schedules

 

Below is my class schedule my last semester at George Mason University (GMU)

 I caught myself almost writing a long thing about that last semester, but that's not what this is supposed to be about. 

What I have been thinking is, that, I need a schedule.  Not a tight schedule, just a loose idea of what I am going to do next.

Unless I have an appointment of some sort, every morning I wake up wondering what I am going to do all day.

I usually end up sitting in a recliner, watching TV and knitting. Or reading a book. In short, not getting any physical activity at all.   I take the dog out on the deck and occasionally go down the stairs to the patio and fill the bird feeder.

Okay, here;s the thing.  I am lazy.  I feel like for most of my life I was running.  Busy all the time.  Going to school, working, housework, etc.  Throw in a kid or 5 and there's really only rare time to sit and put your feet up.    That's one of the great things about breastfeeding.  You can sit and put your feet up and benefit from the wash of hormones that make you feel so good.

Back to me, here and now.   Do I really want to create a schedule for myself?  It's kind of nice to hang out in pajamas all day.  

Darn it, it's late now and I am going to head to bed in a few minutes.   I wonder what I will feel like doing in the morning!

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Mom’s Class Schedule Spring 2004

 

 Monday:

 

IT 103-201                   Intro to Computing                   M 9-10:15          IN 105  Shorling

 

IT 103-201                   Computer Lab                          M  10:30-11:45   IN 223

           

ENGL 398-001            Intro to Fiction Writing              MW 3:00-4:15     R-B105  Scott

 

Tuesday:

 

ENGL 338-001            Cultural Constructions              TR 10:30-11:45   R-A245  Amireh

                                    Of Sexuality

 

ANTH 315-001            Socialization Process                TR 12 -1:15        R-B122  Williams

 

ENGL 380-001            Recent American Fiction          TR 1:30-2:45      R-A247  Nadeau

 

MATH 106                  Quantitative Reasoning             TR 4:30-5:54      T 110     Shaw

 

 

Wednesday:

 

 

ENGL 398-001            Intro to Fiction Writing             MW 3:00-4:15   R-B105   Scott

 

 

Thursday:

 

ENGL 338-001            Cultural Constructions              TR 10:30-11:45   R-A 245  Amireh                                            Of Sexuality

 

ANTH 315-001            Socialization Process                TR 12:00-1:15    R-B122   Williams

 

ENGL 380-001            Recent American Fiction          TR 1:30-2:45      R-A247   Nadeau

 

MATH 106                  Quantitative Reasoning             TR 4:30-5:54      T 110     Shaw

 

 

 

 

 

 

Being a La Leche League Grandmother

 

As a grandmother and a LLL Leader, I have had to learn to allow the new parents to find their own way.

 

February 25, 2025

I am sitting at my desk looking at the digital picture frame with photos of my sweet grandson.   Galileo is my first grandchild and who knows, maybe my only grandchild.

I have been involved in La Leche League ever since my first child, my daughter Courtney, was a baby- today is her 47^th birthday!    I became a La Leche League Leader shortly after my daughter reached her first birthday and have continued to be an active Leader all these years.

I had four sons after I had Courtney.  All of them nicely spaced three years apart which I credit with luck and breastfeeding.

As you can imagine, my husband and I were delighted when our son told us that we were going to be grandparents!

This is not my daughter in law’s first baby. I asked her if she had breastfed before and she said she had not.  I told her that I would support her decision whatever it was.  She knows that I am an LLL Leader, so she is aware of my leaning toward breastfeeding.

As the baby’s birth got closer my son and daughter-in-law put together an online baby registry.  When I saw “baby bottles” on the list my heart dropped.  I was sad. 

La Leche League came to my rescue.  I told a long time LLL friend and grandmother to many babies about my feelings.  I love her answer.  She said, “I’ve been riding that train for a while”.   Her grandson was not nursing and never had.   She assure me that it would be alright and we just have to learn to keep our feelings to ourselves.   So many of my friends have taught me the expression that many of us have holes in our tongues because we have to bite our tongue so often.

As the birth got closer, I mentioned the bottle feeding to my son and he told me “She’s going to pump”.   Wow, that was something.  I am sure my son was responsible for making sure his son would get breastmilk.

When Galileo was a couple of weeks old, my husband and I babysat so my son and daughter in law could go for her postpartum checkup.  They left me a bottle of pumped breastmilk.  Oh, I was so tempted to put the baby to my breast.  I was curious to see if he had any idea what to do.  I restrained myself.  I gave him a bottle and we did fine.

We don’t live close to each other, so don’t see the baby as often as we would like. 

