A couple of my friend's daughters are undergoing in vitro fertilization.
I was one of those women who would have been pregnant my whole childbearing career if I wasn't actively trying not to. I was queen of the Pill. My grandmother had 13 children. That was before the sexual revolution. She had no choice.
But the other side of the coin is women who have great difficulty conceiving. Two of the greatest tragedies of the childbearing years are having babies we don't want - and not being able to have babies we desperately want.
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is tough. Before the big event takes place there are weeks of shots and pills causing hormones to go amok. And then it may or may not work. And it's very expensive. I'm in awe of couples who put themselves through this process - sometimes over and over.
In the "Year of Living Biblically" book by A.J. Jacobs, I was reminded this morning that the religious community is all over the map on the rightness or wrongness of IVF. The Catholics want us to have babies the old fashioned way. Period. On the other hand, religious Jews are all IVF. Protestants are the ones who are all over the map.
Of course, you wouldn't think the Bible would address IVF. But Jacobs reminded me that it was "sort of" addressed way back in the Old Testament. I looked it up. It's a cool story.
Jacob (not the writer but the O.T. guy) had two wives. Leah, who was a baby making machine like me and my grandma, and Rachael who couldn't conceive.
Rachael begged her sister (yeah, Leah was her sister) for some of this root or herb called mandrake, supposedly an ancient fertility drug. Only Leah made Rachael trade a night with Jacob for the mandrake. So guess who got pregnant - again?
So Jacobs (the writer) is wondering if the Bible subtly disapproves of fertility treatments.
I don't think so. But I myself have some big time reservations about multiple births.
Back to the story of Leah and Rachael. Leah has eleven sons. Rachael finally has one. But he's his dad's favorite and ends up saving the whole nation.
You might remember Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat. That was him.
***
Friday, June 19, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Summer Reading
Since I've been in Minnesota I've read a book by Stephen King. I started one by Daniel Silva but didn't like it. I have a 50 page rule. If it doesn't grab me in the first 50 pages I'm done.
Yesterday I started my first book of the summer that I know I'm going to love. I read the first 90 pages in one sitting. And that's not like me.
It's The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs.
He's an editor at Esquire but wrote a best seller a while back called The Know-It-All. It's about the encyclopedia. I plan to read it next.
His writing is hysterically funny, irreverent and smart. And it makes me think. Here's a short excerpt from the beginning of the introduction.
As I write this, I have a beard that makes me resemble Moses. Or Abe Lincoln. Or Ted Kaczynski. I've been called all three.
It's not a well-manicured, socially acceptable beard. It's an untamed mass that creeps up toward my eyeballs and drapes below my neckline.
...Strangers have come up to me and petted my beard, like it's a Labrador retriever puppy or a pregnant woman's stomach.
I'll write more about this book later - but in the meantime you might want to pick it up yourself.
***
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Taking Care of People
The last few days I've been reading some from the Apocryoha. What's that? It's a set of books, written thousands of years ago, that didn't make it into the Bible. More specifically, into the Old Testament. Yes, a committee decided what went in and these books didn't make the cut.
So this morning I read about this guy named Tobit. He goes blind due to having bird droppings fall into his eyes. His nephew supports him for a while but then his wife has to go out and get a job in order to take care of him.
At one point he gets really mad at her because he doesn't believe she's actually earning all that she's bringing in. (How did you really get that goat?)
This made me laugh because it reminded me that we women have been taking care of people "forever" despite the fact that they don't always appreciate it and sometimes even resent it.
Gloria Steinem is in town. She's 75 and still at it. Here's a quote from a speech she made recently:
...Now we need an effort to attribute a value to caregiving, whether it's done by women or men - but of course it's still done about 90 percent by women. It's a third of the productive work in the country...and not rewarded. It's invisible.
Yes, I agree, after all these thousands of years, we need to attribute a value to caregiving.
***
So this morning I read about this guy named Tobit. He goes blind due to having bird droppings fall into his eyes. His nephew supports him for a while but then his wife has to go out and get a job in order to take care of him.
At one point he gets really mad at her because he doesn't believe she's actually earning all that she's bringing in. (How did you really get that goat?)
This made me laugh because it reminded me that we women have been taking care of people "forever" despite the fact that they don't always appreciate it and sometimes even resent it.
Gloria Steinem is in town. She's 75 and still at it. Here's a quote from a speech she made recently:
...Now we need an effort to attribute a value to caregiving, whether it's done by women or men - but of course it's still done about 90 percent by women. It's a third of the productive work in the country...and not rewarded. It's invisible.
