I *HEART* Mirena

The thing about the uterus is that it's a very demanding organ.  When’s the last time you thought about your jejunum? That damned thing is eight feet long, but most people have never even heard of it. Or how about your parathyroid glands? You’d be so up a brown creek if something happened to those, you know.  But, the uterus... it craves acknowledgement and respect.  It needs to have you thinking about it all the time.  From age 12 until finally, mercifully, it rests in dormancy.  A mere 40 years later.

Now, it was a lot easier before babies.  We all just went on the pill for, like, decades.  Had short, light "regular Tampax" periods.  Went off, had a baby, then went back on the pill.  Repeated the process until our families were complete.  Then we sent our husbands to the urologist for a little snip, snip and we thought our troubles are over.  But they certainly were not.

Because then the uterus' monthly tantrums start.  Worse than they ever were before.  The curse of women who have had babies and are now in their late 30s and 40s.  The heavy, gastly things that ruin clothes and bedsheets and make you think of nothing but having a hysterectomy for 5 straight days every month.  A "Super Plus" Tampax plus a maxi-pad, extra long, with wings might allow you to get through the night.  As long as you stayed in one position and then rushed to the bathroom the next morning while somehow keeping your thighs clamped together.

After so many years of suffering under her rule, and taking all she had to offer (thanks for the three kidlets!), I started to daydream about sinister ways to shut the bitch up. 

Simply, there are four choices.  And they follow, with my thoughts on each:

1.  Hormonal birth control:  Pills, shots, implantables, patches, vaginal rings.  Been there, done that.  I'm getting too old and I need to worry about estrogen and strokes and heart attacks.

2.  Hysterectomy:  Big deal of an operation.  Could lead to chronic pain states.  Plus, insurance won't pay and I don't have time for it.

3.  Uterine ablation:  Good option.  My only hesitation is the potential inability to detect uterine cancer due to uterine scar "trapping" the tell-tale bleeding.

4.  Mirena IUD:  What I chose.  (official website)


And I LOVE it!  I mean, I am singing from the hilltops.  Best thing since being pregnant!

You have it inserted in the office, which is really not a big deal.  Then it begins emitting a tiny bit of progesterone (no estrogen!) into the uterus.  None gets into your blood stream so you have absolutely no systemic effects from the hormone.  You still ovulate, your endogenous hormones still cycle normally and monthly.  But because the progesterone causes your uterine lining to thin, you barely bleed.  And after 3-6 months, most women stop completely. 

Yes, it's a miracle. And it lasts for five years.  (Then you can have another one placed.) 

It is fairly expensive up front, and, unfortunately, rarely covered by insurance.  (Unless you're on the dole.  Then it's free.)  But I can guarantee that I will pay for mine in a year with savings gained from skipping the "Feminine Hygeine" aisle.

Anesthesia v. Orthopedics

Some genius, somewhere, made this video and put it on YouTube recently.  I first watched it last week, with a bunch of anesthesiologists.  By the end, were all howling!  Wiping tears, rolling on the floor.  It was one of the funniest things I have ever seen in my life.  Throughout the day, I showed it to more colleagues, orthopedic surgeons, OR nurses.  Everyone, I mean everyone who watched it needed a few minutes to re-compose afterwards.  HIGH-larious to the nth degree. 

So I got home that day and raced into Andrew's study to show him.  He watched and just blinked blankly at the screen.  Looked at me, looked back at the screen, and said "Cool, now let me show you what I've decided to invest our HSA money in this year."

Some things are truly inside jokes.

Whew...

Well it is FINALLY, mercifully, over.  I hope.  (I'll find out in 4-6 weeks.)

The six week cram for my anesthesiology re-certification exam has come to an end.  Which wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't for the fact that I worked 28 of the last 28 days.  And 8 of the past 28 nights.  90-110 hours per week of doing anesthesia, in addition to the cramming.  And then, as always, trying mightily to give my children and husband the vague impression that they are my true priority. 

I had to put books for pleasure down.  I didn't read a single page.  Didn't watch a stitch of TV or a single movie.  Didn't cook or bake at all.  My herb pots are wilting and the garden is weedy.  No exercise beyond walking to work.  No fun days at the pool.  It's been a summer....

But this is what did happen, mostly in my absence:

*Jack went to basketball camp at Roanoke College and loved it.  9 hours a day.  He built up a whole lot of confidence and is really looking forward to rec ball this year.

*Alice went to Patrick Henry High School's annual soccer camp.  She was not a big fan.  It was huge and the kids were mostly older.  Apparently, there was a coach with one arm and that scared her.  And she was afraid of the high school bathrooms.  I told her that I am, too.

