Hannukkah

So Hanukkah started.  I brought out the Menorah, I got out the candles, I couldn't find the readings by the love of my life knew where they were.  We got already and set up and we started to do the readings.  I got all tearful and choked up and he had to read the whole rest of the deal and I realized, again, how much I feel alienated and alone.  It really has nothing to do with religious preference other than the fact that I live in an area where there is not a synagogue, and therefore not Jewish community, and therefore not a lot of other people who think like I do.  Well, maybe there are not a lot of people who think like I do anyway.  Which brings me to the current quandary!  At work, I deal with people all the time.  When I first started in business I had women flocking to see me for care.  I worked really hard.  I tried to be respectful.  I tried to do a good job.  I think I did a good job, not a perfect job, but a good job.  I became hugely overworked, overtired, and overstressed.  I got a partner to help with the workload.  She is everything I am not.  I am outspoken.  I am directive.  I have high expectations for myself, and I do not expect anything from anyone else that I would not do myself.  I am a co-worker, NOT a friend to everyone who works in the office (I have a life away from work).  I give my all to the patients I take care of, but I have a life outside of work and I want to live that too!  I often have a hard time when patients I have previously taken care of get delivered by my midwife partner.  I know that I cannot have it both ways, but I still wish I could.  Darn, I'm only human and there is only one of me.  I cannot be two places at the same time.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I love getting together with my family and a bunch of ingredients and laughing and joking and creating food as well as great memories.  This year was no different.  We got together at our youngest daughter's home and created a wonderful feast.  We had one food failure, that was the Brussels sprouts.  We had one food overage, that was the sweet potatoes.  We had delicious turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, and stuffing.  We had good wine and great company.  The only thing missing was the chaos.  When the whole family is together, there is lots of noise, and talking, and laughing, and joking, and pushing, and shoving and a great time had by all.  We had a good time, but it was quiet.  We did turn our ingredients into good food, eat well, play games, go for a walk and enjoy ourselves.  Life is good. 

On the Midwifery front, I had several people who were due on the time I was to be out of town.  Sadly, every single one of them delivered without me.  They all had nice births.  I don't think I was missed at all.  This is a hard fact for my ego to absorb.  I'm sorry I missed the births.  I really love doing deliveries.  I'm not sorry at all that I had time with my family to have fun and to love life in a way that is unique to families.  I'm still working on the ego thing.

Induction of labor or to everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.

     I read an interesting bit of news this weekend that offers me some hope.  Minnesota has saddled practitioners with a ton of new paperwork for elective inductions prior to 39 weeks.  This is wonderful news.  I  believe that the body knows when/how to go into labor to get the baby out.  I know that we often buy trouble in a big way when we attempt to induce labor when the body is not ready.  Some examples of this are cesarean deliveries because the cervix will not dilate, or stress on the baby during the induction process;  long stays in the hospital as we force the cervix to soften and ripen (which lead to huge bills and tired families);  hard labors that are often more difficult for the birth mother to deal with; and babies that end up in the special care nursery as a result of being born too early or being stressed during the delivery. 
     I get pregnant women who come to care fussing because they are "so miserable".  They often asked to be induced so they can:  have their favorite practitioner deliver them, stop hurting, eat more, breathe easier, start to lose weight, start to gain weight, not be nauseated, have their Mother with them, get the baby out before hunting season, have the baby's father at the birth, not be in the hospital over someones birthday or the next holiday. . . you get the idea.  Each and every woman thinks that she has a valid and workable reason not to continue to be pregnant.  The problem is that this means making the body do something (give up the baby) before whatever universal powers there are, have decided that it is time to launch this new spirit into the world. 
     There are several issues at work here.  One is the practitioner belief that no one should have pain or be uncomfortable.  Not every practitioner has this belief, but those that do, use induction freely.  Two is the practitioner belief that if the pregnant woman expresses the belief that only one practitioner is capable of delivering the ideal birth experience for this woman, with this pregnancy.  Induction often ensues, because practitioners want to keep their clients happy and coming back to them for future pregnancies.  Practitioners also depend on referrals from happy clients.  If a practitioner doesn't provide the induction on demand, that is portrayed as a mark against the practitioner.  Three is the belief that with modern medicine the baby can be taken care of, no matter what the issues.  Even if we caused the problem with an early induction.  Truth be told, modern medicine does a moderately good job of taking care of the problems caused by early deliveries. This also contributes to the problem of induction on demand, because both the practitioner and the client begin to believe we are in control of birth.  We are not.  The new law in Minnesota doesn't say that a practitioner can't do an early induction, it just doesn't pay the practitioner if the paperwork for justification is not all filled out and submitted.  I hope this is the start of the pendulum swinging the other way, back to allowing nature to give baby a birthday, not the practitioner.