Yes, I agree, after all these thousands of years, we need to attribute a value to caregiving.
***
Monday, June 15, 2009
I Wanna Live Forever!
Have you heard of Blue Zones? They're communities around the world dedicated to helping people live longer, healthier lives.
Did you know that, in 2005, for the first time in history, the average life expectancy for a baby born in the U.S. is shorter than before? Why?
Obesity! 66% of us are fat.
Yesterday at church we heard a young man speak about a new Blue Zone community here in Minnesota. In the established Blue Zone communities around the world people not only live longer but their end of life illnesses are shorter. (A year and a half as opposed to the three year average.)
Following are the nine common elements of the longest living communities in the world.
1. Walk every day.
2. Have a sense of purpose and meaning in your life. When we lose one we need to find another.
3. Have a quiet, peaceful time every day (downshift.)
4. Drink lots of water - and have one glass of wine daily.
5. Eat a plant based diet. Eat meat as a condiment.
6. Quit eating when you're 80% full.
7. Live and love intergenerationally. (Surround yourself with older and younger people.)
8. Attend community worship at least once weekly.
9. Hang out with people you admire - those who have a healthy lifestyle.
It doesn't seem like brain surgery, does it? In fact, it looks pretty easy.
***
Did you know that, in 2005, for the first time in history, the average life expectancy for a baby born in the U.S. is shorter than before? Why?
Obesity! 66% of us are fat.
Yesterday at church we heard a young man speak about a new Blue Zone community here in Minnesota. In the established Blue Zone communities around the world people not only live longer but their end of life illnesses are shorter. (A year and a half as opposed to the three year average.)
Following are the nine common elements of the longest living communities in the world.
1. Walk every day.
2. Have a sense of purpose and meaning in your life. When we lose one we need to find another.
3. Have a quiet, peaceful time every day (downshift.)
4. Drink lots of water - and have one glass of wine daily.
5. Eat a plant based diet. Eat meat as a condiment.
6. Quit eating when you're 80% full.
7. Live and love intergenerationally. (Surround yourself with older and younger people.)
8. Attend community worship at least once weekly.
9. Hang out with people you admire - those who have a healthy lifestyle.
It doesn't seem like brain surgery, does it? In fact, it looks pretty easy.
***
Cary Grant's Best Movie
I'm a huge Cary Grant fan. The other night PBS showed what I think is his best movie. It's a little known gem called "People Will Talk." A silly title.
Cary plays a smart, handsome (duh,) god-like gynecologist. What's not to love?
This movie, made in 1951, has Cary saving the life of his student, played by Jeanne Crane, who tries to kill herself because she's pregnant. He ends up marrying her. But the movie is about much more: the death penalty, the practice of medicine, and ethics for example.
It's also funny.
And there's a very mysterious man named Mr. Shunderson. It's worth the wait to hear his secret at the end.
Cary's name in the movie is Noah Praetorius. It was adapted from a German play called "Dr. Praetorius." A much better title.
I saw the movie the other night for the fourth time and loved every minute. My boyfriend saw it for the first time. He loved it. Trust me, you'll love it too.
***
Cary plays a smart, handsome (duh,) god-like gynecologist. What's not to love?
This movie, made in 1951, has Cary saving the life of his student, played by Jeanne Crane, who tries to kill herself because she's pregnant. He ends up marrying her. But the movie is about much more: the death penalty, the practice of medicine, and ethics for example.
It's also funny.
And there's a very mysterious man named Mr. Shunderson. It's worth the wait to hear his secret at the end.
Cary's name in the movie is Noah Praetorius. It was adapted from a German play called "Dr. Praetorius." A much better title.
I saw the movie the other night for the fourth time and loved every minute. My boyfriend saw it for the first time. He loved it. Trust me, you'll love it too.
***
Friday, June 12, 2009
Storytelling
I have a couple of friends who are certified storytellers. It's almost a lost art. In ancient times, when most people couldn't read or write, storytelling was essential. Children were trained from an early age to repeat the stories to the next generation.
In early America storytelling was the most popular form of entertainment.
Last night a friend gave me an article about a man named Walter Swan. A plasterer with a wife and eight children and no education to speak of.
He's also a storyteller. At some point he decided to write down his stories exactly the way he told them to his children.
Then he tried to sell them - but we who try to sell stories to New York publishers know how that goes.