*Both girls went to an art camp for a week.  It was run out of the home of a lovely young couple, both of whom are art teachers in the public school system.  The girls absolutely loved it.  And the coolest thing was that they came home with genuine treasures at the end of the week (that will not end up well hidden in the bottom of the garbage can late at night.) 

*The kidlets all attended vacation bible school.  Which was a good thing because at the rate we've been making it to church, they were in dire need of some spiritual enhancement.

*We finally biked the Virginia Creeper Trail.  Loved it and can't wait to do it again.

*Some friends, whom we met a year and a half ago in Europe, came for a visit.  And it was like not a day had passed.  Guess that's why we liked them so much when we met them.

*I found out that iPhones don't travel well on tops of cars.  And I found out the importance of backing the daggone thing up every now and then and what a pain in the ass it is if you haven't.

*I have not seen my baby nieces in far too long.  They are sitting up and babbling and wouldn't know me from the man in the moon now, which just kills me.  But I will be seeing them soon, thank goodness.

*My dad's stage 4 melanoma is wreaking havoc on him psychologically.  And my mother is suffering tremendously as a result.  And there is not a damned thing I can do to help either of them.

*Swim season.  Now this has definitely been a source of much needed positivity this summer.  Andrew, Jack, Alice and Clara all swam and had a blast.  Alice wound up being given the award for Hunting Hill's top 6-and-under female swimmer.  Andrew got the award for the top point earner in the men's 24-39 year old division.  At age 39 and 3/4 I might add.  Jack got the award for most determined swimmer.  He received a beautiful trophy and the coach spoke at the banquet about how Jack had decided this year that he no longer wanted to be an average swimmer.  So he practiced twice a day and really started to distinguish himself as one of Hunting Hill's top swimmers in his age division.  And Clara, my sweet bundle of charisma, received the Hounddog Award.  Her coach, Jourdan, gave a beautiful, tearful speech about how Clara spreads happiness effortlessly.  The Sherman Family was tenth in top scoring Hunting Hills families.  And again, HHCC won the RVAA championships.  (This is a happy paragraph, so I won't dwell on the fact that I was not present at the banquet.  That I was at the hospital, feeling about as low as I'd ever felt, knowing what I was missing.)


So, it's been a summer of highs and lows.  Overall, I feel anxiety, sadness, pride, fatigue.  I really, really am happy that I have 3 1/2 weeks of Topsail time coming up.  I need it bad.

100 Things That Make Me Happy

A friend of mine recently shared her list with me.  I found myself reading and smiling and simultaneously thinking, "There's no way I could come up with one hundred different things that make me happy."

But you know, it has got to be fun to try.  And since I've been working and studying so hard, I'm going to allow myself the pleasure of coming up with a list of my own.  I am happy simply contemplating an hour of thinking about and constructing this list.