All five of our children and their partners and spouses came home for Christmas this year.  Meeting the baby was a big draw! 

My daughter in law told me that she pumped for about five and a half months.   Pumping was getting too arduous, and her milk was drying up.    I told her that she did a wonderful job, and I was pleased and impressed that she stuck to it as long as she did.

My grandson is 8 months old now.  He is a chubby, beautiful little boy and he is sprouting his first two teeth.

I truly believe that through all of the LLL work I have learned to be accepting and meet the parents where they are.   How great is that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Courtney Carol Sherwood was born February 25, 1978 in Bangkok, Thailand

 

Energy?

A visiting crow!

 

 

 I want to know, where does energy come from? I feel depleted.   I don't feel like doing anything productive.   I see people who just are on the go all of the time.  How do they do it?

 I guess when I am having fun I have energy.  Talking with a good friend, or two or three.  That gives me energy.  Coming up with good ideas and being helpful to others.  Those are energizing.   

When we had a house full of kids I had to have energy to keep up.  And of course, many of the things on the calendar are things that I initiated- like going to parks of farms.  Sports that had to be signed up for.   Visiting my friends who had kids the ages of my kids in the hopes that they would all play together.  It usually worked out.

 I know- I am not as young as I was then.  Of course there are people who are older than  I am doing all sorts of things.  Playing sports (no thank you), Going to activities at the library or at the senior center.   

For most of my adult life, I have been busily involved in La Leche League work.  Even after the kids were grown up.   But the pandemic changed a lot of that.  Meetings were not being held in person for a long time, and by the time we went back to them, people had disappeared.    The women who were my co-Leaders moved on to other things.  I do have one co-Leader, but she works full time and is not always able to be at meetings

I do still have the once a month dinner at the Silver Diner to look forward to.  That's every month after our LLL "meeting" that nobody shows up to.   Maybe I will start inviting friends without them feeling the obligation to be at the LLL meeting.

Our dinner group fell apart too.  We belonged to a dinner group called "The Extended Family" for years.  We met once a month- usually we had pot lucks at each other's houses. Occasionally we met at restaurants.   Many of the main members of that group have died.  Or moved too far away for meetings to be practical.

Being married to an introvert means, Nick doesn't feel lonely or tired or bored by just hanging around the house.  (although he does enjoy planning travel and cruises).   

I think quite often how much I would like to start going to church again.  But I know that Nick doesn't really enjoy it.  So I don't try.  Maybe I need to try harder even if it means going on my own.

Maybe I just need a nap! 

Where Does the Time Go?

 I am always thinking and wondering what I should write about.  Lately I have been thinking about how our lives have "chapters".  Distinctive periods of life when things happen and then time goes by and those things are not happening and you wonder how the heck did you get to where you are.

 

For example, when Courtney was born, my next door neighbor, Marie, was also pregnant and gave birth 10 days later.  During our pregnancies we spend lots of time together.   Shopping, swimming at the Ambassador's residence.  We laughed our heads off at the dressmaker trying to explain how to make maternity bathing suits! (we were in Bangkok with the US Embassy).  We took child birth classes together.

 After our babies were born- a girl for me and a boy for her, we were both nursing mothers.   We were transferred away and so was Marie and her husband.  We caught up by phone briefly when Nick and Courtney and I were staying in Nick's parent's house.  We exchanged letters for a while too, so I knew when she had more kids.

Then years went by. Many many years- 40 or so.  And we have found each other on Facebook.  She is living back in her home country, Australia, long divorced from her American husband.  She looks very much the same except for the gray hair.   I am more than 100 lb heavier, but she still recognized me.

So we had a chapter as best friends for a while.  Went along living our lives.  And now we are in a new chapter.

I have a dear friend Joanne.  I met her at a La Leche League meeting where I was the LLL Leader and she was one of the moms.   We became good friends.  She eventually became a LLL Leader herself and was my co-Leader.  When we met I was pregnant with my now 37 year old son Austin.  She and I have both had more children.  We have stayed in touch VIA mail, email and getting together in person every few years. 

Yesterday I went to visit Joanne.  She lives in a house that I had never visited before.  A beautiful house.  Just her and her husband.  Like Nick and I.  No kids running around demanding our attention.    I was so nice.  Just the two of us old friends.  It was like no time had passed at all.   But it has.  She had 4 grandchildren.  I have one.  We are different people, but we are not really, just older.   We still fit together.

I put this picture of my clean laundry here- specifically towels- a few days ago.  I was going to write something about laundry. And I may still one day.  But right now it's there for a different reason.  When Joanne was giving me the house tour, she showed me her linen closet.  She folds her towels the exact same way I do.  It struck me as so funny!  When the kids were little we used to fold laundry together. 

