happiness....
IS:
- the last few sips of apple cider, heated up with spices
- five knitting projects, all fighting for my attention
- the smile on a new mom's face after seeing her baby enter the world (after a day of labor pains and colorful words and lots of "I am NEVER doing this again" 's)
- not having to be at the clinic until 8:30 tomorrow morning.
IS NOT:
- the significant other who decides to yell at the doctor next to me and I because he thinks the medical care his "girlfriend" is getting is second rate and a load of (fill in colorful words here). (the internet has taught him to be a doctor and therefore she needs an ultrasound now, damnit.) (I am still unsettled by the whole encounter and will try and process it all before I fall asleep tonight)
- five knitting projects who are all at forced stopping points because I haven't yet learned that I should follow a pattern. (mittens that I'm making up as I go along because I had the yarn and needles and no pattern so I'll just swatch and oh no it looks like I'm going ahead and making mittens I'm too attatched and committed to rip it all out now), two pairs of socks - one that is stalled at a heel that I'm not sure is working and another that I'm trying to decide if the stitch count and needle sizes are compatible (and if the finished sock will fit...)) and the fair isle hat that I feel I can't really work on until I master two hand knitting (see mittens, above).
- starting the diet named after a particular beach during PMS. I should have known better. Really.
- a pictureless blog entry; I'm working on it. OB is keeping me busy, and out waaaay past my bedtime.....
- the last few sips of apple cider, heated up with spices
- five knitting projects, all fighting for my attention
- the smile on a new mom's face after seeing her baby enter the world (after a day of labor pains and colorful words and lots of "I am NEVER doing this again" 's)
- not having to be at the clinic until 8:30 tomorrow morning.
IS NOT:
- the significant other who decides to yell at the doctor next to me and I because he thinks the medical care his "girlfriend" is getting is second rate and a load of (fill in colorful words here). (the internet has taught him to be a doctor and therefore she needs an ultrasound now, damnit.) (I am still unsettled by the whole encounter and will try and process it all before I fall asleep tonight)
- five knitting projects who are all at forced stopping points because I haven't yet learned that I should follow a pattern. (mittens that I'm making up as I go along because I had the yarn and needles and no pattern so I'll just swatch and oh no it looks like I'm going ahead and making mittens I'm too attatched and committed to rip it all out now), two pairs of socks - one that is stalled at a heel that I'm not sure is working and another that I'm trying to decide if the stitch count and needle sizes are compatible (and if the finished sock will fit...)) and the fair isle hat that I feel I can't really work on until I master two hand knitting (see mittens, above).
- starting the diet named after a particular beach during PMS. I should have known better. Really.
- a pictureless blog entry; I'm working on it. OB is keeping me busy, and out waaaay past my bedtime.....
posted by Kristen at 11:45 PM
5 Comments:
Kristen, I appreciate your words about the language of medicine and of obstetrics in particular. I certainly don't expect that you'll be able to change the conventions of an entire profession complete with paternalistic egos (should you even be inclined to try). I was just hoping to raise a bit of awareness about who does the bulk of the work in labor and delivery, and to possibly contribute to the trickle of ideas that birth is not a necessarily medical event, and that to assume that it is, and that the doctor does the work is to disempower mothers. I continue to enjoy your blog!
I have a book called The Joy of Knitting Companion and it offers basic advice on mittens, hats, socks, scarves and bags. I really like it, especially for mittens, because it tells you how to make what you want based on what you have. i.e., if you gauge is blah blah blah, you cast on blah blah blah stitches, etc. It's pretty helpful.
The topic of John and Jane Q Public intersecting with medical profession is one that even PhD theses couldn't do justice to. Combine good information now available, with bad information now available, no knowledge base by which to tell the difference for the vast majority of people. Toss in the usual quotient of bad doctors, also average doctors and really good doctors. Throw in some stress. Then toss in the leavening dose of psychopathology of all parties involved (MDs, nurses, patients), and you have a volatile mix. It's surprising it goes as well as it does most of the time.
One of the things I will do when I eventually retire is do something that DOES NOT involve having to placate unreasonable people.
Ah, what a mixed bag. Concentrate and focus on the first list, find a way to let the second list go and learn from the parts of it that you can. It's harder to find the good things out there, but certainly more rewarding when you can.
Sorry to hear about your loss. Hope you are doing well.
May all your knitting projects lead you through successfully. And may you never have to see another hostile spouse/significant other again.
:)
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