Edgy Mama

The highlight of this past week was probably going to my boy’s “author celebration.” The kindergarteners got to sit, one by one, in the “big” rocking chair. Then each “read” his or her “small moment” story while showing off the accompanying illustrations. My boy wrote about going to a birthday part at Chuck E. Cheese. He drew a rocking picture of the huge animatronic mouse that looks suspiciously like our current President. Poor kid never gets to go to places like Chuck E. Cheese because his parents are haters, so this was one of the highlights of his year.

All the kids were so pleased with themselves and their stories. Adorable!

The lowlight of the past week was probably my bi-annual mammogram. Actually, it was better than in the past, because the technician used this foam pad under my boobs, which definitely eased the discomfort. Still, there’s nothing like getting your breasts flattened between two moving metal plates. The technician told me it used to be much worse for women, because it was difficult to control the plates and they would just keep smushing and smushing, and the tech would have to run over and release the poor woman’s boob. Ouch!

In other news, I had my hair cut and colored this week. I got some wispy bangs cut, which I think I like–I kind of look like a teenager with crow’s feet. The stylist layered my hair a bit too much, which means that, unless I dry it straight, I get that 80s big hair look. Even more like an old teenager. Scary.

Oh, and both the boy and I woke up with drainage and a low-level cough today. Please let it not be the flu. I’m in the middle of writing a huge (cover) story for Mountain X. And we have family from Boston coming in town this week. Pray for us.

So how was your week? Any exciting reports?

P.S. I rarely link to my business profiles for the AC-T because the newspaper breaks the links after a couple of weeks, but here’s today’s profile on the French Broad Chocolate Lounge, which I think some of you chocophiles will enjoy.

Some of my loyal readers and friends have been complaining that Edgy Mama has lost her edge. Even non-friends have mentioned the same. The short-lived but lively local blog “Not Thomas Wolfe” called me “mundane Mama.” After I got over the initial five minutes of hurt, I found the moniker pretty funny. He/she was right, dammit!

Lately, I’ve been writing too much about my puppy, my kids, and my “other” writing. I haven’t thrown out much about sex, mid-life anxiety, controversial issues, or even books I’ve read. I’ve become mundane, mellow, and middle-aged.

Let’s examine this development. When I started blogging almost three years ago, I was hungry to revive the writing career that had slowed to a trickle during six years of birthing and caring for babies. I was feeling feisty, unfulfilled, and flirty.

What’s changed since then? Well, my freelance career has blossomed. I have a weekly biz profile gig for one newspaper. I’ve written a number of feature, entertainment, and health articles for that newspaper as well. I’ve written an article for a book that will be published in November. I’ve taken up photography, seriously, again and had photos published and been paid to photograph events (not weddings - don’t even ask). Recently, I started a dream gig - a weekly column about parenting from the pov of EM’s newly mundane, but still occasionally witty and snappy, voice (actually, I’m only contracted for two more weeks, but I think they’ll want me to continue - please, please).

In non-career news, my kidlings are older and more self-sufficient. I have more free time, more me time. I have a life outside the home. I’ve let go of my previous high standards for home cleanliness and organization. I realize that no one really cares when I don’t make up the beds or I let the kids live out of their (clean) laundry baskets for a few days.

Through my work and this bloggie, I’ve met and become friends with lots of bloggers, writers, photographers, and other creative folks in this quirky town. I’ve interacted with people from all nooks and crannies of life, from a pet psychic to a wealth management consultant to a covey of computer geeks.

There have been bumps along the road, but in truth, I tend to forgot about those pretty quickly. I haven’t written or tried to publish much fiction recently. An attempt to run a flash fiction site failed from lack of time, marketing, and good submissions. I’m about to add onto my home, which scares the bejezus out of me. But, otherwise, life’s cool.

Damn, I have lost some of the edge. It may come back. I could get hungry and feisty again. The crazy anony who, for the most part, have stopped spewing nastiness on the bloggie, could come back and get me riled up. Or I could just ignore them, delete their bad karmic comments, and keep my blood pressure stable.

So, what do y’all think? Am I losing the edge? And other than creating some kind of upheaval in my cool-ass life, how can I get it back?

1. fitten

N. A contraction of the phrase “Fat Kitten”, meaning just that. This is a word meaning large, obese, or fat cat; usually refers to a female cat.

“Dude, that cat Starko is such a fitten.”

1. I stick pens behind my ears, then I forget they are there. I walked into a room the other day, and my boy said, “Mom, you look like an alien!” I glanced in the mirror. I had a pen stuck behind each ear and one through my ponytail holder.

2. All of the make-up I own resides in a small portable bag that I can carry with me because 90 percent of the time, I apply make-up in the car. I can drive and curl my eyelashes at the same time.

3. I have always been fascinated with medical and biological terminology and details. I LOVED college biology! I’m always surprised when people don’t really know how their bodies work.

4. I lived in London for almost three years when I was in my twenties. For a year, I resided in a tiny, dank, windowless basement flat near Victoria station. The toilet was down a long hallway. It was unheated AND had a concrete floor. There was no shower, only a bathtub, which was at the top of some crickety stairs. My bed was a beat-up mattress that took up the entire living area. I propped it against the wall during the day. My Dad says he still has nightmares about me living in the “dungeon.”

5. The second part of my first name, Fitten, is the #51,858 most common last name in the U.S. In other words, it’s pretty rare. Only around 1,200 people still have this surname. It was my great-grandmother’s last name. Every time I visit a town, I look in the phone book for “Fittens.” I’ve never found any. If you Google “fitten,” you get me, my cousin, John Fitten Goldsmith, aka Fitten the Talking Mule, Fitten dorm at Georgia Tech (named for an ancestress of mine) and a Coldwell Banker realtor based in Maryland.