drought

It's May, and I went a whole month with no new blog posts. I started some, but they never really developed. So it is.

I'm in a bit of a drought of sorts. I haven't blogging; my camera has been tucked away in its bag. Its been a dry month. I did spend about two weeks sick, so I guess I can attribute my dry spell of inactivity to being overwhelmed with yuck.

I have been reading more. A friend of mine started a group for moms of elementary schoolers, and one of the activities has been a book club. Thus far I failed at reading one book (The Historian), successfully read one book (The Glass Castle) and I am currently in the midst of reading one book (Atonement). I've also done a bit of "open" reading on my own. Under the Banner of Heaven. American Fascists. I think there's been more, but I can't recall.

I finished my Winter 2008 class series this past Monday, and I have a new class starting this Monday. Usually I try to take a few weeks off between classes, but it just didn't work out this time. It actually feels better to get right into it. My binders are ready to go; my workbooks arrived in plenty of time. It's all coming together nicely. I have 4/5 couples, and I anticipate some refreshers to come through as well.

I attended the REACHE in April. It was great. The topic was cesarean...the forces behind the rising cesarean rates. Pam Udy, the president of ICAN was there, and her speech was so heart-wrenching. I was near tears. My friend, Jen, got up to read a passage from a book called Cesarean Voices, and she started crying. It was so moving.

A few women were grumbling that Pam was "too radical." Please. I was thrilled with her candor, and she really was speaking from her heart. It was good to hear. One woman asked Pam a question and prefaced it with, "I have been a nurse for 30 years..." which always annoys me. Who cares? What is the implication? That she has more experience than Pam? It's just annoying. Anyway, it was a question about a mom who refused another cesarean and the baby died. It was one of those "Are you saying THAT is okay?" kind of questions. What's annoying is that if the mom had a repeat cesarean and "something bad" happened, would people say things to make the mother feel guilty for choosing cesarean?

It comes down to informed choice. If a woman can choose to have an elective cesarean-- and have their insurance companies pay for it-- then women should also be able to choose VBAC-- and have their insurance companies pay for it. The VBAC climate is getting so bad that women are having to go to great lengths to have the birth of their choice.

Anyway, I had a burst of students have cesareans recently, so I hope this most recent class will be cesarean-free as well as this upcoming class. My last three moms who had cesareans had a really rough time of it.

What else...
I need a job for next school year. I still haven't finished my application with the school district because, well, I'm lame. I haven't had a real job in ages. I realize how much nothing I have when I fill out the application. It's depressing. And I have to be honest--working as a paraeducator at my kids' school district is definitely not where I ever saw myself working. I'm That mom. That woman. Ugh. But it works with my kids' schedules, and it works with my class schedule. It really comes down to working to live instead of living to work. I need some play money, and working for the district, I can get it.

We're planning a camping trip to Crater Lake this summer with all three of our girls. We haven't been camping with all of them since, well, ever. It should be fun. I'd also like to plan a trip to Disneyland in February. Those will probably be our last two family trips since Paige graduates next spring and Brittani the year after.

Okay, I have more to write, but I have to get a kid to bed.