 1.  Alice's curls
 2.  watching the surf at sunset
 3.  eating yellowtail and salmon sashimi
 4.  cruising
 5.  planning Disney World trips
 6.  coffee in the morning
 7.  thinking about the evenings my children were born
 8.  the feeling after two glasses of wine
 9.  pranking with my sisters
10.  handmade cards
11.  Christmas mornings
12.  the way Andrew curls into me asleep at night
13.  watching Clara dance
14.  baking
15.  watching something I planted grow
16.  my herb pots
17.  being in my new house
18.  the last 45 minutes of the drive to Topsail
19.  writing
20.  being able to read for a long stretch
21.  movie nights in bed
22.  texting like a teenager
23.  watching the cousins all play together
24.  pictures of Rosie as a puppy
25.  the big chair under the big windows in my room
26.  being with our extended family (parents, siblings, cousins, grandparents)
27.  haunted houses
28.  a slice of a hot loaf of bread
29.  hearing my children laugh
30.  the smell of our house at Christmas time
31.  a steam shower with Andrew
32.  the feel of sliding in between cool sheets
33.  walking the streets of Pompeii under the shadow of Vesuvius
34.  driving along the Amalfi Coast
35.  tater tots
36.  going over and under waves, depending on their size and strength
37.  showering outside
38.  picking crabs
39.  cheering for the Steelers with my Pittsburgh family
40.  my iPhone
41.  going to see a musical theater production
42.  looking in on my sleeping children
43.  sleeping under a down comforter in the winter
44.  decorating the Christmas tree
45.  the feeling of getting it taken down and the house clean after Christmas
46.  watching snow fall from inside a warm house
47.  the vibe all five of us in a hotel room together
48.  Las Ramblas in Barcelona
49.  the fact that my sisters and mother and I end all of our conversations with "I love you."
50.  swimming with dolphins at Topsail
51.  the excitement before a vacation
52.  childhood memories
53.  laughing until my abs ache
54.  knowing I found my soul mate
55.  the smell of cool autumn days
56.  exercising with Andrew
57.  driving my station wagon
58.  talking with lights out in bed before we go to sleep
59.  waking up leisurely without an alarm
60.  an ASA 1 patient
61.  walking through a museum
62.  snuggling
63.  riding Splash Mountain
64.  reading to my girls in bed
65.  Clara's eyes
66.  dinner at home with friends
67.  making old family recipes
68.  my children's names
69.  the fact my extended family no longer exchanges gifts, but travels instead
70.  blogging
71.  photo editing
72.  really spicy foods
73.  Friday nights
74.  airplane meals
75.  my mother's cooking
76.  my son's love of reading
77.  the smell of eucalyptus
78.  classic martinis
79.  my pillows
80.  freshly bathed children in pajamas
81.  my four nieces
82.  the fact that Allison and I both have twin girls
83.  movie nights with all five of us
84.  Thanksgiving dinner blessings
85.  the confidence and satisfaction I have in my late 30s
86.  trips to The Homestead
87.  pedicures
88.  being kissed while Andrew holds my head
89.  purring, kneading cats in bed with me
90.  the way Goose groans when he thinks I'm disturbing him
91.  being on my back deck in the evening
92.  Augusts at the beach
93.  tubing with Allison and Matt
94.  the smell of the Polynesian resort at WDW
95.  eating at Artist Point
96.  watching The Lion King at the Animal Kindgom
97.  the satisfaction I get out of being in my profession
98.  Japanese office supplies, particularly the Uniball Signo pen with lavender-black ink
99.  AOLs Adult Alternative station
100.  the fact that this is, by far, a very incomplete list

That was a really, really nice way to spend an hour. 

Summer Eats

I'm still studying away and have been successfully staying off the computer as of late.  But, it's been tough.  I have so many things I want to write about right now! 

So far, I'm feeling really confident with my recertification prep.  Historically, a score of 67% or so is considered passing and I'm now consistently scoring in the mid-80s on practice tests.  When I started, I was scoring about 67%.  It feels really good to have the information coming back easily.

We've had a great first couple weeks of summer.  Bedtimes have stretched later.  Afternoon naps come easily.  Mornings have a different, more relaxed tone. I still get up early but am enjoying the quietness of the house.  I feed Goose and the cats and sip coffee and eat toast while reading a bit.  The children and Andrew get up sometime later.  Breakfasts for them have evolved from the hurriedly eaten granola bar to hot bowls of slow-cooked oatmeal with fresh fruit or eggs with homemade bread toast.  Summertimes are so nice all around.

Our cruise friends, Kha and Ivy came for a weekend recently.  We got to meet Kha's sweet husband and her adorable baby bump.  They are the kind of friends that no matter how infrequently you see them, you can pick up where you let off.  Effortlessly.  It was a great weekend.

We're now in the thick of swim season and the children are essentially living at the pool.  Alice recently enjoyed a week of soccer camp.  Jack is going to Roanoke College's basketball camp soon and Clara will be attending art camp.  Andrew's mom and dad have been here for a couple of days and we've really enjoyed seeing them.

Our beach trip is around the corner and our summer eating is in full force.  Our garden is being quite generous right now.  Raddishes, squash, tomotoes, beans, lettuce, jalapenos, cucumbers, onions.  I love seeing the children popping onions or tomatoes in their mouths while they are out playing. 

Every summer, it seems I develop a seasonal obsession or two.  Last year it was watermelon.  I ate at least one every two days.  The year before it was sliced cucumbers and radishes soaked in apple cider vinegar with fresh cracked black pepper.  Couldn't get enough.

This year, I have three obsessions.

1.

baby greens +
sliced onions +
freshly grated parmagiano regiano
tossed with balsamic vinegar and white truffle oil

2.

Jack's salsa, hot (from Kroger's prepared food section) +
chopped fresh peaches (preferably from SC, thanks Kha!)+
a handful of chopped cilantro from my deck pot
eaten with tortilla chips or, better yet, a spoon

3.

fresh shucked corn, grilled +
painted with half mayo and half sour cream, both light +
rolled in freshly grated parmagiano regiano +
sprinkled with chili powder +
and drizzled with fresh lime juice
(recent Southern Living recipe)

Mmmmmmm....

(Back to the grind.)

