Simple human thing
For most of my life, I have struggled to say the right thing. Growing up, I struggled to find the right thing to say that wouldn’t turn my mother into a raging beast, or bring down my father’s scorn. As a lactation consultant and a nurse, I struggled to find the right thing to say that.. read more →
The family linen stash.
Today, I got rid of 3 boxes full of antique yarns and threads, doilies, anitimicassars, dresser scarves, aprons, place mats, napkins and the like that belonged to my grandmother. This was her family stash. She was a notable needlewoman, having learned to do so because that’s what girls were expected to do in that era;.. read more →
Elevator gratitude
My husband was felled by Guillain-Barré Syndrome on October 19, going from yoga class on Wednesday night to the ICU on Thursday night. Fortunately, the paralysis stopped short of the muscles that work his breathing. Once diagnosed, he received a daily infusion of immune globulin for 5 days in ICU; then he was transferred to.. read more →
Me too.
Today’s Facebook theme is posting “me too” as one’s status if one has been sexually assaulted. When I was in first grade, my mother told me that the boy in my class was harassing and hitting me “because he likes you.” The education to tolerate violation of boundaries starts early. This teaching is an incredible disconnect… read more →
No substitute for family and village.
I’ve been thinking about all the articles and research done about breastfeeding. The healthcare system works using policies and protocols. All very scientific. . . but is all this science merely a substitute for what kept humans, as a species, thriving for millennia, namely living in a village surrounded by family and friends? Would all.. read more →
Birth and breastfeeding: Same for all mammals.
This summer, at the 3rd wonderful Wheatland Music and Dance Camp, I discovered a book “The Homesteader’s Handbook to Raising Small Livestock” by Jerome Belanger (Rodale Press 1975). I’ve always wanted to raise chickens so the title caught my attention. In it, I found this powerful phrase on p. 119, about goats: ” Moving any.. read more →