You consider this an accomplishment? Wanting to treat cancer — claiming to treat cancer — imagining you are actually treating cancer — is NOT treating cancer.

Andy, I Just found the letter and will get it to you. Pete I guess you will be able to get it if Andy posts it otherwise Andy has my email if you need it. The University of Plymouth took the decision to kill off the course because of poor recruitment and retention of students over the past three years. Many universities have altered their course choices which directly result from a shift in student fees and funding.

In Steiner education, children keep the same teacher for a number of years, this is bound to have an effect on the availabiloity of new teaching posts for graduates. This is common practice also in state schools also. With experience working as a teacher in several state schools and been through a few Ofsted inspections, it is common practice for the school to have prior warnoing of the inspection dates, and for the school to put adequate measures in place to esure a successful inspection.

An experienced inspector will be aware when this is occurring, and takes this into account for inspection reports. I could go on for there is valid fors and against for each point. I am neither for or against Steiner schools, but as a state teacher who is considering other education for my own children, see balanced and unbiased debate as the logical way forwards in this.

Graham, regarding OFSTED inspections I recently spoke to a UK state secondary school teacher who had been a head for several years she gave that up and returned to regular subject teaching complaining of the thankless stress of it. She was most scathing of OFSTED, claiming that they were easily fooled by any school with staff experienced in gaming the system.

White House officials have approached American Express Co. Geithner, who has said he plans to leave the post. Other potential roles for Chenault, a longtime Obama supporter, may be as Commerce secretary or as a senior adviser to the president, according to the people,. Read this Waldorf alumni page about Mr. I think the only issue with the Waldorf system, as with any educational system, is that teachers can be more or less gifted in terms of teaching skills. On the contrary, there was a lot of focus on the creative development of the child that made the children in my class have great school results, way high above the other school systems.

So your concerns should be filtered also through direct participation and observation in order to have an objective image on this. I for one attended for a few years a Waldorf class w. Your blog post is very informative. I got to know lots of useful info from your site. Dear all, I am someone that appreciates the value of education.

Educated to PhD level and working in academia. I would much rather my child was being taught reincarnation and karma than the bigoted views of those more traditionalist religions. I have heard many stories over the years of science lessons taught by teachers that are in fact creationists, and therefore teach Darwinism as if it is just a theory, with no more supporting evidence than the garden of Eden.

I utterly support the existence of alternative schools, and parents choice. Personally from talking to friends who attended Steiner schools I would happily send my children to one as this system seems to produce very well balanced individuals. Lucy, I agree that other religious and mystical traditions can be as harmful. But, while the Abrahamic religions have in their texts values that are abhorrent, they also have a tradition of explanation, modification, cherry-picking and dissent that has taken place over in the case of Christianity, for example 2, years.

In contrast, Anthroposophy is a modern religion that specifies a racially prejudicial and mystical karmic schema in a 20th Century context. Basic Anthroposophical ideas are often hidden from parents and many of the most unpleasant elements are denied even when they direct the pedagogy that is the basis for Steiner-Waldorf teacher training and teaching practice. And, like their teachers, they deny the institutional racism inherent in their belief system. Given that pretty much every other organisation in the modern democracies recognize racism within their ranks, and have policies to improve things, it is not surprising that anti-racist campaigners wish to see Anthroposophical organizations shape up.

Steiner schools and many of their ex-pupils are still very much in denial about this. Finally, if pupils were well balanced they would also be calling for the rejection of the kind if anti-science mysticism that is rapidly making all rational discourse with Steiner proponents almost impossible.

They are polite, and never talk back, well behaved… Stepford children. Years of abusive teaching practices will do that to children. The answer is always the same… NO. Some Steiner Schools are apparently not very good at PR 3. They are also available to buy from Amazon as well as directly from the publishers. Practically everything Rudolf Steiner ever said or wrote is available either online or in books. There appears to be no real room for debate because conclusions are already drawn. The conversation appears to be irretrievably polarised can you sense the emotion in some of the posts?

That makes me incredibly sad quite frankly. Whatever happened to good will? My argument about Steiner Schools is simple: But schools refuse to engage and say how his work influences their approach to teaching. Some of what they say is clearly misleading. That is why they are secretive. You ask for good will. I believe the full onus is on the schools to start being open about how Anthroposophy drives their schools. That would show good will. So, we can all rest easy. I respond to Mrs although to this day, I chuckle because Mrs makes me sound far more mature and grown up than I really feel.

