Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Oh Brother
My earliest memory is of my brother teasing me. He didn't want me to play with him and his friends, so he was teasing me about not being potty trained. I am sure that I was at that point, but he was trying to embarass me into not following him around like I usually did. He then resorted to climbing a tall, block wall. I got scared and went home crying. My brother teased me my whole life. It eventually got so bad that my parents put a lock on my bedroom door. I would have to lock it and carry the key, just to use the bathroom. As adults, we seem to get along just fine. I talk to his wife.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Mother's Day
I was asked on Mother's Day, what I liked best about being a Mom. I like everything about it. I always wanted to be a Mom. It is the only thing I ever wanted to do. I mothered my baby sister. When I was in junior high school and had to take those dumb occupation tests, I was upset that Mother was not listed as an option. I chose secretary. Those skills are needed for Mothering as well. Actually, there isn't a course that can be taken that can't be applied in Mothering.
I finally settled on architecture. I thought that I could design people's house at home and still be with my kids. I made it through one year and then became pregnant and stopped to be home with my baby.
When my babies were little, I didn't want to put them down. They would sleep in my front pack or on my chest. I never used a baby seat. I held my babies. I even held my babies when I was driving if they were fussy (it wasn't illegal then and my car didn't even have seat belts).
I eventually ended up in the health care field. There is a lot of mothering in health care. I mother my own kids as well as everybody elses. They call me the baby whisperer.
I finally settled on architecture. I thought that I could design people's house at home and still be with my kids. I made it through one year and then became pregnant and stopped to be home with my baby.
When my babies were little, I didn't want to put them down. They would sleep in my front pack or on my chest. I never used a baby seat. I held my babies. I even held my babies when I was driving if they were fussy (it wasn't illegal then and my car didn't even have seat belts).
I eventually ended up in the health care field. There is a lot of mothering in health care. I mother my own kids as well as everybody elses. They call me the baby whisperer.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Grandma Betsy
Last week would have been my Grandma Betsy's 99th birthday. She wanted to live long enough to see the new century and she did. She passed away January 3, 2000. She never was a American citizen. She lived off of my Grandpa's Dutch pension. Her brother passed away the fall before and she let us know that she would be next. I gave a brief tribute about her life at her funeral. The stories that I told were taken from the conversations that we had on the day of her brother's funeral.
When she was a little girl, she was playing with her three brothers in the front yard. The boys were mostly playing and she, being the only girl, felt left out. She jumped up on a tree stump and pretended to see her mother returning from cleaning houses. She teased her brothers by saying that Mom was coming and they all had snotty noses. The boys stopped playing, ran into the house and quickly washed their faces. Eighty years later, she stil regretted teasing her brothers.
When she was a young mother, she had some terrible experiences during the war. She told me stories of how she sent her oldest son, my Dad, to look in the potato fields after they were harvested to find any left overs. She stole a blanket from the Germans and cut it up to make Sunday suits for her boys (My Dad remembers that suit as being very itchy). She was away from home once when the bombs starting falling. She remembered running down the street with her newborn baby. She always thought that I, as a young mother, had things much harder than she did.
She had a job at a hospital, here after she immigrated. She worked in the nursery. She would spend her breaks making sure that all of the babies got their turn at being held and rocked to sleep. She said that there was something beautiful about every one of those babies. I believe that there is something beautiful about everyone. For some people. it requires looking very deep.
Another job she had was monogramming fur coats. I remember stacks and stacks of fur coats at her house. I barely got to touch them, but once, she let my Mom try one on. She very carefully unpicked the lining and then penciled out her design. She would embroidered the ladies initials in the silk lining. She only had one shot at it or it was ruined. She told me to always take your time to do your very best work.
I like to think of her with Grandpa and her family in heaven. She finally got to meet her sister, who died at birth, before Grandma was born. I hope she is happy, looking down on me, with how I have applied the things that she taught me.
When she was a little girl, she was playing with her three brothers in the front yard. The boys were mostly playing and she, being the only girl, felt left out. She jumped up on a tree stump and pretended to see her mother returning from cleaning houses. She teased her brothers by saying that Mom was coming and they all had snotty noses. The boys stopped playing, ran into the house and quickly washed their faces. Eighty years later, she stil regretted teasing her brothers.