And so the chapters keep getting written.  Life goes on.

Courtney will be 47 in a few days.  Morgan will be 44 one week later.  Everyone says the same thing "where does the time go?".   But, what's the answer?

 

A bit of a ramble

 Every day I tell myself that I need to write, and every day I don't write.  I sat down at my computer several hours ago planning to blog and instead I am looked at Facebook, knitting patterns and who knows what else.

 

     

I guess I should start by showing off the paper flower bouquet that Nick gave me for Valentines Day today.   I mailed some of these to the kids, but I don't know what shape the will be in when they are received.

 

I have been miserable for the last couple of months.  First there was the expected pain and recovery from knee replacement surgery.  But that was getting better before I fell and developed some sort of neuro/ muscular mess .  I have been n pain since mid December- waking up at night being jolted away by the pain.  Primarily in my knee and hip.

 

I have seen my orthopedic surgeon, my psychologist, a pain specialist and my internal medicine doctor.   I did some research and got myself a medical marijuana card, and Nick and I went to the legal "weed store" called Beyond Hello.  We spoke with the pharmacist who prescribed some gummies and a tincture to put under my tongue.   Both drugs made me drowsy.  Neither made the pain go away. I actually felt sort of silly going to a drug place.   The whole thing is weird  Show your "card", show our ID etc.  hen there's the being escorted through the locked door into the dispensary.   I felt like --I don't know.  I just kept thinking that you don't have to do all of that to go into a liquor store.   Oh well.

 

I have had a hard time explaining that I don't need something to make me sleep. I need something to make the pain go away.  The pain doctor prescribed oxycodone for the pain.  Like the other things, the pain stayed but I got dopey so I didn't care.  The pain doc wanted to do a procedure that involves sticking needles in my legs and running electricity through them to kill the nerve pain.  

 

So... last week I saw my internal medicine doctor, Dr Bhushan.  Dr. B was against that procedure Genicular Nerve Treatment.   Too risky and it might not work or it could do permanent damage.    Dr B prescribed Gabapentin which is a muscle relaxer.  It seemed to help .  Then I went to Dr Klein, orthopedic doctor who prescribed a "steroid pack".  The combination of the steroids and the Gabapentin seems to do the trick.  I am still stiff and sore, but I don't have jolting, searing pain going through me.  I am feeling optimistic!

 

It is so nice to be able to look forward.  To anything.  No, I am still not up to taking a long flight or drive.  Not sure I will ever be able to walk distances like I used to. But I can dream.

 

In that vain (vein?), I fantasize  about visiting the kids- not really that far fetched.  I have a fantasy about traveling.  Where to?  Oh my.  

I would like to go to the UK with Nick.  See my friend Sarah Hung who I know from Hong Kong. She lives in the UK now.  How about Paris to see Joniece.  Haven;t seen her since high school, but we have laughs on Facebook! Travel around being tourists.   I want to go to Oslo and Tromso then?  Maybe Poland and Germany.    Onward to Germany maybe?  See how Berlin has changed.   

Thailand- Bangkok to see Ampia and Chiang Mai to see Alex and Julie and whatever old LLL friends who still live there.

 

Of course I want to go to Perth.   I don't know how that would be.  We would not be able to stay in "our" house of course.   I'd love to visit Melbourne gt in touch with Tracy Bartrum (who I know from Perth) and Next will be New Zealand to visit my Claire- also someone I know from Perth, and then to see my cousin Molli Thompsen who lives in Wellington.     

I could go on and one.  yes I am a dreamer.  And I guess that this dreaming is an indication that I am feeling better!

 

As long as I am on a roll with my rambling, I will write about something else that's on my mind.  I know that I won't be alive forever.  I hope I will be around for quite a few more years- but there are no guarantees.   I would like to write a letter to each of the kids and tell them how much I love them and how special they are to me in their own unique ways.  They are all wonderful people.  They baffle me sometimes.  How did they get to be who they are?  And who are they?  I just love them so much I want them to have that gift of a letter.  I hope it will happen and I will do that writing.

 

Galileo's first two teeth!

 

 

And the last thing I am thinking about.   Cheeks.  Specifically baby cheeks.   I look at photos of my grandson, Galileo and imagine rubbing my cheek against his smooth wonderful, baby soft cheeks.   It is so basic and primal.  I did it with all of my babies.   It's love and connection and sensual and soft.   

Yes, my kids get tired of me saying how I remember them as babies.  Okay, be annoyed.  But you are a part of me.  You have my and your dad's DNA.  You grew inside of me and I nurtured and nourished you with my body.    So be nice to me!