Life Without Baby

filling the silence in the motherhood discussion

Whiny Wednesday

It’s Whiny Wednesday and I’m wet! I know all you people on the East Coast are rolling your eyes and all of you in Europe who are up to your eyeballs in snow are calling me a wimp, but I don’t care. This is my blog and my whine, so I’m complaining that it won’t stop raining!

I realize that Southern California is probably the only place in the world that grinds to a complete standstill every time it rains, but we’re sunshine people; we just don’t like the rain and we’re not equipped for it. The paper in my printer is damp, the wind is whistling through the loose windows in my old house, and my backside has been cold for days!

According to the local paper, our average rainfall for December is 1.09 inches. So far this month we’ve had 5.62 inches and more to come. I know we need the water; I know we’re in a drought, but I need it to stop raining for long enough for me to venture into my (probably sodden) basement to rescue my Christmas decorations so I can decorate my poor naked tree.

Wah! Poor me!

Whiny Wednesday

It’s Whiny Wednesday and I have two whines today.

The first is that even though I’ve been using the usual Whiny Wednesday image since the dawn of this blog, suddenly my computer has decided it’s no longer a valid image. Whatever. Technology and me…we’re just not getting along lately.

Whine #2 is this: I’m toodling around on the internet last night, doing a bit of research for a new project and, of course, I get distracted. Through a series of “Hmm, that’s interesting” clicks I end up looking at a website offering fertility retreats. Sisters, I have been down this road before. I know how this story ends, and yet I still catch myself thinking, “Hmm, what if…?” 

It’s a sickness, I know. I took my medicine, stood in the corner and said, “Bad Lisa,” and I’m okay now, but really, when is this insanity actually going to end?

Anyway, it’s December 1 – 30 days until the end of another year – and I have a long list of whines I could share, but for now I turn it over to you. Whine on, sisters.

Whiny Wednesday: Speak Up!

It’s Whiny Wednesday and regular contributor Kathleen Guthrie offered this thought to get us all in the griping mood:

According to an online report, only 37% of registered voters in my county voted in the recent election. That means 63% couldn’t be bothered. Sixty-three percent. Don’t get me started on the citizens who haven’t registered. It makes me want to slap someone.

I know it’s a pain. My fiancé and I spent three hours reading through candidates’ statements, reviewing endorsements, trying to make sense of which propositions did what and which propositions canceled out others; we debated the merits of each item on the ballot, and occasionally agreed to disagree. It was a mind-numbing, headache-inducing, frequently discouraging experience. But we did it, because it’s important, and we rushed through our Tuesday morning routine so we could cast our ballots before the anticipated rush to the polls.

Now that the results are in, I’m hearing a lot of whining about the outcome. And a lot of the people who are doing the whining are the ones who couldn’t even manage to send in an absentee ballot.

To the 63% I say, You have given up the right to speak, write, blog, protest, or scream any opinion about any aspect of our government until you do your part and vote. Got a problem with that? Then address it by using your voice—and your vote—in the next election cycle.

Kathleen Guthrie is a Northern California–based freelance writer. Her articles have appeared in AAA’s Westways, GRIT, Real Simple, and 805 Living magazines. Read “How to Be the World’s Best Aunt Ever” on eHow.com.

What’s got you all fired up today?