Huh?

I want to share some things that have been said to me in my professional capacity as a midwife.  These are from adults, people who are having babies. . .

• "I'm having contraptions, I don't know what to do."
• I'm pretty sure my atomic fluid is broke!" or "I've got that atomic fluid coming out."
• "I don't have sex when I'm pregnant, I don't want my baby's head to look like a golf ball."
• "When do I get my epidermal?"  (epidermis = skin/epidural = pain control in labor)
• "My pussy has a cold, there is green stuff coming out."
• "I'm nervous about you seeing my HooHa."
• "I haven't done any landscaping down there recently, I can't see."  (Yep, don't drive the mower, if you can't see.)
• "Is my baby liable?"  or "I thought this ultrasound was for liability."
• "I plan on medication in labor so I don't need childbirth education."
• "We are not taking childbirth education, because we don't believe in that public touch/feeley stuff."
• "After this baby comes, I want that tubal litigation."  or "I want that tubular so I don't get pregnant anymore."
• "Can Dad cut the biblical cord?"
• "I don't plan to breastfeed, because that makes it really hard to leave the baby."  (Why have a baby if you don't want to be with it?)

I'm sure there are more, I just can't think of them right now. 

An observation and attestation

When my life mate retired from the military, and it was my turn to choose where we lived, I chose a small town.  I liked the feel of meeting people you know where ever you go.  I liked the slower pace, the laid back attitudes and the over all more personal feel.  I actively looked for employment in a small town.  I didn't exclude big cities, they just weren't on the top of my list.  So it is no surprise that I got a job in a small town.  Which for the most part, I love.  However, one thing that is not discussed when talking about a small town is the fact that everyone knows every one's business.  My partner once took another woman to dinner, with my blessing (I was out of town).  It took only 4 days for me to hear about this when I returned to the area.  Because I work in the public eye and I have delivered lots of babies whose parents I see when I'm out, My grown children refuse to go out shopping with me because they think it takes 4 hours to purchase a gallon of milk.  My life mate just walks on and finishes the task at hand and waits for me in the car.  This kind of notoriety is both a blessing and a curse.  As long as everything is good and the general perception is that I'm a great provider then the talk about me is good.  The corollary to this is that if things are not happy and the general perception is that I have screwed up or lost my temper, or done a bad job then the talk is not so good.  In a big city this would not be an issue, because it is not a closed group of individuals.  In a small town, the impact of word of mouth is huge!  Now, I NEVER.Ever.Ever. go to work and say whose life can I mess up today, I really want to anger or frustrate someone today.  NO!! everyday I go to work to do the best job that I am capable of at that moment.  I love my job, I love what I do.  Sometimes, I get frustrated with the situations I am handed but  I always do the best that I am capable of at that moment.

Thinking

Sometimes, when I'm mostly rested, and have some time on my hands and the house is really quiet, I think about what it would be like to have littles in the house again.  I honestly do think about fostering, or adopting.  I.LOVE.MOTHERING!!!  I think about how I could work it so that I was still involved with littles, instead of the grown up versions.  I think about the noise and the chaos and the joy of discovery and learning.  I think about how proud I am of my littles who are now grown up and leading lives of their own.  I think I could do mothering littles again.  Then sanity takes over and I realize that I treasure my time with my partner.  I absolutely adore sleeping in.  I anticipate travel to far off places.  All these things taken into consideration, I'm pretty sure I'm right where I need to be at this time in my life.

