So Anna comes home from preschool today with a construction paper likeness of yours truly. It had blue eyes, red lips and goatee, and dark brown hair (time to hit the salon, I guess. Cue theme song:

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). The caption at the bottom of the portrait, written by the teacher, reads, “I love my mom because she runs the lawn mower!” I had to laugh at the out-of-the-mouths-of-babes statement. Of all the things she could have come up with on the spur of the moment, this is it. As I sat contemplating the sentiments hidden in her words, I came to realize that it says so much about her view of the world, about her ideas of gender equality. I grew up thinking of cutting the grass as a very Dad responsibility (I admit it, some viewpoints die hard). But in our house now, within this little family Dan and I have created, the kids see mom and dad sharing domestic responsibilities, and more important, I think, they do not hear us label jobs as woman’s or man’s work. And we love it each for everything we do, even the mundane. I think I’ll feel a little different the next time I’m outside pushing the mower.

Normally I count the number of stitches in an inch to determine gauge. Last week I counted stitches per inch in my thumb. Yes, yes, it has come to pass, that which many a friend has predicted for years: I cut myself with a knife while making dinner. (Click here for a self-portrait, if you dare) Luckily Diver Dan came to my rescue or Jake would have been using his new 911 dialing skills. Having a zipper in my thumb has really hampered my knitting projects, although I did finish my mittens a few weeks ago (more on them later). I’ve started a throw on my size 50 Speed Stix. Once you get the hang of the massive needles, the project does seem to move quickly, and luckily for me, I can manage to avoid using my left thumb. I’m pretty sure smaller needles will be a challenge until it heals completely, but this throw should take awhile. Until then, I can brag that my thumb gauge is 8 stitches per inch!

OK, so RC2 Corp. and Mattel recalled many of my kids’ Thomas and Barbie toys because of lead paint and strong magnets. Fine. They took action to remedy the problem and I forgive them. But I am not at all pleased with the speed in which I’ve gotten replacement items, or, in the case of Mattel, a simple shipping label to return my tainted goods! RC2 Corp. rather promptly issued me a refund check to cover costs for shipping the tainted trains back to them and shipped new, hopefully lead-free trains. Unfortunately one of the eight trains they returned to me was not the same model I sent in. I called them and they said they’d had a warehouse issue with picking the right part and were sending me the correct train right away. Later that day I got an e-mail from their customer service saying that in order to get the correct train, the train that should have been sent to me in the first place, I would have to download and fill out another request for replacement and return the train that was sent in error before they would send my rightful item! On my dime! Of course I squawked, and eventually someone e-mailed me and said she had ordered the correct train and was sending it to me. That was four weeks ago, and I haven’t gotten it, nor have I gotten any response from the company regarding shipping status. Then there’s Mattel, who claims it will E-MAIL you a prepaid shipping label in TWO to FIVE DAYS! I don’t understand how it can take five days to e-mail anything, but I have repeatedly requested these shipping labels over the last few weeks, and have still not received one. I tried to call their recall hotline, but that is automated and wants you to walk through determining whether or not you have a recalled item before you get anywhere. It’s bad enough that these companies assumed that its manufacturers complied with U.S. safety requirements (sidebar: honestly, doesn’t China know about the damaging effects of lead? How could it allow the use lead in 2007?) but it’s just as bad for these companies to be so unresponsive to consumers’ efforts to obtain safe toys. These companies may have been quick to recall, but they are not quick to respond to their consumers.

I woke up during the night, and after tossing a bit, I began composing blog posts in my head. They were detailed and brilliant (of course), and I knew all the while that they would evaporate before dawn. It’s the same for story ideas, and chapters and even grocery lists. I have learned that some of my best work comes to me at completely inappropriate times, and the most I can hope for is to tap into these lost compositions sometime when I’m awake and focused and ready to write. Sure, I could get out of bed and write, but, barring my fear of disturbing the whole house, the flow of paper worthy thoughts seems inexplicably tied to the bed. Or the shower. Or behind the wheel. Reaching for pen and paper, or a tape recorder, or just the light, disrupts the flow. Sure, I can force myself to go ahead and write something that’s decent, but it won’t be nearly as good as what had been in my head moments before. Le mot juste has dissipated. Or perhaps the simple truth is that I am too easily distracted to stay focused on my thoughts, brilliant though they may be.

According to a new study, the brains of liberals and conservatives are physically different. Even better, one of the study’s authors says that “the neural mechanisms for conflict monitoring are formed early in childhood and are probably rooted in part in our genetic heritage.” That explains why I come from a long line of fiscal and social Conservatives. But the author goes on to say that political genes are just the blueprint for our eventual views, which explains why I’m not a right-wing nut who puts God first, then Rush Limbaugh. Not that anyone would classify me as liberal, but my views do lean to the left. It’ll be interesting to see if Jake and Anna can beat their genes or if they’ll become devoted watchers of Fox News.