Skip to main content

punky power

One of my favorite TV shows growing up was Punky Brewster. It was on everyday after school and I wanted to be her bad. I already had the freckles and bad fashion sense. I wanted to name my dog Brandon. Paint clouds on my ceiling. Wear two different color converse and tie a bandana around my knee. One of my real life best friends actually did and I was terribly jealous. My parents wouldn’t buy me one pair of converse much less two, and my hair was too short for pigtails. I thought I could have been a better best friend to Punky than Cherie and thought that Henry was a little mean for a foster dad (although his appearances in Police Academy did help give him some street cred) and that her and her golden retriever Brandon should just move in with me. We could paint the ceiling and put each other’s hair in pig tails.

I still enjoy pig tails, converse (matching or not), anything painted on the ceiling, and have a big heart for homeless people. Maybe it started with Punky.

Much to my chagrin, the show was canceled after just 2 years. That or I’d moved on to bigger and better shows like Blossom.

A few years later Punky, or Soleil MoonFrye (what kind of name is that?), showed up on another popular shows. Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. And despite for my past affection for Clarissa Explains It All… I could never get into the show. I was in highschool by then and far to cool to be watching shows with talking cats.

So today, I was walking down the book aisle at Target looking for something to read….(yes I know every other person on the planet has a Nook or a Kindle or something like that and as many books as I go through I could save several forests by investing in one but I just haven’t taken the plunge or dropped the cash yet). And I stumbled across this:

A book, by Punky on parenting.
Sitting right there between a Mitch Album book and a Elizabeth Gilbert book.
Punky was an established author.
And apparently a model parent.

I took it as a challenge.
If Punky can be a serious writer…
If she can be a model parent while naming her daughters Poet and Jagger (ok, Jagger is a kickass name but Poet??)….
Well….I need to break out my converse and get to work….on my own writing. And as far as my parenting goes, well I already have the chaos part down. But maybe I shoud rename my kids: Axl and Barista, or atleast change my dog's name from Mazzy to Brandon.
But not till after I paint some clouds on the ceiling.

Comments

Unknown said…
Funny, I was at Target yesterday too, and saw it on the bookshelf. Almost picked it up, but I'm in the middle of another book. Let me know how it is...I'd love to hear your thoughts before I plunk down the ching.
September 5, 2011 at 12:58 PM
michelle said…
I didn't actually buy it....I am slightly entriqued but not enough to fork over 20$...and I kind of don't want to know that little orphan punky brewster is a better parent than me!
September 5, 2011 at 4:55 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

multiple choice

As I write I am procturing a test ( yes on a Saturday, and no I am not getting paid for it.) The room is silent. The only noises I hear are pencils scratching on papers and pages turning. If I listen closely enough I swear I can hear their brains turning. I have always been a good test-taker. I would still regularly brag about my SAT scores if it wre socially appropriate to do so(or an actual indicator of anything meaningful). There is something comforting about multiple choice. (well as long as you don't have the crappy all of the above or none of the above choices...just the classic A, B, C, D variety). There are parameters. Multiple choice means you have options. The right answer is right in front of you, and all you have to do is find it. Even if you don't actually know which one the right answer is there are usually clues, it can be narrowed down or worked backwards. Even a blind guess is likely to be right 25% of the time. These aren't bad odds. All you have t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Turning the question

My school has been sending me to some inquiry training. The “i” word has been thrown around since my education classes in college. It is one of those things that is really good as a concept but kind of hard to pull off in the classroom well. For lots of reasons. But the big one number is because teachers are reluctant to let go of the control. To let the kids loose with a concept and see where they end up. Let them discover, own it and share out all on their own. Without intervening. Then push them a little bit further and clear up any misconceptions that they are holding onto before they slip out your door. This is supposed to be the most meaningful way for a kid to learn. For them to discover rather than memorize. One of the other problems with inquiry and science is that kids have stopped learning how to ask questions. My son bombards me with whys all day long. Why are owls nocturnal? (which comes out a lot more like “not-turtles”) Why do I have to take a shower? Why ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meet the teacher

People keep asking me how I am or if I am going to cry. And few weeks ago, I kept saying no. I mean, I am used to dropping Owen off everyday at school. Or I’m at least used to Shaun dropping him off. I am used to school. I do it everyday. But. The first day is Monday. His and mine. And I am not ready. And I don’t just mean that my syllabus isn’t copied and that there are boxes all over my room. That would be true. But I am having doubts about my kid entering this world. The kind with lockers and buliten boards and hall passes. And tests. A world where from now on, he will be receiving a grade. Where he will be compared, judged, scolded, and ranked. We met his teacher the other night. Turns out I taught her son not too many years ago. Owen was off playing within seconds with a friend from his soccer team. Tearing the room apart. Ecstatic when he saw a big tub of legos. He will be just fine. But I wasn't so sure about me. I was suddenly filled with questions. The basic ones. Like how...
7 comments
Read more