Mother Talkers

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  • part (0 / 0)

    To the part about the response the NY Times Magazine green issue (which I did not read)..

    I kind of agree with this part...

    Especially inane, though, is Wendell Berry’s suggestion that "specialization" has been bad for humanity. Division of labor has allowed man to rise from savannas and caves to cities, to feed multitudes and to cure deadly disease. Specialization is precisely what will produce the experts who will ultimately figure out how to make cheap energy without fossil fuels. That process, not some Arcadian fantasy that all humanity will voluntarily regress to a semi-industrial state, is the way to a cleaner world.

    I think growing all of your own food and making your own clothes and baking all of your bread and living off the grid is interesting, but we need to work on real solutions for everyone, because there is no way we are all going to go back to that, and I'm not even sure we could.  Or that we would want to.

    by NJmom on Fri May 09, 2008 at 10:23:58 AM PDT

    • I'm not sure everyone doing so (0 / 0)

      wouldn't create other environmental problems.  However, I'm more than happy to let the willing be our incubators...maybe these are the people who will come up with workable solutions that satisfies our need for time and efficiency.

      by tjb22 on Fri May 09, 2008 at 10:30:57 AM PDT

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      • I think we need a mix (0 / 0)

        One thing that we need especially is an understanding of the value of how much other people do for us and how much we depend upon them. There's nothing like growing a garden - at least once - to get an appreciation for how wonderful it is to be able to go to to the market and buy any produce you want any time you want for a token amount of money.

        But I also think there's value in doing what you can when you can. For example, if you're going to have a garden and landscaping, why not make it edible instead of just lawn?

        by shenanigans on Fri May 09, 2008 at 10:46:30 AM PDT

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        • I'm very practical. (0 / 0)

          I always think along those lines.  I do think there's many lessons we could all learn by living in less material/consumeristic ways.  Being thrifty used to be considered an admirable trait...and often, it takes less work, not more.  I'd be happy if we could get more people on that page.

          by tjb22 on Fri May 09, 2008 at 10:54:34 AM PDT

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    • ITA (0 / 0)

      I have health problems that prevent me from working the land, churning the butter, sewing the clothes, hauling water, etc.  But I am able to contribute in other ways due to my education and experience.

      I just brought my husband home from a successful surgery.  Thank goodness the surgeon spent years and years in increasingly specialized training, including a spine fellowship.  

      I like Wendell Berry a lot and when I was healthier I used to fantasize about his chosen lifestyle.  But even then, halfway through the fantasy I'd be all, Every day?  Not just like a dude ranch experience?  I don't think so.

      by mamacita on Fri May 09, 2008 at 06:42:13 PM PDT

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      • So glad everything is going well (0 / 0)

        with your husband.  Hope you take some time to relax this weekend.

        by tjb22 on Fri May 09, 2008 at 07:06:16 PM PDT

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        • thanks (0 / 0)

          I'm feeling pretty trashed.  It wasn't exactly a deluxe hospital experience -- two nights sleeping on the floor (on a comforter).  They wouldn't let me inflate my air mattress.  But you know what? We got out of there with no complications, no staph, no MRSA, no sepsis, and I am eternally grateful.  Not that I was worried LOL!

          I definitely plan to relax.  I saw my cardio today and my NCS sx are back to the same as when I started :(  I am hoping it's due to recent stress and not long-term.

          I hope you are hanging in there with your SonIL's health and trying to tamper your impatience in waiting for your first grandbaby!

          by mamacita on Fri May 09, 2008 at 09:21:03 PM PDT

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          • We're doing all right... (0 / 0)

            Spent the day at my parents' today, so tomorrow, I'm doing absolutely nothing.  

            Can you possibly manage to take a couple of days off this coming week?  Sometimes, just a few days can really make a difference.  If you're not feeling better, maybe your cardiologist can temporarily up the dosage of your medication.  We do what we can to get through.

            I'm glad it went well for your husband.  I wish him a continued uneventful recovery.  Glad  you found a surgeon that you could both be comfortable with.  Sometimes, we find these doctors in the least likely of places!

            by tjb22 on Sat May 10, 2008 at 08:36:04 PM PDT

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            • sigh.... (0 / 0)

              I have a busy work coming up at work and was sort of counting on the recovery being easier than it has been so far.  We just got back from Urgent Care because he had a temp of 99.5.  I know it doesn't constitute a fever, but he was running around 98.3 the whole time we were in the hospital and the wound is puffy and a little red.  I guess you could say I'm paranoid about post-op infections.  Then while we were there he remembered his urine looked a little red just before we left the house, and sure enough there's a "moderate" amount.  So we're going back at 6 a.m. Tuesday, before I go to work, for a follow-up. All the surgeons we interviewed really made it sound like a very simple recovery, now we're told DH can't drive for 4 weeks.  Gah.  

              And I was feeling sorry for a single mom who was having a really hard time taking time off work to bring her kid into the office, so I offered to go to her house Tuesday evening and eyeball him.  I am regretting that, now.  

              Waaaa Waaaa Waaaa.... that's enough whining for now!

              Thanks for the good wishes.  I hope you enjoy a very relaxing Mother's Day doing nothing but resting and basking in your children's love :)

              by mamacita on Sun May 11, 2008 at 12:08:51 AM PDT

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              • take care of yourself, Mamacita! (0 / 0)

                Wish I lived in the neighborhood... would love to do something like cook y'alls a dinner or four for the next week.

                Sorry to hear that DH is spiking a fever, but hope it can be contained. Hope you make it through the week without exhausting yourself. Watch out for yourself!

                by Rachel on Sun May 11, 2008 at 03:20:49 PM PDT

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              • Oh....its always something, isn't it? (0 / 0)

                Urinary infections post-op are fairly common...and at least you caught it pretty early.  And you gotta love the criteria used by the medical profession...."simple" can mean something very different than what we understand it to mean.  Rather like the neurosurgeon telling my husband and I that his mother was "fine" and "doing well" a week past surgery despite the fact that she was in a coma and on a ventilator.  

                And you deserve to whine a little! Consider it your Mother's Day gift to yourself.  I really haven't whined today, but then again, this is the first time I've even been up!  

                by tjb22 on Sun May 11, 2008 at 04:12:31 PM PDT

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      • Glad! (0 / 0)

        Glad to hear the surgery went well!  Great news!

        And yeah, I think specialization is a good thing too.

        by NJmom on Fri May 09, 2008 at 07:24:42 PM PDT

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      • so glad to hear DH's surgery was successful! (0 / 0)

        I wish him (and you) a healthy and speedy recovery. I'm so glad to hear the news!

        by Rachel on Fri May 09, 2008 at 11:04:47 PM PDT

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      • So good to hear (0 / 0)

        your husband's surgery went well. I hope you can all get some rest now and get well soon!

        by SwissClogs on Sat May 10, 2008 at 04:19:47 AM PDT

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      • Glad the surgery (0 / 0)

        was successful. Hope the recovery will go smoothly.

        by Lisa in Austin on Sat May 10, 2008 at 06:48:30 AM PDT

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