Change is good

Fall has arrived and I put the flannel sheets on the bed yesterday.   When I crawled into the bed, I realized that I was really excited that it was cooler and we could use the flannel sheets.  Then I started thinking about change.  I realized that I really like it when the seasons change from the hot, hot summer to the cool fall and the leaves change colors and are so beautiful.  I realized that I really like it when the rains come and the sky is grey and soft and quiet and much of the time our home is in the clouds.  With further contemplation I realized that I also really like it when the sun is bright and shiny after grey, rainy days.  With further reflection I realized that I am charmed by the really cold clear nights when it looks like you can touch the stars, but I am comforted by the totally socked in nights when there is limited sound and light.  I also love the long, long days of summer, when the night seems to take forever to arrive.  I decided that change is good, and it is one mechanism to help us realize what an amazing world we share!  Life is good.

Life and Death

Not long ago, I got a message from a very dear, long time friend telling me that her husband, also a long time, dear friend had been killed in a freak boating accident and she wanted to let us know. We were totally blown away, shocked! We got to know C&D when we lived in Ohio. We both had young children, busy lives, and struggles for careers. We did lots of things together. It was one of those relationships that is so very special because everyone gets along so well together. It is not, I think, often for two women to have a great relationship and for their husbands to get along as well. We had the added joy of having 4 little girls between us that grew and played well together. It was an idyllic time. C&D were wonderfully in love as were my husband and I. There was mutual respect in all directions. C&D were wonderfully supportive, mellow and fun. In great part, we parented similarly and thought alike.

Life intervened and we moved, as life in the Air Force dictates. This was not the end of our friendship. We continued to be in touch with C&D intermittently. Their children grew up and went out on their own, as did ours. We continued intermittent contact, but never lost sight of the wonderful years of friendship and support we shared with C&D. In fact, I have a drawing, done by their daughter, in my office as well as a picture of D and their daughter taken by C. I treasure both and often think of C&D and our lives together.

Now, I am forced to rethink life and the fragility of personal connections. I have exposed to the realization that instead of C&D suffering this devastating loss it could be me. I discovered that I cannot begin to comprehend what my life would be like with S. I never imagined C without D or for that matter D without C. This was just not a part of my reality, now it is. My heart aches for C. She is now completely alone, without a help mate, solace or soft place. She will recover, but forever there will be that part of her that is missing. That part that she willingly, lovingly, openly gave to D. There are not words to describe the grief and the loss. I pray for strength, and patience, and love, and peace, and understanding.

Breastfeeding Frustrations

In my life, personally and in my life professionally and academically every bit of information I have points to the fact that breastfeeding is the very best way to feed a newborn. If human women were not equipped to breastfeed from the first day of life, and human babies were unable to figure out how to breastfeed - I wouldn't be writing this because the human race would not have survived. So (rhetorically) how is it that now that we have bottles and formula babies can't/don't figure out how to grasp the nipple and suckle and Moms miraculously (note sarcasm) don't have milk? I get so frustrated with the nurses, the patients, the grandmothers, aunts, cousins, girlfriends and the pediatricians who quickly point out that if breastfeeding is "just too much" giving a bottle is an acceptable thing to do. Many of the Moms I take care of are young, idealistic, impressionable and initially want to breastfeed because it is best for the baby. They get started and find out that as THE MOM they actually have to put some effort into feeding their baby and all thoughts of breastfeeding go out of their brains AND they are completely supported, nudged, cajoled and bullied into feeling like formula feeding is really the best. When I do my education bit about breastfeeding being supply and demand and babies needing close contact (so they want to be at the breast all the time to feel safe) I am met with bewilderment that they would have to take their babies EVERYWHERE with them and actually hold them and suckle them wherever they are. I don't know how to reach these Moms and I am quite frankly frustrated.

