9 out of 10 opinions are wrong

Jeff told me that a couple of weeks ago and frankly it's as true today as it was then. Everyone has got an opinion and strangely, I seem to be pretty much the only person with the correct opinion. Shocking, isn't it?

I know what you're thinking: But Anna, how can you be sure your opinion is the 1 in 10 that is right? Well, for one thing I have this weird feeling in my gut that tells me I'm smarter than most people. For another thing, people often tell me how wise I am (okay they mostly just say it with their eyes - that's what it means when people roll their eyes at you, right?).

Mostly though the way I know I can trust my own opinion to be the right one is when it comes to my son. As I've mentioned in a previous blog, people try to advise me on raising Asa and I smile and nod, but really in my head I'm thinking "You haven't got a clue".  I hear ideas on getting Asa to sleep through the night (last time I checked I'm not really complaining about his sleep habits). Ideas on when and how to potty train, how not to spoil him, how to stop him from biting me (I have solicited advice on this and have yet to hear an answer that I intend to implement), why I shouldn't respond to his fake cries, why I shouldn't respond to his real cries at night, how often to bathe him, when to cut his hair ... Blah blah blah.

Pretty much the only opinion I habitually solicit is that of my daycare provider, Zory, and her daughters Mara and AnMary. They know my baby (and this makes me a little sad to be honest) as well as Jeff and I do, plus they must have raised at least 10 kids between all the tiny clients they've taken care of over the years. I guess if Michelle Duggar lived by I might ask her opinion too, but I definitely don't think I'd ever ask Jon or Kate Gosselin.  My point is, everyone has got an opinion, most of them I haven't asked for but all of which I will listen to and take under advisement and eventually determine that Jeff is right, 9 out of 10 opinions are wrong ... Is that irony? I'm not sure.

Dorothy's Wisdom

I'm a huge fan of the Golden Girls and I have been since they debuted in the 80's. I used to watch them with my grandma when I would stay over at her house and then somehow in college I picked it up again. In fact my roommate and I had "do you like Golden Girls" as one of our interview questions when looking for a third roommate. When we found a girl who answered yes we figured it was a match made in heaven (we were totally wrong on that count but whatever, the house burned down and we didn't have to live with her after that).

Anyway, these days I've got every episode on DVD and pretty much every line of every episode memorized. If it wasn't so nerdy I'd probably reference them in conversation far more often than I do but I like to at least attempt an air of coolness so I often hold my tongue. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm a closet fan though. I did at one point own a Golden Girls tee, which was lost but I'd love to replace it and if they come up in conversation I'm quick to rush to their defense (not that they need any defense, their sublimeness should speak for itself).

My point is, right now Asa is upstairs crying himself to sleep for a very late afternoon nap. It breaks my heart and drives me nuts having to listen to his little cries even though I can tell by his tone that they are unsubstantiated and mostly just overly tired wails that will quickly wind down into a peaceful snooze. It also reminds of a line that Dorothy delivered to Blanche where she commented, "It isn't easy being a mother, if it were, fathers would do it.".

Hats off to all of my fellow mothers who know how true that statement is and to all the fathers, sisters, brothers, grandmothers and grandfathers who help us weather the hard times.