"Make Someone Happy"

I don't get it, and I don't like it. It's not the sentiment that isn't working, it's the song. It doesn't feel good to sing, it doesn't make musical sense to my--of course!--biased ear.

I spend a bit of time agonizing about my daughter. It's one of those parent-things. We send her to a Waldorf School, which has been fabulous for her. One of the firm beliefs at Waldorf is the belief that media (television, computers, etc) is not for children. We are strongly discouraged from allowing her any tv at all.

What can I say, it's another chance to be a bad parent, how could I resist! On a practical level, and a purely selfish one, I use tv to distract her. She's not allowed to watch it before school, or to watch commerical tv without supervision. She does watch her tapes and movies after school for a period of time. After school she's usually tired, and I am, as well. I find it difficult to cope with her anger-born-of-exhaustion. Give her an hour in front of the tube, with a snack, and our day can proceed with more calm.

In spite of my efforts to create another obese, uncreative human, my daughter persists in her rich imaginative life. She has an entire invisible world where she is the mother to eight (at last count) adopted children. At the drop of nothing she will tell me all the latest exhaustive detail about their lives. I know the names of their babysitters, and some of their stuffed animals. Beyond this, she continues to have her fairy world, her contraption creations, playtime with her dolls and stuffed animals, endless crafting and drawing, and reading books. She actually gets somewhat bored after her allotment of tv, and has been known to turn it off, leave the room, and seek me out in my studio so that she can draw or make a craft. Who would have thought it possible! Perhaps there is hope for the future!

I realized today that she has already become a big part of what I want for her. Maybe I won't win the World's Worst Parent award. (My friend, Kendrah, actually has dibs on this one, but I was hoping to enter the couples competition with my husband and at least place.)