Narcotics

Last weekend I had the weekend off, and it was my only weekend off for the next 3 weeks, as my Midwife partner has a daughter getting married and she took time off to be the Mother of the Bride. So, we went to the coast on Friday. We had a wonderful day with lots of walking, hiking, geo caching and finally a lovely dinner at a secret little place where you can sit on the cliffs above the ocean, out of the wind. When we were finished with our yummy dinner we decided to walk out to the point, just because we could. Now, we were in a state park that closes at 8p.m. so we were in a bit of a hurry, as we were pretty sure that the Ranger would be along to hustle us out of the park because it was 8p.m. We were laughing and being silly and I was not paying too much attention (obviously). I turned my ankle, flipped head over heals and ended up sliding down a small hill, in fairly serious pain. I got grass stains all over my clothes and once I had righted myself and butt crawled back up the hill we noted that my ankle was huge, and really, really colorful, almost immediately. Stu ran and got the car and helped me in and we visited the nearest ER to discover that I had broken my ankle. I got a boot to stabilize the foot/leg and crutches. I also got some super power ibuprofen and some narcotics. I took the ibuprofen. I actively choose NOT to take the narcotics and I did NOT fill the script for more narcotics that the ER doc gave me either. I was told not to weight bear, not to drive but to ice and elevate and see my orthopedic specialist. Back to Roseburg we came, arriving home about midnight and ruining a perfectly good weekend off, because there were still two more days of the weekend and it was obvious that I was not going to be doing anything fun.

The weekend finished and the week started, but I laid home with my foot in the air and ice intermittently on the ankle. No work on crutches, because I was not to weight bear or drive. Thursday finally came and we went to Eugene to see the ortho guy who said "everything is in great alignment. Start weight bearing and keep the boot on for the next 2 weeks and then wean out as the pain allows." Yea, hooray, I can walk (hobble) and return to work.

Friday comes and I have a labor at the hospital. I go in to the hospital early in the morning to be with my patient. It is a long, long day with lots of stress and walking around. I get really tired and my leg starts to hurt - a lot. One of the family members who is in my patient's room asks how I'm doing and I comment that my ankle hurts. Three visitors in the room pipe up and offer me NARCOTICS FROM THEIR PURSES. Three different types of narcotics from three different people. I.was.completely.taken.aback!! Now, Not Only am I at Work, but I am making life and death decisions about their loved one, not to mention that it is illegal to give your narcotics to other people . I was shocked beyond comprehension. I don't drink alcohol when I'm on call. I don't take narcotics if I can avoid it. Yet, narcotic use is so common place that these people have their narcotics in their purse while visiting at the hospital, and are willing to share!!!! Go figure!!!

Life in the fast lane!!

My midwife partner has been gone the last week and I have done 12 births. This is a lot (2/day). This is the number of births I was doing prior to her coming to be my partner. I find that it is difficult to separate myself from my work when there is that much going on at work. It is difficult to enjoy relaxing at home because I'm so darned tired that all I want to do is sleep. I know that I do get into my work and I focus on my work and I have a hard time switching hats back to that wife, home person who wants to do things with my life mate. When my midwifery life is crazy, I just want to sleep/rest/read/doze when I'm home because I know that pretty quick I'm going to get called to go be with someone for a birth. My personal life suffers. I don't like the push/pull tug-of-war that happens when my midwifery life over powers my personal life. Not sure what to do about this, but I'm pretty sure something needs to be done. Time will tell.

Gratitued

Last night I did a birth for a young woman. I had worked with her twice before for baby girls, this time it was a boy. They had decided that this would be their last. After the baby was born and had nursed, been bathed and the room cleaned. The big sisters came to the hospital with Grandpa to see their new baby brother. It was neat to see them hold the baby and interact with their new baby brother. There was joy and talking and laughing. Life was good. Then to top it off, Grandpa came up to me and gave me a big hug and said "Thank you for helping my daughter with her babies. I know this is the last grandchild we will have from her. You did a great job." I was so proud, I could have popped my buttons had I been wearing any. It was really nice to be recognized for my contribution to starting an awesome family.

