A selection of lighthearted, sometimes very funny newspaper and magazine columns about the perils of raising children and holding a job at the same time. A columnist/feature writer for the New Haven Register and for Working Mother magazine, Shelton gets great mileage from her descriptions of life with a husband (her second), two teenagers, and a toddler. Maternal survival (and sanity), she suggests, demands a sense of humor and a respect for the idiosyncrasies of one's family members. Shelton has both. Her topics range from ``sock bumps'' (socks were also a favorite topic of the late Erma Bombeck, to whom Shelton is perhaps prematurely compared) to the moment when she fell from the pedestal as an Enlightened Parent of the 1990s. That happened, she explains, when she heard herself abandon reason, empathy, and alternatives—the power tools of modern parenting—to fall back on such old-fashioned imperatives as ``get down [off that table] right this minute, or you're going to fall off and break your neck and you'll never walk again.'' Several columns offer the seemingly obligatory confessions of electronic ineptness (is there no popular writer who understands and enjoys technology?). Most charming are the tales of her daughter Stephanie, who goes from being a toddler to attending kindergarten in the course of these tales, and who is as enchanting to the reader as she is to her parents. Stephanie is the doyenne of an Object Relocation Program, which assigns Mom's wallet as a sleeping bag for Barbie and Mrs. Butterworth (a pancake syrup bottle) to babysit Barbie's baby. Shelton also muses on more adult concerns, including meditation, the dangerous month of February (``too cold, too difficult, and just too much trouble''), and the nature of family loyalty. A cheerful, flippant view of family life, with a compassionate undercurrent that gives these observations weight.
Pub Date: April 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-9631246-3-3
Page Count: 284
Publisher: Bancroft Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1997
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Klaus (Weathering Winter, not reviewed, etc.) retired not long ago from the University of Iowa, where for many years he taught the art and craft of the personal essay and journal writing. No surprise, then, that he presents a diary of his musings about his retirement. At age 65, as the title says, he took retirement (rather than be given it, unasked for, as often happens). It was a difficult transition, despite the comfortable retirement fund. He had old, thin skin, comparing himself to graybeards, geezers, and others in their golden years. Leaving the warm bosom of collegial togetherness did not appeal, and the thought of abandoning the classroom filled him with anxiety. It seemed important to retain his campus office, to retain some vestige of influence, to hang on as some sort of “consultant” (as outplaced professionals are apt to call themselves). The teacher’s identity crisis prompted him to evade a formal farewell dinner—a good move—though he did accept the dedication of a large oak tree—another good move. He was, to put it bluntly, self-absorbed and mighty introspective, finding much angst in the rituals of quotidian domestic affairs. Gardening, health, friends, writing, meditation, and menus were the subjects of his journal entries, which were scrupulously written daily, starting weeks before his last class. Then, one day, the pensioner simply didn’t shave at his accustomed hour. Then he skipped a day and made no entry in his journal. Then another. As the new school year started without the professor emeritus, he and his ever-understanding wife traveled through the Canadian Rockies. And somehow retirement didn’t seem so bad, after all. A life-altering transition is faithfully chronicled in this story of a condition that is new in the history of humanity. With academic and heartland sensibility, it’s an elegy perhaps not as universal as the author envisioned, but quite suitable for more than the Modern Maturity and Elderhostel crowd.
Pub Date: Sept. 20, 1999
ISBN: 0-8070-7218-4
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Beacon Press
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1999
A good choice for fathers of even one child, with lessons in the yin of pride and the yang of humility—often arising...
An ode to the contradictions of fatherhood, "the perfect oxymoron," in the form of a collection of sometimes rueful, always loving essays and commentaries.
Lewis (literature and Writing/Empire State College, New Paltz) and his wife, Patti, are the parents of seven children, ranging from Elizabeth Bayou-Grace, now 8 years old, to Cael Devin, 27. Lewis begins with reflections on his own father, his Brooklyn Jewish background, and tales of his courtship of Patti, a New Orleans "patrician." Once their passion flared it never died, although it did move from "X"-rated to "G" and back again during the course of Patti's pregnancies. Moreover, as the responsibilities of fatherhood have multiplied, says Lewis, "my inner life has paradoxically become simpler and quieter." Zen-like paradoxes are explored in chapters covering such parental trials as being a Brownie troop leader, giving birthday parties, exercising discipline, and coping with teenagers (male and female). Also examined are more serious topics like birth, children leaving (or not leaving) home, and the challenge of caring for a child with congenital health problems, including a diagnosis of leukemia. The diagnosis, happily, was reversed and the child, Elizabeth, went on to tap dance after undergoing multiple hip surgeries. As well the stresses of parenting seven children ("How can they eat forty-six dollars worth of fruit in an afternoon?"), Lewis must face disapproval from friends and strangers on allowing himself to indulge in such a large family. "More is less is more," is his Zen-like response.
A good choice for fathers of even one child, with lessons in the yin of pride and the yang of humility—often arising at the same time, as any experienced father will attest.Pub Date: June 10, 1996
ISBN: 0-525-94147-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
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