I really should have named my blog Coffeehouse Confessions because that really is where I am doing most of my blogging. My addiction to lattes and this place are getting worse. About a week ago I exchanged a few emails with the manager of one of The Woods and I vowed I was going to limit my coffee purchases from here. I posted a short FB status update about it and was surprised how many people asked me why I was giving up The Woods coffee. Although I didn't lie to any of them I didn't really tell them the biggest reason. The main reason I want to try and cut back on coffee here is because their coffee is not fair trade coffee (let the eye rolling begin, if you must). The manager said something about "some" of their coffee being "direct trade" which I looked into but it wasn't good enough and it wasn't ALL of the coffee, just "some". The emails we exchanged were very nice and friendly and I really appreciated his honest answers however they didn't satisfy me as a consumer of far too much coffee at their establishments. A few other reasons for wanting to cut back on coffee here include $$$$, I am spending far too much money (that we don't have to be spending in the first place) on coffee and because Hammerhead Coffee Roasters has far superior coffee. I love the coffee there, it's all organic and fair trade and it's even a dime cheaper than here. The problem is that it is out of my way (a good thing when I consider the less frequent trips) and the space to sit with my laptop there just isn't near as enticing. So, I am going to gradually wean myself off of The Woods, cut back altogether on coffee and try to go to Hammerhead when I do need that latte. I will, however, still be enjoying my four hour stretches at The Woods (the length of time I get WiFi), maybe I'll just start getting iced tea instead.
I have been really questioning my parenting a lot lately. I seem to be around a lot of people who do things very differently and I notice subtle facial expressions or comments that make me think they feel I am doing some things wrong. This could all be in my head but I don't think so. I have found that nothing is more defendable or important to us than our children. When we feel threatened for some reason some people feel the need to act superior about their parenting choices in a misguided attempt to feel that their way of doing things is better. I think much of this isn't even purposeful but just a defence mechanism because nobody wants to think they are doing something wrong or even doing something one way that could be done better. Parenting is something we all want to excel at but none of us actually do. It's the toughest job on the planet and none of us do as well at it as we want to which brings in the self doubt. Could I, should I be doing something differently? The answers is yes, probably, maybe, who knows? Parenting isn't a science. We all do the best we can with what we have and the one thing that doesn't help us or any other parent is to judge. So, watch those facial expressions and brief comments the next time you are talking with another mom who does things differently than you do. She just may be the one doing it right. And, if she isn't your comments and looks aren't going to help and just may damage a valuable resource and trust you could have with another mom.
This weekend we are going to Yakima to celebrate my Grandma's birthday. We will only be spending one night but I'm very excited to see her since it has been far too long. She has only met Madison once and has never met Kennedy. I feel very bad that I haven't made more of an effort to go and visit her and my aunt (who lives with her). The weekend after returning is the girls' camping birthday party. There aren't going to be a lot of people staying to camp but there are a few and we will have a ton of fun, I'm very excited for that...until I realize how much work I have to do before then. At least I don't have to clean the house, thank God for small miracles.
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