Back to work

After a lovely vacay with the family in England and Scotland, I have returned to the land of the real. The good news is it has gone better than I expected. The bad news is that I still need to work. Our weather in Oregon has been no different than the weather abroad, rainy, windy, grey and interspersed with bits of sunshine. The office has been busy. I returned to find out that the computer in one of the exam rooms had died completely (hard drive failure) and so I have needed to carry in the lap top room to room. This works, except I need more battery power for the lap top than it has. By the end of the day - I have to carry the power cord and plug in. This is frustrating. So far, though, this has been my biggest frustration, and I'm O.K. with that. My midwife partner leaves tomorrow for vacation and she will be back in May - so it is a long stretch on call for me. Hopefully, I will not get too over tired, have terrible births, or deal with rude people.

Back across the pond and home again

Very, very, early, April 10th, Saturday morning (3:45a.m. UK time) we got up and Adam drove us to the airport in Manchester where we caught a flight to Amsterdam. In Amsterdam, we changed planes and flew to Portland where we caught a hop to Eugene from whence we drove home stopping only for a bit of dinner.

As I write this note, I am re-living the wonderful times we had with our family. We shared good times, talked about hard things and walked and walked and walked. We walked, on average, about 6 miles each day of the vacation. The kids aged 8,6,4, and of course 3 walked everywhere the adults did with essentially no complaining. I am so happy to have had the opportunity to share this bit of life with them. Olivia and I decided that we could readily live together in a commune and share more of our lives together. Adam and I talked about life after the Air Force. Stu and I talked about where we go from here and what else we want to accomplish in this life.

I chuckle about the language differences between English and American. While on the highway we stopped for a potty emergency and I took the kids in to the bathroom while Olivia got fuel. The door of the Women's room had a sign that read "operative on duty". I didn't know if I could go into the bathroom or not. I sure didn't have any state secrets to give up and was confused about the function of said operative. The sign, I find out, means that the rest room is being cleaned at the moment. I also discovered "jacket potatoes" which are potatoes baked in foil. I frequently saw signs on the round abouts that say "give way" which in America means yield. There were many more language bits which made me smile and think and I am reminded how fun it is to play with words.
For now we are home, tomorrow I start the day with a 7:30a.m. C-section and a full slate of patients. I'm already wishing I was back on vacation.

Leila's Birthday

From the moment we arrived in the UK, Leila told us that her birthday was April 9th and she would be 3 years old. She also informed us that we were having home made pizza for dinner. This means that the kids each get dough for a personal pizza which they roll out and they add their own toppings. She also said she wanted chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. So we had our work cut out for us especially since we would be in Scotland until the Thursday before her birthday.
We arrived back in Leeds late Thursday (April 8), exhausted and happy after our Scotland adventure. We made chocolate fondant - yes chocolate! so that it could sit all night and be ready to put on the birthday cake on Friday.
On Friday, we wrapped presents, we attempted to clean, sort, pick and put. We went to the market, baked a cake, mended and sewed. Friday afternoon the presents found their way into the living room while the kids were outside playing. Leila passed by and noticed the presents and came into the kitchen and told her Mom excitedly "My presents came!!" Like Olivia wouldn't know this already. We worked the chocolate fondant into a sheet and covered the chocolate cake that Olivia made. I spent the remainder of the time until dinner playing with the fondant and making hearts and roses to put on Leila's cake. The kids made their pizzas and the adults made their pizza and we had a delicious birthday dinner. Then Leila opened presents, the kids had cake and went to bed and a delightful birthday celebration was had by all.

Another day - another castle

On April 8th we started our trip back to Leeds. We woke early, had a bit of breakfast, packed up our "stuff", loaded the cars and headed out. We stopped in Edinburgh and had a proper English breakfast (veg) consisting of eggs, toast, haggis, tomatoes, potato scone, corn cake and tea. After breakfast we started home. Along the way, surprise - We visited another castle, Bamburgh castle. This castle is still lived in and has 14 apartments which are available/occupied. This castle is privately owned and is a showplace for the family treasures for many generations and was not really a defensive castle in English history. We took a leisurely walk thru the parts that were open. Went down to the stables and the kid had a play in the stalls. We then loaded back into the car and continued the drive back to Leeds.

