Day Two Hundred and Twenty Five
Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights Page: 346 Finished
Lots of pages read but just a children’s book so I don’t feel too accomplished.
I have a little theory. I think that the notion of “love at first sight” may not be as much a sentimental American idea as an Oriental idea. From The Tale of Genji, The Cairo Trilogy, and now The Arabian Nights this theme has been developing. My theory is that it comes of cultures that hide their women. When a woman’s appearance is constantly concealed, a glimpse can precipitate sufficient emotion to convince a man that he loves her. In The Cairo Trilogy this was as often mere lust as anything higher but in Genji it was more mixed and The Arabian Nights was decidedly romantic.
I don’t think I’m cut out to be a stay-at-home-mom. I’m going stir-crazy already. I’m mentally bored. Even reading for the entirety of Luc and Alex’s naps hasn’t been enough for me. I strategize like crazy to get them to sleep at the same time and have been getting about 1&1/2 to 2 hours of peace but the other 6-7 hours in the day are too much. I think I’m a pretty good housekeeper, I don’t mind laundry or dishes, I enjoy baking and cooking, and I love my kids and think that they are pretty dang awesome…but…I feel numbed by the end of the afternoon. I want peace and quiet to think, I want time to focus on writing or reading, I want to accomplish something that doesn’t have to be done all over again tomorrow. I truly think that housekeeping is drudgery; drudgery that can be consecrated to God and made beautiful but drudgery all the same. So for now my goal is to do my duty to the home and the children as graciously and beautifully as possible but also to find some way to incorporate more mental stimulation into my day. Having 200books.com to work on is helping but I feel a need for something a little more. We’ll see how that goes.