So he went about selling his book of stories himself. He even opened a bookstore. His store sells one book. His.
The book is called "me 'n Henry."
Mr. Swan says they're all true stories. Also no bad words and no big words.
People seem to like the one about me gettin' my finger stuck in the Model-T car or the time the billy goat et my first-grade reader. But the funniest is my father accidentally drinkin' a pitcher full of my polliwogs.
I hope that, no matter how successful Mr. Swan gets as an author and an entrepreneur, he'll still retain his storytelling skills. As I said, it's almost a lost art.
***
In early America storytelling was the most popular form of entertainment.
Last night a friend gave me an article about a man named Walter Swan. A plasterer with a wife and eight children and no education to speak of.
He's also a storyteller. At some point he decided to write down his stories exactly the way he told them to his children.
Then he tried to sell them - but we who try to sell stories to New York publishers know how that goes.
So he went about selling his book of stories himself. He even opened a bookstore. His store sells one book. His.
The book is called "me 'n Henry."
Mr. Swan says they're all true stories. Also no bad words and no big words.
People seem to like the one about me gettin' my finger stuck in the Model-T car or the time the billy goat et my first-grade reader. But the funniest is my father accidentally drinkin' a pitcher full of my polliwogs.
I hope that, no matter how successful Mr. Swan gets as an author and an entrepreneur, he'll still retain his storytelling skills. As I said, it's almost a lost art.
***
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Colonoscopies and Other Summer Fun
My boyfriend scheduled his colonoscopy for after I arrived so that we could share yet another romantic experience.
A while back I scheduled my cystoscopy so that he could accompany me. Don't know what that is? It's when a urologist (at least you hope it's a urologist) inserts a camera into your bladder for a little look- see. In color.
We all know what a colonoscopy is because Katie Curic made her colon famous when she had one on television a few years ago. If she'd really been a good sport she'd have let us experience her prep day with her. That's where the fun starts.
My boyfriend's colonoscopy was on Monday. On Saturday we did something truly wild and crazy. We had a coupon for the White Castle. Ten burgers (sliders) for $4.99. We ate all of them. So I was thinking he might not even need a prep day.
But on Sunday he started fasting. Only clear liquids. Then, late in the afternoon he began taking the big jug o' juice. It comes with several names. His was called "GoLYTELY." A misnomer.
So he missed half of the Tony Awards. Not the first half or the last half. He saw every other 10 minutes for the four hours it was on.
Monday morning we arrived at the hospital bright and early. By 10:00 A.M. we were having pancakes at Perkins.
How uncomfortable are colonoscopies and cystoscopies? Not at all. You just take a little nap and it's over.
If you're past 60 and you've never had a colonoscopy you need one. If you're scared do this. Google: "Dave Barry Colonoscopy" It's one of the funniest things he's every written - and that's saying something. And when you finish reading you'll want to schedule your colonoscopy. Go with somebody you love. If you can't do that, go with somebody who wants to eat after - because you'll be hungry.
***
A while back I scheduled my cystoscopy so that he could accompany me. Don't know what that is? It's when a urologist (at least you hope it's a urologist) inserts a camera into your bladder for a little look- see. In color.
We all know what a colonoscopy is because Katie Curic made her colon famous when she had one on television a few years ago. If she'd really been a good sport she'd have let us experience her prep day with her. That's where the fun starts.
My boyfriend's colonoscopy was on Monday. On Saturday we did something truly wild and crazy. We had a coupon for the White Castle. Ten burgers (sliders) for $4.99. We ate all of them. So I was thinking he might not even need a prep day.
But on Sunday he started fasting. Only clear liquids. Then, late in the afternoon he began taking the big jug o' juice. It comes with several names. His was called "GoLYTELY." A misnomer.
So he missed half of the Tony Awards. Not the first half or the last half. He saw every other 10 minutes for the four hours it was on.
Monday morning we arrived at the hospital bright and early. By 10:00 A.M. we were having pancakes at Perkins.
How uncomfortable are colonoscopies and cystoscopies? Not at all. You just take a little nap and it's over.
If you're past 60 and you've never had a colonoscopy you need one. If you're scared do this. Google: "Dave Barry Colonoscopy" It's one of the funniest things he's every written - and that's saying something. And when you finish reading you'll want to schedule your colonoscopy. Go with somebody you love. If you can't do that, go with somebody who wants to eat after - because you'll be hungry.
***
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