When she was a young mother, she had some terrible experiences during the war. She told me stories of how she sent her oldest son, my Dad, to look in the potato fields after they were harvested to find any left overs. She stole a blanket from the Germans and cut it up to make Sunday suits for her boys (My Dad remembers that suit as being very itchy). She was away from home once when the bombs starting falling. She remembered running down the street with her newborn baby. She always thought that I, as a young mother, had things much harder than she did.
She had a job at a hospital, here after she immigrated. She worked in the nursery. She would spend her breaks making sure that all of the babies got their turn at being held and rocked to sleep. She said that there was something beautiful about every one of those babies. I believe that there is something beautiful about everyone. For some people. it requires looking very deep.
Another job she had was monogramming fur coats. I remember stacks and stacks of fur coats at her house. I barely got to touch them, but once, she let my Mom try one on. She very carefully unpicked the lining and then penciled out her design. She would embroidered the ladies initials in the silk lining. She only had one shot at it or it was ruined. She told me to always take your time to do your very best work.
I like to think of her with Grandpa and her family in heaven. She finally got to meet her sister, who died at birth, before Grandma was born. I hope she is happy, looking down on me, with how I have applied the things that she taught me.
Friday, April 2, 2010
New Me
I was born on a Sunday morning at 7:56 a.m. My Mom was twenty years old. My Dad had just turned 24. His birthday party was the night before. I guess I was a little late to help celebrate. I was welcomed by my sister, Debby, was three years old. My brother, Rick, was 14 months old. The doctor put my Mom out (unconsious) and my Dad was not allowed in. the room. My right lung didn't open very well, so I was put into an icubator. My Dad claims that he was not allowed to see me and didn't even know if I was a boy or girl for three days. My Mom disagrees with that story. One thing that they both agree on is that while my Mom and I were in the hospital. My Dad moved the family into my Oma's home. My Mom said that it was strange to go home to a new house.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
No where but UP
The posts that I have written seem very down. I guess that is truly where I am right now and I am not sure why. I hope that I can pick myself up soon. I need to have a physical to make sure that there is nothing wrong that way. The last time I went I was tested as deficient in Vitamin D. I have been taking supplements and tanning once in a while. Low Vitamin D has been linked to depression. I have a strong family history of depression. I will call tomorrow and schedule that. Then I need to go back to making daily lists. Checking things off a list gives me a sense of accomplishment. I have the day off tomorrow. Hopefully it will be a productive day.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Life is short
Life is short. The past few days I have had one coworker's husband pass away and another coworker's husband have a stroke. I need to develop and work on my bucket list. Here is what I have so far. The first was addressed in the first post and that is to finish my bachelor's degree. The rest of the list looks like this, so far:
I want to see fireflies, slide down a glacier, find a manatee in the wild, snorkel in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Gulf of Mexico, see the ruins in South America, take a trip to Europe to see the Netherlands, France and Italy and own my own house. I have always wanted to have a book published. I thought it would be cool to see my name in the card catalog in the library. I guess that alone gives an indication of how old I am. I even started three books. The last one I simply wanted to write the beginning of a book that my sister was going to write. She wanted to write an autobiography. I wrote a preface for her, but she never did anything with it. Now her health has deteriorated so much that I don't think she ever will. I wonder where that preface is. I know it is around my house somewhere because I never throw anything away.
I want to see fireflies, slide down a glacier, find a manatee in the wild, snorkel in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Gulf of Mexico, see the ruins in South America, take a trip to Europe to see the Netherlands, France and Italy and own my own house. I have always wanted to have a book published. I thought it would be cool to see my name in the card catalog in the library. I guess that alone gives an indication of how old I am. I even started three books. The last one I simply wanted to write the beginning of a book that my sister was going to write. She wanted to write an autobiography. I wrote a preface for her, but she never did anything with it. Now her health has deteriorated so much that I don't think she ever will. I wonder where that preface is. I know it is around my house somewhere because I never throw anything away.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Julie and Julia
I just finished watching Julie and Julia. I thought I needed a project also. I am involved in so many things; slave of all and master to none. According to the national average, my life is half way over. Things that I may have accomplished are gone because I never documented them. So here goes...I would like to finish my bachelor's degree before I am fifty years old. I already have my associate's degree, so I am half way there. I am taking on line classes. Actually I already started. I recieved my first "A". today. I have to take one class at a time in order. Eighteen more classes to go. I have signed up for the next class and bought my books. Pathophysiology, here I come.
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