I began menopause unceremoniously at the tender young age of 33, thanks to a total hysterectomy. (Sorry for the rhyme, there; I tend to get all poetic when we chat about my uterus.) After having spent the majority of my lifetime at the mercy of everything that can possibly go wrong with those stupid organs (endometriosis! adenomyosis! infertility! ruptured ovarian cysts! hypermenorrhea, and I hope you're not eating if you click on that link!), I was not one of those women who approached the surgical suite weeping for the loss of my womanhood, or anything like that. I believe the last words I...
I was just going to come tell you that if you're in Atlanta, you can stop by the Beehive Co-op between 4:00 and 7:00 today to see me, Rita, and Kristen. I don't know what we're doing, really. Signing copies of Sleep Is for the Weak. Making out with each other. Dancing on the tables. Whatever. (Of course, this all assumes that I don't get lost driving into Atlanta. Hahahaha! I am funny!) Anyway, first we sat down for our regular Saturday morning pancakes, and Monkey finished up first and asked if he could "go out on the porch and get some fresh air." We said sure, have a good time. He went...
Oh, many of you scoffed when I mentioned planning out our weekly menus, but so far it's made for a kind of calmness in the afternoon that we haven't had in a LONG time. I refer to myself as the Dinner Nazi, sometimes---I love the family dinner thing, and I will DEMAND we all eat together so that we can have some Quality Family Time. And it's totally SHOCKING, I know, but that tends to work out a lot better when I'm not running around like a headless chicken figuring out what we're actually going to EAT during that special time when we're bonding. Besides, a whole lot of tormenting goes on at...
I feel comfortable asserting that I am NOT a helicopter parent. I believe in kids building autonomy, making (and learning) from their own mistakes, and all of that sort of thing. Furthermore, in case you haven't noticed, I am far too lazy to be a helicopter parent. It just seems like it's an awful lot of work. I can barely remember to get dressed in the morning and throw some food at my children. I'm supposed to shadow their every step, too? HARD. I can't be bothered. On the other hand, I do luuuuurve MAH BABIES and try to take an active interest in their lives. I do things like join...
Thank you for all of the kind birthday wishes! As it turned out, this weekend marked what was perhaps my favorite birthday in a very long time. It was low-key and unremarkable, but no one bled or screamed or told me they hated me (to my face, anyway), and there was excellent food and many hugs and kisses, and it was all very nice. Otto took me out for a fancy dinner on Saturday night, and while my margarita wasn't quite as big as my head, it WAS very yummy. I had duck that came all fanned out on a plate like origami and Otto had frogmore stew that came in a bowl bigger than the one I use for...
Mom-of-Otto completely astounded her doctors by recovering from the initial situation (multiple organ failure, we don't know what's wrong, she's on a ventilator) to where she is now off the ventilator (though still in multiple organ failure and they don't know why) and harassing the nurses for ginger ale. So that is GREAT NEWS and Otto is back home. Whereupon we commenced irritating each other. I rave about Otto so often, here, that I occasionally have people making comments about how "You have a perfect husband" or "You think you're so great because your husband is superhuman" or things...
I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. --- Mother Teresa I am no Mother Teresa. Just in case you were wondering. Otto's mom is in the ICU, a thousand miles away; and while God may trust us plenty, quite frankly I think He's being kind of an asshole right now.
I have a new(ish) local friend who is, like Otto, a professor, and therefore is free to do all sorts of things in the summer which she will be far too busy for once classes start up again. Me, I'm all slacker, all the time, but I'm coming to the realization that summer is a mystical time for most people here in Universityland. For one thing, most folks are working a lot less in the summer. For another, you can actually go downtown for pizza or whatever and FIND A PARKING SPACE. It's lovely. Anyway, my new friend---let's call her Foodie, because it will make her laugh---and I have been...
This is the part of our story where the children have returned, and Otto has returned, and the cartoon bluebirds sing and all is well and easy and back to normal, hallelujah and amen! Except that this is ME, so nothing is ever that easy. Of course. Really, that sort of tranquility would make me highly suspicious, anyway. So have I ever told you the story about how I am a wee bit impatient when I get a bee in my bonnet about redecorating and home projects? It's true! I can see that you are astonished! But yes, occasionally once the decision has been made to do something, I am not so good with...
