Life Without Baby

filling the silence in the motherhood discussion

Welcome Back

Mum’s 80th birthday bash

I’m back. In some ways it feels as if I’ve been away months, and yet the time has flown by, too. It took quite a bit of coaxing to get me back to my desk, and writing this post is my first “back to normal” activity.

I had a great month away and am glad I forced myself to really stop working (for the most part) and spend a little time alone with my own thoughts. I feel refreshed, with my priorities in order, and (just about) ready to throw myself back into life, work, and, of course, blogging.

My trip to the U.K. was wonderful and my mum’s 80th birthday was a huge success. As an added bonus, I got to enjoy watching the Olympics on home turf (although not actually in London) and to cheer one of my hometown athletes, Jessica Ennis, to a heptathlon gold medal. It was inspiring to be caught up in the Olympic spirit.

I also got to enjoy time with my family and caught up with a couple of dear friends. It’s always a little odd to be around my extended family as I feel my childlessness more keenly when I’m surrounded by talk of children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. I’m more aware of being the odd one out and of bringing a different dynamic to the family because I don’t have children to talk about. The family tree my mum has hung on her wall reminds me again of the grander scheme of my family history and the significance of my own nubby branch, that stops two generations before those of some of my older cousins.

The antidote for my melancholy comes from my two long-time friends, who are also childfree. The topic of family and children almost always comes up in our conversations, even if just in passing, and it’s good to talk face-to-face with someone who gets me.  Our conversations don’t linger on this topic and we’re soon talking about everything from hiking to books and politics to our aging parents. And we laugh…the best medicine of all.

So, now I’m back, I’m ready to shake things up a bit around here. I have some new topics to share with you, some new ideas for the blog, and hopefully a facelift (for the blog, not me.) I’ll look forward to having these conversations with you soon.

Jessica Ennis’ gold post box

English summer hike, part I

English summer hike, part II

English summer hike, part III

Comments

  3. Sounds like a great holiday. Amazing landscape pictures! I wonder if you switch between a British and American accent when you go there and back ;-)? And it’s great that you’re back, really looking forward to reading new stuff here on this great blog.

  4. dear LIsa,
    welcome back! I missed you!
    You are so lucky – having your mother’s genes. She looks so young & beautiful!
    Happy (belated) birthday to your Mum!

  6. Glad you are back!! And loved the pics. Happy late birthday to your mom!! I have a picture very similar to the one you posted here with the sheep, but it was taken at Loch Ness. I love the British countryside and will actually be going back to the UK for my official graduation ceremony in June… two years after my defense, but so be it! 🙂

  8. Lisa, I just finished reading your book this past weekend and I want to thank you for writing it. There was one section, near the end, when you realized that TTC wasn’t something you could do forever. I cried and cried while reading that because it was the same conclusion I had come to just days before. Reading it made me feel normal and not alone.