I have a beautiful white silk dress hanging in a closet, reminding me of how carefree and joyful I was 13 years ago and irritatingly, it also reminds me of how skinny I was. I have an album full of photos which show that beautiful, warm September day when I walked down the aisle into my unknown future. I have a mother in law, a father in law, a sister in law and a handful of brothers in law. Mail arrives at our house addressed to Mr and Mrs. I have a legally binding document, signed by a bunch of important people that shows I married Kevin on September 10th, So yes, it all lines up.

I am a wife.

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But I also have another legally binding document, also signed by a bunch of important people, that shows that same man died on August 9th, Yes, I am a wife. But my husband is dead. When presented with those marital status boxes on forms, which one do I tick off? Widowed at 41 is never one of the options. They sit lovingly in a small, silver jewellery box on my dresser. They went into this jewellery box when I went on my first date with my now boyfriend, and they just never got put back on.

His toiletries are gone from the medicine cabinet. I diligently called every utility and every other bill we pay and told them to their horror I was calling because my husband died and I needed to change the names on the account.

I bought new sheets for our bed. In fact, I bought new everything. Every bit of weight lifting equipment from the man cave in the basement was sold. ANd the proceeds most likely funded more grief shopping. Our framed wedding photo that sat on my night table has been put away. But weird little bits remain. The medicine cabinet is now filled to the brim with girlie stuff, and yet his razor still sits, alone, on a shelf.

You would think that the joy that came from newly acquired space in the medicine cabinet would motivate me to acquire more closet space by cleaning out his closet…. The car insurance, ownership and registration are all in my name now, yet his Philadelphia Eagles license plate cover still remains. The man cave is now a bright and happy playroom for my kids, but his beat up skateboard is still tucked into the storage closet in the corner of the playroom. Our framed photos still adorn the shelves in the family room. As I stumble along trying to figure out how to be married to a dead, my physical environment has shifted, changed and morphed.

It is changing from what my life was to what it is. It is certainly a weird place to be, having such deep roots and connection to a life with someone, but at the same time, feeling completely untethered to that life, that former life. But beyond rings, photos and toothpaste, there are bigger and deeper things that I can not and will not change. I still refer to him as my husband. I still refer to it as our house. I still talk to him. I still talk about him. I had his fingerprint tattooed on my wrist and had a necklace engraved with his handwriting.

And most importantly, I still love him. Death has not changed that. Perhaps this is what it means to be the wife of a dead guy…. I may not know what box to check on those stupid forms, but as it turns out, I do know how to be a wife. Check out Firefly Creative Writing in Toronto if you too wish to do something totally out of your comfort zone! Firefly Creative Writing Studio. When the person who you created life with is dead, this day is most certainly a complicated package of feelings.

And on this day that honours the work of motherhood, I want to shout, yell and holler from the rooftops…look at me world! On a day that honours mothers and the tireless work they do, I wore my Wonder Woman tshirt proudly. I just wish I had a cape too. But also on this day, I am filled with crushing sadness and piercing loneliness. I have no partner to get up with kids while I get a much deserved sleep in.

My oldest was 3 days old and we had arrived home from the hospital only the day before. Two of my favourites! We sat on our rickety old back deck that has since been replaced as I used some of the life insurance money to turn my backyard into an oasis and I held our sleepy newborn, equal parts terrified and elated. I remember feeling like love was literally bursting out of me. Postpartum hormones were coursing through my veins but still The man I loved, who knew me so well, had made me feel so special and celebrated, and I was holding our perfect, small human we had created together.

Fast forward 7 years and here I am, again sitting in the spring sunshine in my backyard. Yet now I have two kids and a dead husband. After brunch this morning, I took the girls to park and while we were there, unexpected tears pricked my eyes. As I glanced around the park, I realized that every single kid there was at the park with their dad.

Not a single mom was there. Being dragged in two directions because one kid wanted to go on the slide, but was too scared to do it alone. And in another because the other kid loves the monkey bars but needs help getting up on them. Now, intellectual me knows full well that some of these men could be uncles, some could be divorced dads or widowed dads, some could be part of two dad families…the combos are endless.

And holy fuck, I just want some recharge time. But the person who always knew when I needed a mothering break is dead. Tears were flowing behind my sunglasses, but I barely had time to wipe them because one kid just fell off the slide and the other kid is now stuck on the monkey bars. The solo parenting never stops. Widowed parenting is bittersweet. Good bits, beautiful bits…they poke in continually through all the shit. I instantly fell back in love with her and then I too fell back asleep. We were crammed in one stall together, and I was wiping her bum. I love you because you are so comfy.

I had wanted to leave her trouble making 3 year old self by the side of the road most of the day, but that brief sentence made it all better. But when little shining rays of light like those moments happen, I grab them and hang onto to them for dear life. This will be what gets me out of bed tomorrow when the hamster wheel of solo parenting continues spinning out of control.