A castle in a loch - Loch Leven

We visited yet another castle on the 7th of April - this one in the middle of a lake. We took the ferry over and it was a pleasant ride. The castle was mostly ruins, but there were underground rooms that we could access as well as one remaining tower that had been stabilized and had access. The children had a wonderful time exploring, running and playing Tig. The island was peaceful and beautiful. We spent a couple of hours there and then went down to the dock to await the ferry for our return to the mainland.

Once back to the mainland we planned our lunch and our afternoon journey. There was a trail that went about 12k around the Loch and had many geocaches hidden along the way. Stu and I took the cooler and the kids and started on the hike. Olivia and Adam took both cars and drove to the end of the trail where they left one car. They both got into the same car and drove back to the beginning of the trail, parked, and the hiked over to where Stu and I were feeding the kids lunch. They had some lunch too and we got started on our hike! We hiked the entire 12k (about 8 miles), found almost all the geocaches and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The kids walked, ran, skipped all the way under their own power. We saw swans. We saw gliders launch and fly. We saw para-sails. We saw deer. We saw bunnies. All in all a good time was had by all. Again we went out for dinner and then back to our flat in Edinburgh totally exhausted one and all!

Falkirk Wheel & Stirling Castle

Today we visited a tribute to modern engineering the Falkirk Wheel which is a mechanism designed to move boats from one level to another without the use of locks. It is absolutely amazing. We were able to take a boat ride in the wheel. It was fun and so quiet. We were able to get some fantastic pictures, have a nice ride, and enjoy more time with our family. Originally, there were a series of canals in Scotland to move goods from the ocean to the inland. Over time the canals were used less and less and then fell into decay. The Scots decided that they were going to re-open the canals for pleasure boat/recreational use. Rather than re-create all the locks they created the Falkirk Wheel - it is now a big tourist attraction.

After the boat ride we had a picnic in the cars - too wet, windy and cold to picnic outside. Then we drove on to Stirling Castle. Stirling Castle dates from the early 1100's. It is in a strong defensive position with the castle built on stone face on three sides of the hill. The geologic formation is that of a volcanic Crag and Tail which is the result of glaciation and is prevalent in Scotland. The Castle was incredible and we had a fantastic afternoon wandering about, learning some British history and being amazed at what was accomplished without use of modern machines and architecture. It was truly fantastic. There were plenty of exhibits to keep the children interested. After we had obtained appropriate education and English culture for the day we went back into Stirling and had a delightful dinner, then back to Edinburgh for a sleep to prepare for another adventure tomorrow!

Holyrood House & Edinburgh Castle

We have now traveled the length and breadth of the Royal Mile. Yesterday we visited Holyrood House where the queen stays when in Scotland (directly across from the Scottish Parliament). This is at the lower end of the Royal Mile. Holyrood House and the Abbey are spectacular. We very much enjoyed the visit and the education. (I personally am fascinated with Mary Queen of Scots and need to learn more about her life.) Today we hiked up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle and toured there. Among other things we saw the honours of Scotland (crown, scepter, and sword) which are very impressive. We also saw Edinburgh from the castle mount. The history is amazing. The views spectacular. The weather wet and blustery. We all came back to the flat with wind burned cheeks.

The children are amazing. We are walking between 6 and 8 miles daily. They are also making some interesting observations. Elie realized and commented that only Christians were involved with the Scottish Monarchy. Isaac gave me gray hear by lifting his feet off the ground while leaning out the hole in the wall where the cannon's were fired. Talia focused on being cute. Leila shared with me that "Mommy told me that I don't have to wash my hands after I go potty" which Olivia claims to have no knowledge of this statement. They read the menus in the restaurants and order for themselves. This has been a challenge as we are in the midst of passover which means that we do not consume wheat, spelt, barley, rye, and oats so no bread, oatmeal, or beer!!

