Goddess of the Week: Demeter

Demeter is the Greek goddess of agriculture and fertility. She loved her daughter Persephone more than life itself. Literally.

When Hades kidnapped Persephone in order to maker her his wife, all the other gods -- including Zeus, Demeter's brother -- just shrugged their shoulders and refused to do anything. So Demeter upped the ante. She began to let all the plants of the world die, which meant that all life would ultimately starve. The gods could be fickle and cavalier, but they didn't want the whole world to die, so they made a deal: Persephone would stay with Hades in the underworld for three months of the year (one month for each seed of the underworld fruit that she ate while in Hades) and for the rest of the year she would stay with her mother.

Personal attributes: Maternal and loving, but don't mess with this mama.

Channel this goddess when: You can't remember why you wanted kids in the first place or when you're cultivating a green thumb (remember: there are lots of way to mother)

When childcare feels like war

Whenever one of my children gets sick I think of war movies in which combat is depicted as long stretches of mind numbing boredom broken by sudden, brief moments of adrenaline pumping panic and terror.

Caring for a sick child is just like that actually: Lots of bored waiting wrapped in underlining anxiety spliced with intermittent chaos. Stomach viruses are especially bad. Your child is laying still and quiet, watching the same Disney movie for the fifteenth time, and then, suddenly -- wham -- a frantic race to the toilet.

My ten year old is sick right now. Nothing too bad, but we're stuck at home, bored, waiting for something to happen. The poor dog is desperate for attention and exercise, and so is my twelve year old. She's running around screaming like a dying hyena. This is pleasurable for her, and I suppose it burns some energy, but I think I'd rather listen to the hyena.