MAMA: Adventures in Martial Arts and Motherhood

In this week's edition of Men Who Say Stupid Things, I give you Ralek Gracie, president of Metamoris. http://www.mmafighting.com/2015/4/12/8316949/metamoris-interested-in-ronda-rousey-but-claims-financial-realities. When asked whether the popular PPV grappling tournament was planning on signing more females, he replied with this brilliant gem:  "It's absolutely not a joke who ends up on the card. With every match, there has to be a unique story and there has to be an element that will bring out people from all walks of life in a lot of ways. Even though we know the core audience and what they're interested in, we have to constantly be on the boundaries. We have to be constantly pushing the edge of what our viewership is, otherwise we won't survive. All we're doing is reinvesting all of our money into these athletes. We're spinning a wheel. We have to keep the wheel moving. I just don't think there's women who are really going to bring it on that l...

There is an article floating around the Internet this week about why marriage "no longer works" for the current crop of twenty-somethings. Here it is http://www.app.com/story/life/family/relationships/2015/04/06/reasons-marriage-just-work-anymore/25349495/ It is not a terrible article, really. He makes some good points about the importance of actual human connection; talking rather than texting, enjoying the moment instead of just posting pics of it. He also complains about the lack of exciting sex in a marriage and the stress of accumulating bills as if he is the first person to experience this. And then he pretty much blames social media for the failure of relationships.  He is not totally clueless. But the problem I see over and over with this guy's generation is this constant sense of being wronged. As if the world is out to get them. As if their struggles are always something that has been inflicted on them, instead of a result of the choices they have ...

For my daughter, Easter Sunday means candy. So this morning she climbed out of bed at 7 like it was Christmas, found her Easter basket on the table, and unpacked some art supplies and a chocolate bunny which she tried to convince me was a fine thing to eat for breakfast. (The bunny, not the crayons.) She also wanted to dye and hide eggs, something we have done since Maya was two. It is a task that is complicated by the fact that we own a dog who likes to play too. She (the dog, not Maya) will find and eat whole eggs, shell and all, so we need to pick hiding spots that are low enough for a kid to see but high enough that Chloe can't immediately snatch them.  We are not Christians. (We are not Jews either, although I do like to occasionally snack on matzo. ) But I have a kid who likes to question things so I am often asked to explain the meaning of one holiday or another. "So there was this Jesus guy who tried to get people to be good to each other. And some people didn...