Holy Island

Today we were on our way to a Castle south of Edinburgh and we took a turn for the wild. My daughter, who is the driver of the lead car (we can't all fit into one vehicle) saw a sign for Holy Island and immediately took the turn. Stating that she remembered reading about Holy Island 10 or 15 years ago in a National Geographic. So after a family discussion and a quick check of the tide tables we proceeded out the causeway to the island. The thing about Holy island is that it is a huge castle that is only accessible at low tide. At high tide, the causeway is completely under water. So we arrived at the island, got parked and then we hiked out and up to the castle. It is truly amazing. It is part of the British National Trust, and has been preserved/cared for/maintained. We were able to go out onto the parapet and see the places the cannons had been. We were able to travel thru 10 main rooms. We saw where there were newer additions (a mere hundred years old) and we admired beautiful antique furniture. We left the island about 40 minutes before the high tide mark and just got off the island when we were stuck in a que at a railway gate. We were worried that some were going to be stuck on the causeway but it appeared to have resolved prior to the high tide. After a lunch in the car (tuna salad on matza) because by now the wind is howling around us, we headed into Edinburgh for more adventured. We are now installed in our flat after a yummy Turkish dinner. (Keeping kosher for passover while traveling in a foreign country is a unique challenge all its own.)

Happy Pesach

Today was spent cooking and cleaning and picking and putting and sorting and preparing. Tonight, we shared the seder and the meal with family. The kids were wonderful and three of the four actually read from the haggadah. We did the passover story completely and the children did a talent show for us before we ate the festive meal. We had a delicious dinner and then we finished the passover story and had delightful family singing. It was wonderful! Tomorrow, we will cook again and after dark we will share the second night seder with our family and their friends. The only thing that would make it better would be to have our daughter and her husband from Portland here with us also!

Travel across the pond

My last post was ages ago, and work continues on and on so I won't belabor that point. The great thing is that months ago we planned a vacay with our daughter and son-in-law and the 4 grand children at their home in England. So Olivia had her thyroid surgery, had a bit of recovery (2 weeks) and now we are both here with them for some real fun.

My last week of work was treacherous, long hours and hard births. Then I picked up an upper respiratory infection which has left me sounding like a seal at feeding time. However, at the appointed hour we boarded the large metal tube, with several hundred of our closest friends, for the long days night across the pond. I was thrilled to note, when seated in the aircraft, that there were others who sounded just like I did. This was perfect because then I did not draw undue attention to myself while coughing and choking. We traveled thru Amsterdam which is totally weird because we flew right across our destination and then back-tracked. None the less, we made it. The family picked us up at the airport in Manchester England and we spent the day visiting some of the sights of Manchester. We went to the Manchester Museum and the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry. It is delightful to get the grand children's take on things in the museums as we flew by. They quickly peruse the exhibits and then ask to go to the next room. They push every button, lift every lid, tug every rope or chain, and generally attempt to "DO" everything. They stop to read only when forced, and 3 of the 4 now read. It is a blast sharing their explorations with them. After the museums we went to a street called the curry mile filled with an amazing selection of, you guessed it, restaurants serving middle eastern food - yummy! After this we walk back to the car park and the 90 minute drive to the kid's house and blessedly bed. We had a long sleep and today after a yummy brunch of eggs, home fries, and banana pancakes we headed off to a brewery about an hour from where the kids live. We arrive and the Dads take the tour, as children under 10 (which all are) are not allowed in the brewery. Olivia and I take the take the kids on a walking tour of Masham (the village where the brewery is located), visit a delightful chocolate shop and then back to meet the Dads so Olivia and I can take the tour. The Dads take the kids to the pub and give them chips for tea while we are on the tour. We return and have a sample of the beer and provide juice for the very thirsty kids to drink. Then it is off to dinner, Italian this time, then a walk back to the car park and off home. Tomorrow, another day and more adventures. We are cooking for first night seder and will be sharing with all tomorrow night. For now - off to bed, so I can stay awake tomorrow.