Cold

You know it’s cold outside when the cold water from the kitchen faucet (which is cold) steams as you pour it in the goats water bucket. Oh, yeah.

You know your 12-year-old is something of a tyrant when he goes to the door and yells, “Bus!” in order to get his younger brothers outside when the bus is still at least two minutes away and they’ve all been told to stay inside until the bus can be seen at the end of the driveway it does not stop at.

How cold is it? Cold enough to freeze on instant contact the hairs in your nose. Cold enough that your face hurts after being out for the approximate two minutes it takes to dump a gallon of water in the bucket for the goats and dump their grain and vegetable scraps in the black thing we dump that stuff in. Cold enough to freeze your mittens, which you didn’t realize were wet, to the gate into the goat pen. Cold enough to register -4° and weather.com says it feels like -16°. Yes, I know that some of you who might be reading this have experienced colder temperatures. I am sorry. When it gets down below 0, it’s just cold and I would like to have a recount of votes because this is just plain ridiculous. It’s cold enough that I’m going to wait to finish feeding the goats. They need another pitcher of water and they need hay. And they don’t seem particularly excited about being outside.

I have it—you know how we’re supposed to be experiencing global warming and that clearly is a croc but is supposedly caused by the actions of us humans? Well, wouldn’t it be funny if our actions are actually causing global cooling? Because that’s what it feels like. I don’t remember temperatures like this when I was a kid. (Did I say that? Hmmmm, my mother has a goat. That’s food for thought.)

Yesterday was an okay sort of day. I am hungry.

Now I am no longer hungry. I don’t really feel like sitting here, either.

Yesterday during the day I don’t feel like I accomplished much. Dishes and laundry and that’s about it. I did get some knitting done. Once everyone was home from school, I got pork chops ready and ‘fried’ rice together in the crock pot for dinner so it would be ready even though I would be gone. Paul reports that it went over well; everyone had seconds and I can see that there aren’t many leftovers.

Are things or people more important?

Class was good. Liz was there reading during her shift as there were no laboring women. After class, Liz and I stayed for about an hour talking to Meredeth. I am so glad that I am doing this doula program if for no other reason than I got to meet Meredeth. I would love to really dig in and discuss some of what we talked about last night but I really just don’t feel that would be entirely appropriate because I would likely be too specific or not specific enough.

I can say this, though. Hospital birth is medicalized and pregnant women and their partners are brainwashed. Not enough women take childbirth education classes and I’m sure they aren’t all equal but if more took Meredeth’s classes, or ones even similar, I think it might make a difference. Women say they couldn’t give birth at home. Well, why the heck not? I’m not so different from these women but my experiences mean nothing to them. “Oh, I could never do that!” they say. Why the heck not?

Just makes me mad and gives me a headache that people can be so stupid. I’m not saying that all women should have their babies at home. I would like to say that they should question everything and everyone. I have to have an IV? Why? I have to have the monitor on? Why? You think I should have this or that or the other? Why? Etc., etc., etc. Oh, so you’re a doctor. Well, that’s great. Have you ever given birth? No? Well I suppose there’s time. No? Well, you are a man so I would guess not. Yes? Were you put through all this crap? Have you any feelings? Can you make my kidneys filter blood and produce urine? Can you make my pancreas work? No? Well, how about we just let my uterus do its job without all these interventions?

On my list of things to do today include FAFSA work, applications to colleges, contacting Birth Wise, and doing homework as well as a few other things because I believe that women deserve to have intelligent choices and if I don’t do my part, who will?

Have a great day!