Wednesday, November 12, 2008

7 weird things...

this is hard. I've been tagged by Julie ZS for this and i'm having an incredibly hard time figuring out 7 weird things about myself...that's not to say that i'm not weird - i'm well aware of that...but it's hard to think of things that YOU might think are weird too...

1. i have a bizarre memory. my head is full of random information from way early childhood on up, and yet, I have an incredibly hard time remembering other things. like - lots of stuff from high school? i have no clue. i've remembered more b/c on facebook (yes, i joined it - and it's fun), i've caught up with some of my friends from that time. also, i'm really quite good (if i do say so myself) at remembering children's names, but i have an incredibly hard time remembering parents' names.

2. in junior high one of my favorite lunches was to buy from the snack bar 1 super sour dill pickle (NOT kosher b/c those aren't really salty enough - not the right flavor - my salivary glands are kicking in just thinking about those pickles!), a bag of cheetos, and a chocolate pudding cup. see? crunch, sour, and chocolate. delicious!

3. when i was working in The City, one of my friends commented that when I got pregnant, i'd eat foods that seemed totally normal b/c my everyday foods would be odd things (see above) - sometimes it would be a can of kidney beans. rarely was i eating things that other people would bring in to eat.

4. to me this is not weird, but it would have seemed a bit weird had i not lived it and seen that it's really not...i nursed irene for 2 years 3 months. it was a gradual process. i nursed rhys for 3 years 3 months. seemed totally natural. what those who haven't nursed their children might not know is that nursing a 3 year old is totally different from nursing the newborn - 1 year old. early on, my babes were nursing what sometimes seemed like 24/7. when they became toddlers, it was generally 3x/day and when they got an owie or if they were sick it would be more. mama's milk is like liquid gold and like the perfect magic potion for any owies (be they emotional or physical. The last time Rhys nursed was at his naptime -- and he said "Mama, I LOVE to nuhse (he didn't have a true R sound in that word)" he then went to sleep and never asked to nurse again. funny. if you had told me when i started the journey, i never would have said i'd be nursing a 3 year old - but i'm oh so glad i did.

5. again, not weird to me, but might seem odd to others. I was lucky enough to have very very cream like breastmilk (one friend was at my house and went to get some ice - upon seeing some of my frozen milk, she was surprised and said "Is that the color it's supposed to be??" I replied that it's the color MY milk always was -- an ivory/yellowish -- and she said "mine is almost blue!"). Not only did I have creamy milk, I also had enough to feed the world! So, when my labor/delivery nurse, who had become a friend, was having problems and her supply was way down, I started pumping extra for her baby boy.

6. when i am quite nervous/anxious about something, i get, what i call "Statistic Pains." i call them that b/c they started when i was in college taking statistics. math is not my strong suit to begin with and statistics just about killed me. i got a C in the class and it was a hard won C - but i would come home from class almost every single time with serious abdominal pains.

7. i just had one....what was it?? OH! Yes! when i got married, i started getting a bit more anxious about things. i'd worry a bit more about taking airplanes - or if Rob was on a plane and i wasn't. when i had Irene, that intensified - as did other irrational fears. like if she were high up and out of my reach. it reached its pinnacle (god, i hope it's the pinnacle!) when i had Rhys. Rob, Irene, Rhys and I went to the Bay Area Discovery Museum. we were going to maybe walk 1/2 way across the bridge and back. we passed the little plaque commemorating the 2 year old who had fallen through a space (i'm breathing erratically thinking about all of this - see? weird!) which had since been fixed and then some, and i started getting a bit panicky. when Rob picked Irene up to let her see over the edge (ack! more crazy heart beating right now!), I just about had a fit. i had to do the whole put your head between your knees and take a deep breath thing. i KNEW it was ridiculous. i KNEW that nothing would happen - but i just couldn't catch my breath b/c of the panic. i made myself go to the first post (about 1/4 of the bridge) where we took a picture - but that was a fight in itself. I could have done the whole bridge myself - or with Rob, but with the kids, it was slowly killing me. i had a bit of a panic attack when we flew to Virginia. i think it was because irene was sitting with my mom and out of my reach. i did much better on my way back thanks to Jaye giving me some Rescue Remedy and having both of my kids next to me. the most recent one was when we were at Hoover Dam. as they got closer to the edge - with the incredible drop, the more panicky i became. when they went back toward the top with Mom, i was fine.

so that is probably the most weird thing about me.

i'd love it if everyone did this, but, like debR, i generally don't tag people, but i'd like to thank Julie for tagging me. this was fun. once i started typing, it was easier :D

1 comment:

Julie Zaccone Stiller said...

All riiiight! Thanks Kristen, I'm glad you played. You are right, it is hard to think of stuff that others would find weird. I share several of your weirdnesses - like the extended breastfeeding and unusual food choices.