As this day draws to a close, I think of all those moms who were also crying behind their sunglasses today. I see you, I hear you, I hold space for you. For many women, this day is painful and hard and messy. For all of us, I simply ask for you to hold space in your heart for those struggling on this day.

Send a note to your friend who had a miscarriage this year, and tell her you are thinking of her too on this day. Check in with your friend whose mom passed away and tell her you are thinking of her mom. If you have a widowed mom friend who is slogging it out yet again in the solo parenting trenches today, drop off some flowers on her porch or take her kids for a couple of hours so she can get a break.

Grief does not get smaller on happy hallmark days, in fact it gets bigger. Love and light to you all. May your wave of pain today become calmer and stiller tomorrow. I like to be right. My husband ALSO liked to be right. So yeah, that was a hilarious and often, furor inducing dynamic to our relationship. So when he had an opinion about something, he stuck with it.

Unsurprisingly, he had a serious hate on for Valentines Day. He would assume his cantankerous old man sitting on his porch yelling at kids on his lawn persona, and would rant about the commercialism of this Hallmark holiday. He simply refused to participate in this bullshit holiday. Happy Valentines Day you fucker. Despite the fact Kevin hated the holiday, over the years we negotiated a sweet, and romantic in our own style, tradition to mark the day.

We would get take out thai food from the thai restaurant where we had our first date at and I would buy him a card because I like buying cards. Simple and sweet, and not too hallmark-y. Kevin was okay with it, as I was. Man, grief is complicated. On the best of days, for a widow, it feels like the world is filled with happy couples who have years ahead of them. On this day, that couple filled world is on steroids. Commercials on TV, writing your kids valentines for school, chocolate on sale at the drugstore, your fucking Facebook newsfeed….

Even the crowds of awkward looking dudes buying sad carnations at the grocery store tonight made me feel sad. Driving home from the grocery store, wishing I could tell Kevin about the sad looking carnation carrying dudes I saw, I was struck with an overwhelming thought. Kevin was so right. You truly do not need a day prescribed by capitalism to tell someone you love them. This lesson is so acutely true for me, and for any widow. In an instance, your person can be taken from you.

I should not and will not wait for February 14th to tell people I love them. LIfe is simply too short and too precious to wait for that one day. Saying goodbye unexpectedly to my love, my best friend and my partner in life has showed me how right he was as infuriating that is to admit! I treasure my memories of him randomly blurting out he loved me, or him bringing home tulips from the grocery store because he knew I loved them so, or mini eggs because he knew I needed a sugar fix, or him giving me a bear hug unexpectedly.

I will raise a glass of bubbly tonight with my boyfriend as we start new traditions, but I will not forget the lessons learned from Kevin and his hatred of the holiday. However, I can say with happiness Tom Brady would not have been on this list. I thought I had those types of tears covered on birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and well, just about every day. Now I have to lose my shit over a fucking football game?? Grief is unfair, unpredictable, unrelenting and ever changing. My husband was a diehard Eagles fan. He had been since he was a little kid.

No idea why, given he grew up in small town Ontario, Canada, which is nowhere near Philadelphia. But nevertheless, he loved the boys in green. Years ago, we took a trip to San Francisco during which we got to see his beloved team play the 49ers. This trip was intended as a trip for us to reconnect and enjoy each other. Months earlier we had lost our first born child, Ryder, at 6 months pregnant and we were struggling to cope with the magnitude of his loss.

Thanksgiving was approaching and we wanted the hell out of family celebrations and away from pity looks and sympathetic hugs. We wanted to forget our pain, run from our grief, laugh and be together. So San Fran and the Eagles game it was. The trip was especially bittersweet as I was newly pregnant with our second born, our daughter Brooklyn. Despite all the hardship and sorrow we had endured by that point, we were able to leave it aside for the moment and spent a perfect week together well, clam chowder aroma induced vomiting aside. This including seeing the Eagles play and for Kevin, I know this was the highlight of the trip for him.

It was a perfect day, a perfect trip and now a perfect memory. Once Brooklyn was born, Kevin remained a dedicated Eagles fan, but was also a dedicated father. He would religiously record each Eagle game on Sundays and watch it after Brooklyn was in bed. This dedication to both of his loves always filled my heart with joy. He lovingly bought Brooklyn an Eagles t-shirt, and tried desperately to get her to cheer along to snippets of games on TV. So when the Eagles clinched their spot in the Super Bowl, my heart filled with joy again. But also with unexpected, overwhelming sadness.

That ever present sense of bittersweet that fills most of my days now. The grief monster reared its ugly head again, and started shouting in my brain…he is missing this. He is missing this. Just another thing on the endless list of things that he loved, that are continuing on, despite him being gone.