The Perfect Family Workshop
In "The Perfect Family", four definitions jump out at me. There is her TV example, her neighborhood and friends, her family, and poor families. The TV shows societies ideal family. In her neighborhood and a specific friend she finds "fake families" that try to be perfect but are not. Her own family is not societies ideal but she feels it is good because her mother provided what is necessary for a good family; love and caring.
She also talks of the poor families her mother came into contact with. They went against societies norms but were just as capable of being a warm, loving family.
She progresses from societies family view, to her neighborhood's family style, to her own family and her own ideas.
Her own view of family is simply being loved taking care of each other.
My own view is very similar to hers but I did feel she was a little hard on the traditional families. She talked of how all the untraditional families could work but kind of acted as though the traditional familes were a fraud. I guess her definition though, unconditional love and caring matches mine and can be found in any kind of family.
Perfect family shows:
Leave It To Beaver, Father Knows Best, Happy Days, Family Ties, Brady Bunch, Home Improvement, Little House on the Prairie, The Cosby Show, Growing Pains.
Not so perfect
Dallas, Dynasty, Partridge Family, Roseanne, Married with Children, 90210, The Sopranoes, Who's The Boss, All in the Family, and practicly every show currently on television.
There is a pattern of past shows trying to show a perfect family and todays shows trying to think up every possible bad thing a family could have to deal with. (I rarely watch TV anymore.) I think today's show are so awful. They portay every dysfunctional thing you could possibly think of. I tried to think of a show that was currently on that had a family with some "traditional" values and couldn't think of one! I am sure (well I hope) that some do exist but I really don't watch TV much so I just haven't come across them.
My Best Writing Experience
About every four months I write a paragraph in each of my children's baby book. I love to reflect over the past month and write down what memorable things they have done. I also enjoy the thought of them reading them when they are older.
My Worst Writing Experience
After much thought I am going to have to go with this class as my worst experience! (I know we were not suppose to pick this!) I haven't been in school for nine years so I guess the pain of high school English class has faded. It isn't that this class is hard, just that my current situation is making it hard. With three small children it seems something is always distracting me and I have a hard time writing. I constantly have to reread my writing to make sure I am still on the same thoughts. I am hoping in a few more weeks I will have some set time worked out when I can be alone to work on this class and then maybe I will remember a much worse writing experience!
As I look out my kitchen window I see trees. A year ago when we first moved to this house, I saw an enchanted forest of tall impressive trees sheltering a yard in which to play. But now, I just see trees. I long for the sights I used to see in Illinois. To see the earth meet the sky. As I look down I see our yard, which has improved a little, but is mostly still just moss waiting to be covered by leaves from all of the offending trees. I can see our riding lawn mower, parked at the edge of the forest, that my husband has used four times this year. It reminds me of our lawn back home that sometimes needed mowed twice a week. Mostly, as I gaze out of any of my windows, I ponder if people from Virginia that move to the midwest miss their trees as much I miss wide open spaces.
