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November, 2008

  1. Being a Mom Can Be Painful. Really.

    November 17, 2008 by Michelle O'Hagan

    So, have you heard about the latest group of “offendeds?”

    Once again, I’m bemused by the many people in the world who seem to find themselves offended by anything said by anybody. Mostly I try to dismiss these perpetual victims out of hand. But I ran across this article today about a group of baby-wearing moms who are highly offended because Motrin (a pain reliever) dared to suggest that wearing a baby in a sling/carrier could be painful for the mom. Duh!

    I’ve got two kids. I love them more than anything in the world. Anything.

    I tried to wear both of them in two different types of baby-carriers. Thank God neither of them wanted anything to do with it, b/c it was the most uncomfortable, painful thing going. There were a few people who told me I must “be doing it wrong,” or that I “didn’t buy the right” carrier.

    Gee, it couldn’t possibly be the fact that I had 20 lbs. of baby strapped to my torso, could it?

    These were the same folks who’d “tsk-tsk” me for having no desire or inclination to breast feed, or let the kids sleep in my bed, or for wanting to go back to work as soon as I possibly could after maternity leave. In my experience, every one of the baby-wearing, breast-feeding, co-sleeping, attachment-parenting people who surmised that I just wasn’t wearing my baby correctly also were the same people whose entire self-image was based upon being a mother and nothing else.

    Guess what? Sometimes being a parent is no fun at all. Sometimes it stinks. Literally. Sometimes it hurts. Also literally. So to pretend that being an earth-mother is just one glorious experience after another–and to organize a boycott against Motrin for stating the obvious (strapping on an extra 20 lbs. might hurt your back)–well, methinks the lady doth protest too much.

    Disclosure: I will take ibuprofen for almost anything–it is a miracle drug. While I am sufficiently offended by the price of a bottle of Motrin to buy the generic equivalent, I am not offended enough to campaign against Motrin. Between working, raising children and trying desperately to keep my garbage cans poop-free, it’s just easier to give Motrin a pass and get on with my life.

    Category Family and Friends | Tags: | No Comments

  2. First Responders

    November 10, 2008 by Michelle O'Hagan

    One of the best things about my north-facing window here at work is the ability to hear and see the city-sights/sounds on the street six floors below.

    Several times a year, new recruits from the Chicago Police Department or the Chicago Fire Department run as a group down Fulton Street (today, it was the guys from the CFD). Usually they’re shouting or chanting something in unison, military-style. I always hear them when they’re about half-a-block away, so I have time to get to my window and watch them running by.


    Several years ago, it was a pleasant amusement for a single woman. Now, I’m thinking that my three-year-old son would find the whole thing really, really cool because they’re all wearing matching shirts and they’re usually followed by a squad car or a fire department car.

    Funny how things change. :-)

    Category Chicago, Family and Friends, Super Cool | Tags: , | No Comments

  3. Observations for Friday

    November 7, 2008 by Michelle O'Hagan

    Super Cool
    The deposit feature at the new ATMs at the brand new Chase bank branch at 330 N. Des Plaines. Just insert your paper check into a feeder slot in the new ATM. Within seconds, an image of your check appears on the screen with a message: Your deposit amount is $154.99. Correct? No need to fill out an envelope or even use the keypad to tell the machine how much you’re depositing. Why didn’t someone think of this before?

    Not-So-Cool
    Seen for sale at the new Jewel grocery store at 330 N. Des Plaines: Potted Norfolk Pines bedecked with Christmas decorations. I’m as big a Christmas freak as anyone, but really … it’s the first week of November, people.

    Also Not Cool
    The fact that I popped out of the office at lunch without my cell phone. I could have supplied photos of both of the abovementioned items, which would have made this post a lot more interesting.

    Category Not Cool At All, Super Cool | Tags: , | 1 Comment

  4. What is News? (And why isn’t it what I think it should be?)

    November 7, 2008 by Michelle O'Hagan

    I think this is something that everyone thinks from time to time. Especially with the proliferation of media outlets: it seems any flunky can get his own talk show and any soap box is good enough to televise.

    This morning, I was having a discussion about what constitutes news with someone who thinks it strange that the Chicago papers gave front page treatment to the deteriorating economy pre-election; now that the election is over, the Chicago papers are running front page stories about President-elect Obama’s family members and his choice of advisors.

    When I was in journalism school, more than 20 years ago, one of the first things we learned were the five things that constituted “news.”

    Timeliness, significance, proximity, prominence, and human interest were the five. And the stories that meet those five criteria will vary depending upon the media outlet, the location, the readership, etc. Proximity is a big one: meaning a story that is either geographically “close” to the readers or a story that has special significance for most of the readers of a publication.

    So, for the Chicago papers and Chicago readers, the Obama girls and the Obama cabinet positions meet all five of the standards for a local audience, most of whom are not c-level execs. Many of them probably fall into the 250,000 people who showed up downtown on Tuesday. Hence, the front page treatment of Malia and Sasha and Rahm.

    However, today’s Wall Street Journal’s above-the-fold headlines are these:

    “Global Push to Beat Economic Downturn”
    “Hedge Fund Selling Puts New Stress on Market”
    “A Snowblower Maker Braces For Slump’s Blizzard of Woe”

    Those articles meet the five criteria for the WSJ readers, many of whom are c-level execs or business-owners, people who are definitely interested in the economy before anything else.

    None of this implies that coverage is impartial in any media outlet. The days of any media outlet being impartial are over. Every publication writes for its own readers; and we, as readers, seek out the publications that please us, interest us or meet our own standards, and we read them. It’s called custom publishing, baby.

    Category Chicago, Media | Tags: , | No Comments

  5. A Great Day

    November 5, 2008 by Michelle O'Hagan

    It’s a great day. A fresh start.

    The scene at Grant Park was beautiful, at least from my vantage point (in bed watching TV).

    The overwhelming majority of the crowd downtown was peaceful and happy; thankfully not in an “in-your-face” kind of way. (An aside: As the mother of two toddlers, I was surprised at how many parents seemed glad to stand outside for hours and hours, late at night, with their sleepy children in tow. Not in a million years, I say.)

    The election was called early (by 10 p.m. CST) and there was no doubt about the legitimacy of the outcome. Refreshing.

    And best of all, my husband and all the other police officers and public safety personnel made it home safely.

    Our popular new president and his beautiful family have their work cut out for them. (Another aside: After Obama’s speech last night, I couldn’t help but feel really, really happy for Joe Biden and his family.)

    Every one of us will need to sacrifice something to put our nation on the upswing again. I hope President Obama specifically asks us for that sacrifice and lets us know exactly how we can help. And I sincerely hope we participate, step up and take ownership of this process, knowing that it won’t be easy and it may not be fun and it will probably get worse before it gets better.

    But it must be done.

    Category Chicago | Tags: , | 1 Comment

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