Beach Dreaming

I really, really shouldn't be blogging.  I've got my recertification exam in anesthesiology coming up on July 30th.  I decided to take it at the last minute (about a week ago) after finding out that the price of the exam is increasing by $800 next year, and even if I take it and fail it and have to pay a re-examination fee, it will still be cheaper that waiting until next year to take it.  So really, it's just a practice test at this point but IF I pass, I pass, and that is IT for TEN YEARS!  So I really, really want to pass.  And to do that, I MUST stay off the computer. 

But I just can't help thinking about August at the beach.  The annual month-long sojourn that has become so essential to my mental and physical well-being.

We went for a quickie over Memorial Day weekend and the tease was almost unbearable.  We drove down Friday in time for dinner.  Brought a cooler with beer and juice and stopped in Surf City and picked up pizza.  Drove straight to the beach and had a picnic as the sun set. 

The children walked around the beach, calf-deep in the water, not in their usual play and banter, but individually and quietly.  Staring out at the horizon, and then down at the water swirling around their legs.  Almost as if they were checking-in, reconnecting, if you will, with they ocean that has been a major part of all of their lives since before they were born.  (I spent a lot of time in the waves when I was pregnant with them.)

Andrew and I sat together against a dune and ate and drank and watched the children silently communicating with some force that has no name.  And I don't know if it was the long drive, or the (what is for me) intoxicating sound of the surf, or the beer or whatever.  But I shifted in spirit, too.

I remember when I was young.  Occasionally my parents would have me out late and I would fall asleep in the back seat of the car on the way home.  When we got home my dad would carry me to bed.  Now I always woke up to a certain extent when he carried me in.  But never let on that I was awake because I relished that half-asleep, half-awake feeling of being carried to bed by my strong father.  It was a feeling I absolutely loved.

Sitting on that dune with Andrew, feeling slightly buzzed, with the sun setting and no one else in sight but my children, silent and deep in thought, reminded me of being carried to bed by my father.  Warm, loved and secure.  And my soul, at that moment, existed just outside of it's normal, solid reality.  Mmmm...

Anyhoooo....I am really looking forward to August.  My sister-in-law and her husband and sweet girls will join us for part of the month.  Our four girls are really, really close cousins.  In age and in friendship.  And they love to dress alike.  All four girls love to be, what they say, "twins together."

I just bought all four girls sun dresses to change into after a long day on the beach and a big group outside shower.  In which they will scream and squeal that Jack is peeking at them.  He wouldn't dare and truly has no interest in little girl's bodies.  (Six years of two little sisters running around nude and he is DONE with that!)  And they will certainly toss out buckets of cold water as he walks past.  Poor guy. 

At any rate, Alice and Sydney like blue and Clara and Cameron are pinki-philes.  So I ordered two of each.  And I think they will look adorable in their dresses.  And they will just be thrilled to go out and eat a Mexican dinner in them.

Summer Swim Season is Here!

We had our first swim meet of the season last night and the Shermanators are on a roll!  Hunting Hills Country Club hosted Stonegate and it was a great meet!

Some highlights:

Alice won the girls 6 and under 25 free and Clara got third place.  Out of 20-some-odd girls!  They both got silver times and just looked gorgeous in the water. 

Jack scored in the top of his events (back and free) and was even asked, as a ten year old, to step up to the 11/12 boys division to compete in the 200 free relay.  Which they won.

And Andrew, God love him, barely made it to the pool on time.  He had to stay home and peel linoleum paste off the laundry room wall after I misplaced my new wrapping paper station.  But he made it and got 2nd of nine 25-39 year old guys in the 50 free.  Was beat out by a fellow Hounddog and ex-UNC-Chapel Hill swimmer.  He also placed a respectable 4th in the 50 back.

I was so proud of my swimmers last night.

The new GM at Hunting Hills has come up with some great new revenue-generating ideas that include providing an outside buffet at our swim meets.  You buy wristbands for $10 for adults and $5 for children (actually, we charged ours to our account so no cash was needed) and you can come and go into the buffet as many times as you wish during the course of the three hour meet.  Last night they had a pizza bar, a baked potato bar, chicken nuggets, hamburgers, hotdogs, cookies and drinks.  And they have converted the old pool table veranda into a full-service bar.  So the adults were really having a great time.

It was so much fun to see friends that I don't see much during the school year.  And, of course, to watch my children and husband score some major points for the home team.

Alice and Clara hung out with the Moore twins (Caroline and Elizabeth).  Their dad is a pediatrician in town and I was their mom's anesthesiologist when they were born.  And they hung out with the Grant twins (Katie and Caroline).  Their dad is a UNC-trained radiologist.  All 6 twins are 6 years old.  Two, two, two cute!