canarygirl’s Neighborhood

My husband has a Pre-Vet bachelor's degree, a master's degree in Veterinary Parasitology, and a PhD in Medical Microbiology.

My mother has a bachelor's degree, my father a master's in Education.

My sisters Beth and Esther have degrees in Spanish and Midwifery, respectively.

My little brother is in his last year of medical school, before he begins a cardiology residency.

My three sisters-in-law (Todd's sisters) have between them three bachelor's degree; two of them have already started work towards their master's, one is in the process of applying for a master's program.

My father-in-law has a law degree.

Of my six brothers-in-law, one has a law degree, one a master's in accounting, one a psychology degree, one a bachelor's in social work, one is in medical school (like my brother), one is working on his PhD.

Is it any wonder that I feel like the least educated person in my family? It's because I am!

The idea of why we do this to ourselves is on my mind during finals week as I wrap up this 21-credit hour semester. While I should be revising for my Shakespeare 442 final tomorrow, I am instead reflecting on the alternatives* -- what I would be doing if I wasn't battering my mind against religious dissent in the Middle Ages (and other topics of that ilk).  I remind myself that while I may be the least educated person in my immediate circle -- surrounded as I am by those with multiple graduate degrees -- I am also accomplishing something that three quarters of the population will have neither the opportunity, nor perhaps the ability or desire to accomplish. All of this work will be worth it when I model for my kids the value of education, and when they see the legacy they have been left by their parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles.

*And stuffing my face with chocolate. That goes hand-in-hand with finals. 

 

We went to a living nativity tonight. Libby is now desperate to convert to the church that put it on. "So, how exactly do you join a church?" she has asked me at least half a dozen times.

 

 

 

"I was wondering," she said, "why there are only two tickets?"

"Because just you and I are going," I replied.

"WOO HOO!" was her response.

On the way home, we belted out a duet of "Silent Night" which was exquisite...ly painful to hear.

it's raining out, and i'm watching "benji the hunted".

WHY am i doing this to myself...on a saturday afternoon?!

"It's not a competition for who does more to help around the house. But if it was, I'd be winning."

We both think we do the most. Nothing will change our minds.

Je n'ai pas poste depuis longtemps !

Je suis bien devenue Lactation Educator and Counselor comme prevu, mais j'ai finalement decide de ne pas poursuivre afin de devenir Lactation Counsultant car les etudes sont longues et les debouches incertains quand on n'est pas aussi infirmiere diplomee et qu'on doit se faire connaitre dans la region. J'ai alors opte pour devenir Postpartum Doula. J'ai fait une nouvelle formation fin septembre et ai commence a travailler en octobre. Je devrais etre diplomee d'ici quelques mois, j'ai encore pas mal de travail et de documents a fournir.

Ce travail me plait enormement. Cela implique beaucoup de changements pour moi, et aussi pour le reste de la famille et particulierement Maelys qui est maintenant en garde partagee (nanny share) 4 jours par semaine. L'adaptation s'est bien passee, elle s'est habituee en 2 a 3 semaines (y compris a dormir la-bas). L'autre enfant est un petit garcon adorable de 4 mois de moins... il y a donc un decalage dans les rythmes et les siestes, ce qui pose quelques problemes encore non resolus. Mais la nanny (Betty) nous plait et c'est tres pratique car a 5 min de chez nous a pied. Betty etant originaire du Honduras, Maelys apprend l'espagnol et nous demande maintenant a boire en disant "gua, gua" :-)

Depuis que j'ai commence ma nouvelle activite je travaille 2 a 5 jours par semaine, par tranches de 4 a 6 heures. De semaine en semaine mon planning change, suivant les besoins des familles, les nouvelles opportunites, mes propres disponibilites. Il n'y a pas de contrat, et je travaille avec chaque famille generalement lors des 3 premiers mois de leur bebe. C'est donc un laps de temps assez court, et des horaires irreguliers, avec pas mal d'incertitudes et cela demande de la flexibilite. Mais pour le moment cela me convient, je m'adapte. Le plus difficile reste de se faire connaitre, d'otenir des entretiens avant la naissance si possible, et d'en faire le plus possible car bien sur je ne suis pas choisie a tous les coups ! Alors j'ai fait imprime des cartes de visite et surtout j'ai un site web... loin d'etre parfait mais qui me permet de commencer. Si vous ne savez pas ce qu'est une postpartum doula et voulez en savoir plus, tout y est explique (mais en anglais ;-).

http://maternitydoula.com/

Kids to school. American Women Poets. Current Political Ideology. Black Women Writers. Presentation. Errands. Medieval Drama. Libby's strings concert. Order pizza. Jacques is two!  Beer. Glee with the kids. Night night.

Update to my earlier post about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill being considered in Uganda.

I'm a big Neil Gaiman fan, and this book didn't disappoint. Gaiman has a great way of creating an entire universe from whole cloth and making it seem totally natural, and The Graveyard Book is a great example of that.

For reasons unknown until the end of the story, an assassin is sent to kill an entire family. He succeeds in killing all but a toddler, who wanders out of the house through the door left open by the assassin and into a neighboring graveyard. The toddler is adopted by the graveyard's "inhabitants", the ghosts of the century's worth of people buried there. The graveyard itself has been set aside as a historical nature preserve, so no the most recent ghosts there are decades old. The ghosts teach him what they know, including how to Fade from other peoples' notice and how move like ghosts move (through walls, etc.) and how to see as the dead see (without light). Silas, another not-alive being in the graveyard, is never explicitly explained, though the reader can infer that he is a vampire or something similar.

And it's a good thing the child (named "Nobody" by the inhabitants of the graveyard) has been so well educated, because the assassin isn't giving up.