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We Have a Truce
This is the other female in our house. Isn’t she pretty? She is the sweetest and most gentle cat I have ever met. After she suffered the wrath of my pregnancy and postpartum disgust (yes I found another PPD, and no I did not abuse her), we have now made amends and are on friendly terms again, the truce being that in return for quality lap time, she pukes in her bowl to make disposal easier on me, otherwise she…
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Under the Waterfall – Postpartum Drowning
Husum Falls, Joe is front left, I am middle left. This is our raft, and I am fully submerged at this point. In the summer of 2006, Joe and I took a rafting trip down the White Salmon River in Washington. Two-thirds of the way down the river, we took a dive off a 14 ft waterfall, Husum Falls, a class 4+ rapid. The raft stood on edge and was close to flipping just before I rolled over the side…
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Motherhood: The Measuring Stick – Part 2
Yesterday after reading my post, my sweet and thoughtful friend Eileen questioned me on my use of Jesus as a measuring stick – her concern being not only I was setting impossible standards but was attempting to attain the same position as God, something that got the Archangel Lucifer booted from Heaven. I don’t believe that godliness (a term often used in Christian circles) means deeming oneself to be like God or on the same level as God. I believe…
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Motherhood: The Measuring Stick – Part 1
By nature, I am a student. I love the entire process – the initial curiosity, the exploration, finding answers, applying the answers, and the evaluation. When I finished my PhD back in 2007, I found myself at a loss. I switched to the role of teacher and suddenly the only measurement of my work was if I was kept employed and student feedback. Typically the students that give you feedback are the disgruntled ones. As a mom I feel it’s…
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PPD and Me
For the sake of learning to be more transparent and hopefully so that other new mamas don’t feel alone in their struggle to adjust to a new “normal”, I’m going to keep journaling my experiences with postpartum depression. Newborns don’t give a mama much sleep. I knew this, I’d done it before. I probably could have used some help last time as well, but the difference is that with the second baby, you don’t have the luxury of napping when…
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Waging War on the Ants
Fire Ant Colony 4, building their nest this afternoon before I attacked (The attack was like a really moving Pasodoble on SYTYCD… one that brings Nigel to tears and has the angsty pre-teen audience on their feet screaming when they should be sitting in awestruck silence): The thought crossed my mind this afternoon that it was possible that my entire back yard is one giant fire ant nest and what I thought were separate colonies are really just the various…