mandarine

Those of you who have not done any blogroll or feed reader cleaning in the past six months will be glad to know I am still alive and well. It’s just that I have been very busy in the real world (and the francophone voluntary simplicity blogging world). Since my previous post here, I have :

• started a local barter network now boasting 55 members
• participated in the organisation of a 3-day music festival in my village this past August, with up to 3000 people on the Saturday evening
• left my job (a one-year parenting leave - that was one week ago)
• been to Martha’s Vineyard for my brother’s wedding in April
• but before that, visited New York City, then stayed with Emily + Bob in PA then with Dorr + Hobs in CT
• written the French subtitles for a fabulous BBC documentary about peak oil and agriculture
• built a composting toilet and a new version of the chicken tractor
• read (audio only) more Mark Twain, more P.G. Wodehouse, more Edith Wharton
• started being pen pals (with ink and stamps) with Emily
• relinquished the computer where I had all my feeds configured - hence my total radio silence
• only just reconfigured said feeds on my old laptop (the one with the broken hinge, temporarily patched with drywall suspension brackets and double-sided scotch tape)

That’s all for today - I have to catch up with my blogroll. Next post hopefully before March 2010…

We left in a hurry in the middle of the night, leaving boy #1 to his auntie. Boy #2 was born this morning at 5 UTC, three weeks ahead of estimated schedule. That was fortunate, because he was already a fat little pink Yoda (3.5 kg / 7.7 lbs). We are very happy of having chosen this (one-hour-drive away) smalltown hospital, as it was renowned for its high ‘natural’ birth rate (and breastfeeding-friendly practices). My beautiful wife made it without any sort of chemicals, a thing she had dreamed of, but had never imagined she was actually capable of.

All congratulations to be forwarded to Mrs Mandarine and the little pink one, room #3. Sorry I was late with the pictures…

To the day.

As with whiskey, balsamic vinegar or Bordeaux, 12 years is probably how long it takes to reveal the full palette of flavours and the heart of the aroma (especially considering we were only 22 on October 5th, 1996).

Although on the economic front, ’slowdown’ sounds inappropriately shy to describe what is soon becoming a great depression, it is the right word on the blogging front. I have long hesitated to write about it here, probably because I still have not made up my mind about how personal I want this blog to be. But I figure I owe that much to all my blogging friends who seldom fail to mention a word or two about what is happening in their lives, especially when it keeps them away from the keyboard.

It’s not blog burnout, it’s not boredom or weariness. I simply have been busy.

• Busy at work because I have been working on two tenders, three patents, and a spacecraft dynamics course for internal training which is turning into a testament



• Busy in the garden and the kitchen because you may have a no-work garden for pretty much of the growing season, the tomatoes still won’t pick themselves (you can read about the garden there)



• Busy at home because I am stepping in to replace my terminally pregnant wife with her computer home help business (logo by yours truly below) in my spare time and days off



• Busy in the house because we still have to build a bedroom for kid #1 so that he can leave his bedroom staircase landing to kid #2 when kid #2 leaves our bedroom (that would be before next summer)
• And busy mentally because there maybe new opportunities job-wise (but shhush..)

This slowdown will probably last another fortnight, but after the birth I will be on leave for at least a month, leaving enough time to resume the weekly posting rhythm.

An announcement

#2 will celebrate its zeroeth birthday sometime around end October.

This is an opportunity to recycle an old post that probably not everybody has read. If you have, you are welcome to read it again.

Introduction

A couple of years ago, I heard a heated argument between my brother-in-law and his cousin. The young mother of three had hinted something about my in-law still being single at age 35+ and having no active plans to found a ‘real family’. The accused righteously retorted that the cultural model of the normal family with kids is slowly drowning our planet in overpopulation, and that his choice was the reasonable one. He was this close to saying something like ‘as far as sustainable development is concerned, having kids amounts to owning a SUV’.

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I was tagged for this parenting meme. I am afraid I will have to translate some of the questions so that it applies more adequately to my situation. A few context items: I have one son, and he is three and a half.
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This is the fourth installment of the till death do us part series, to mark my ten years of marriage (only three weeks before the eleventh anniversary).

There is no autopilot

When one drives a car, when one pilots an airplane, when one rides a bike, one finds that even on the straightest road, in the stillest air, or on the smoothest track, one still has to make constant tiny adjustments. If one stops adjusting for a couple of seconds, one has an emergency situation. And if one misses this last opportunity to alter course, one crashes.

I am under the impression that lots of couples believe that their relationship is on autopilot. [more]

How do you carry your baby?

If you live according to western standards, chances are you use a stroller. It is funny how the stroller perfectly fits in western parenting culture and society standards:

• your baby is at a safe distance from your smell, your breath, your voice, your warmth.
• your baby is thrust into the world, boldly faces his future, and can rely on a pacifier for occasional comfort.
• your baby gets used to travelling on four wheels with minimum effort, disconnected from any walking motion
• your baby sees all adults from below, learning his place as a child
• your baby stays away from adult discussions, and patiently chews away at a gooey biscuit while you are talking with your friend/husband/neighbour
• your baby learns that the world is cold and unforgiving, especially in winter, especially in the hands and feet

And yet, the western world seems to take great pains to make life impossible for stroller-pushers:
Do you sigh and swear when you have to climb on a crowded bus and one of the castors gets caught in a handrail? when you have to go down a subway entrance? when you have to fight your way upstream a rush-hour crowd? when you have to slalom around canine excrement, upturned trash cans, badly parked vehicles or demolished sidewalks? when you want to walk along an uneven unpaved road or a hiking track? when you have to pack the stroller into the never-big-enough trunk of your car?

If you’re still living like semi-apes and are from a primitive culture, chances are you carry your baby on your belly or on your back with a mere piece of cloth. It is funny how a baby sling or a wraparaound perfectly fits a primitive parenting culture and society standards:

• your baby clings to your body and cannot dissociate from your smell, your breath, your voice, your warmth.
• your baby faces backwards, looking into your chest or above your shoulder into the past, and takes comfort from raw skin contact
• your baby gets used to the rhythm of walking and will believe walking is the best way to get around
• your baby sees all people at eye level, and will believe children are as important as adults
• your baby can eavesdrop on all your conversations, and could even be tempted to participate long before he can use proper grammar
• your baby thinks the world is a warm fuzzy place, even in winter when he is comfortably protected under your coat

And yet, the western world seems to be particularly friendly to babywearing parents: Climbing on a bus? Running down a subway entrance? Walking through a crowd? Avoiding obstacles? Hiking in the wild? Packing? Not a problem.

I’d love to be able to use a stroller and teach my baby the true modern life, but seriously: it is too much effort. I think I am too lazy and too parsimonious to choose the stroller. I prefer to stick to primitive parenting, whatever harm it might do to the balance of my child and his place into this unforgiving world.