At four weeks in, this is the first word that has made me wonder what the he** I am going to write about. In fact, the more I think about, I can't help but reminisce about my fair ambassador/queen of the furrow days and doing impromptu speeches in competition. For those that don't know, an impromptu is when contestants are given a question to answer or a random object/subject to talk about for about one minute. The idea is to see how good contestants are on their feet. Thinking about "bottle" reminded me vividly of standing on the stage in front of everyone and pulling a thesaurus out of the box...what do you say about a book full if words? (I believe that's even what I said!)
Likewise, what do you say about a word that is such a common, everyday word?
"Bottle" is just that, an everyday word. There are hundreds of things that come in bottles: water, pop, milk, condiments, shampoo, cleaners, lotions, makeup, sunscreen, booze, medicine, and the list goes on.
As a society, we are often guilty of judging people by what they have in their various bottles. As an anti-pop person, I often catch myself judging people chugging a bottle of pop...all of that sugar...oh jeez, is it DIET?? Oh god the aspartame!
Is that his SEVENTH bottle of beer? Did she just finish off that second bottle of wine HERSELF?? OMG, Sara has a bottle of real bleach under her sink...clearly she is single-handedly ruining the planet. Meanwhile back at the ranch, Sara thinks Jackie is a weird, crunchy hippie because she uses vinegar in a spray bottle for her only cleaner. Jane uses regular shampoo...yet another planet killing heathen. Sally uses a bottle of some planet friendly shampoo...clearly she has more money than brains! We are passing judgement on people exclusively based on the contents of their bottles.
There is one bottle judgement that as a young mom I have had first-hand experience with...the epic battle of the baby bottle. As a mom, you are always judged by whether your kid takes a bottle, and if they do...you most certainly are judged by what is IN your kid's bottle. And it doesn't matter what camp people are in, there is always judgement to be passed.
I always wanted to nurse my babies...you know, "it's best for baby"...due to some unfortunate experiences, I was not able to nurse my youngest hooligan for very long (if you would like the whole story on that, check out my older posts here!). When I made the decision to stop nursing, I decided I would pump exclusively so that he would still receive the food that I felt was best for him.
The funny thing is, when someone would first learn he was bottle fed, it didn't matter WHAT was in the bottle. The automatic response usually went something like this: "Oh....you bottle feed?? That's great!" *with a super awesome fake smile* (You could almost hear them continue under their breath with: You know you should really consider breast feeding! It's WAY better for baby and not to mention cheaper!) The automatic assumption was that I didn't WANT to nurse my baby and that I must not have done my research.
So I would enlighten whoever was sticking their nose in my business and let them know that unfortunately my poor little guy couldn't nurse, so I actually pump for him. Want to see Judgy-McJudgerson do a 180?? Tell them you willingly milk yourself 4-6 times per day for the sake of your child! Suddenly I had went from that shitty mom ramming formula (aka poison) down her kid's throat for her own convenience to mother freaking Theresa!
"OMG! Wow!!!! That is amazing that you are able and willing to do that! You are such a great mom!"
Really? Wasn't I just on the verge of having my kid taken away because I was an unfit mother for giving him a bottle?
Oh what's that you say? Your kid doesn't take a bottle? Sorry mama, but you're not off the judgement hook either...why? Because your kid WON'T take a bottle!! How on earth can you go anywhere for more than 3-4 hours when your kid won't take a bottle? Clearly you MUST be doing something wrong...coddling her too much probably...she will likely still be on the boob when she heads of to college.
See what I mean? There is some epic bottle judgement happening in the mommyhood! Nobody is safe!
So, in honour of this week being the week of the bottle, I propose that we as mamas make a pact to end the bottle judgement! Every mom is looking out for her babies' well being and while they may choose ways of caring for their kids that are different from your own, they are doing what is best for their children, their families and themselves. Let's have some respect for each other and save the lectures and judgement for situations when it's really needed.
Bottle...let's all try not to judge people by what's in their various bottles. There are far more important things for people to worry about!
DISCLAIMER: I will say though, there are two times when I WILL continue to judge people by what's in their bottle...pop and ketchup. Pop will eat your insides and ketchup is a food RUINER!!!!
Until next time!
DISCLAIMER: I will say though, there are two times when I WILL continue to judge people by what's in their bottle...pop and ketchup. Pop will eat your insides and ketchup is a food RUINER!!!!
Until next time!
1/9/14 – equal
1/16/14 – arctic
1/23/14 – bottle
1/30/14 – ice cream
2/6/14 – snow
2/13/14 – flat
2/20/14 – lights
2/27/14 – memories
2/6/14 – snow
2/13/14 – flat
2/20/14 – lights
2/27/14 – memories
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| If it's not your bottle, it's not your business. |
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