E: Welcome home, love! Now. I've got some more questions. We experienced San Francisco together in the 90's. How were the 00's?
J: The 00s were great for me. The first half of the decade was about me settling into my career, developing this real love for teaching elementary school, and about getting to know myself and growing up with Ale by my side. Then along came little lovely in 06, to make it all that much more interesting!
J: Motherhood is, in a word, INTENSE! The highs are mind-boggling high, and the lows can feel devastating. So, yeah, it's been emotional.
I'd say the high is, in general, that for me motherhood is like the filling of a huge hole I never knew I had. I think people can be perfectly happy without ever having kids, but once you have one you really can't imagine life without the little bugger. My heart aches for Margo, and I find her magical.
The lows come when I blow it. Parenting is hard work, and the thing I work most on is controlling my temper and reacting with love and patience when she's being difficult. And yes, even though she's magical, she can be really, really difficult.
E: What are Margo's favorite foods?
J: Margo hasn't met many a food item she doesn't like, but favorites include pork buns, edamame, carrots and hummus, all fruit.
E: Those are delightful favorites. How does being a mom compare to being a schoolteacher?
J: Mom/schoolteacher have a lot in common, but most significantly, patience, patience and more truckloads of patience than you thought humanly possible. I find it worlds easier to be patient at school than at home. It doesn't affect me personally when my students are little assholes, but I find it hard to be rational when Margo's one. School is also about crowd control at moments, using my presence to command attention. WIth Margo, it's all personal and small, one on one, quiet and intimate.
But in both roles, the best strategies are the same: be sincere and caring: never ask a question if you don't want to hear the answer the kid wants to give, catch kids doing right and let them know how much you appreciate it, be interested in what they say and do.
E: A favorite from recent mom stories?
J: Margo just turned four and we had her b-day party in the park. She was asking for the cake to be served pretty much the second we got there, so I told her to relax because her birthday lasted all day... there was no rush- she should go play and enjoy herself. Next thing I know I overhear her saying to a friend's mom, "Um, my birthday lasts all day, so you need to stay at the park with me for a long, long time. Just so you know."
E: She's just communicating the conventions of the event. I respect that. A favorite from recent teacher stories?
J: At a school fundraiser the other night, a parent of a kid I had in my class 2 years ago (now a 6th grader) told me that he had an assignment for school to write about a time in his life when he was surprised by something. He chose to write about how hard he thought math in fourth grade was going to be, but how he learned so much with me he realized he really liked math. It literally brought tears to my eyes.
J: Just read Ian McEwan's In the Comfort of Strangers while in Rome. Totally captivating and totally creepy.
E: Favorite things to wear just now?
J: [In response, Jeanna sent images of the Marni dress and Gola sneakers seen above, but she punctuated her pictorial response with the following.] I bought the Pamela Love talon cuff I'd been coveting for a long time... it is truly my favorite thing. Period.
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