You would think that this in-between time, without a formal paying job and no school, would be super productive.  You would think.

I am happy to say that my license is in process with the state, which means I am at least moving forward on one to do item.

And I am also happy to say that I am nearly through with one whole section of the website for updates.  Yes, updates.  And it is a big one with new navigation schemes and total facelift.  I cannot believe I have been working on this for three months already and only have one section *almost* done.  As a reminder, some people spend their whole work day maintaining websites.  When it is a part time hobby, well, lets just say it takes longer.

I am also happy to announce that  we are in the midst of moving.  We found a house in the area we need to be and on top of all the other stuff I have to do, I am slowly packing up every speck of dust we own in this two bedroom apartment to be ready for the move.  At this point, the day cannot come fast enough for me. This apartment has served us well.  And although it is only two bedroom, it is still bigger than the living quarters of many families around the world. Even so, I will be happy to not be disturbed by late night undergrad parties and am excited about the vast space the home promises.

I have my talk for the Christian Midwives International Conference nearly finished.  I am doing a lecture with a friend all about menopause.  It should be fun, and I cannot wait to see the friends I have missed since starting school.

I have also started posters for two other midwife conferences.  It really comes down to the research – if it is worth doing it is worth sharing.  So I am doing the work to share.  Actually, I have already submitted a paper from the research which I hope will be published.

So, maybe I am being super productive.  But with so many projects only part-way done, it sure doesn’t feel like it.

My children returned to school this past week, and I will begin my orientation to the school of public health this week.  August seems to early for fall, but what can I do. Already it seems too cool to swim in the evenings (we get spoiled by the warm weather of the summer so the mid – high 80s can feel cold for swimming). I am doing my best to be ready for school to begin.

One of my challenges this year will be finding a field placement for next summer. It must be public health oriented, and I have a few rules.

1.  I will not be separated from my family for the 8-10 weeks it will take to complete the 300 hours of work, so I need to be able to afford to move us all there for two to three months

2. Because my family will be with me, I need to feel relatively safe that my children will not be harmed by violence and crime.

3. It must be significantly “exotic” enough for my family to try out living outside the US, but not so “exotic” as to shock my family into never wanting to live outside the US again.

So those are my criteria.  As long as I can find an organization that will let me work on maternal and infant health — and fits those criteria — I’ll be happy.

As I was updating all my emails, calendars and blogs I thought it might be interesting to some readers to hear about the crazy schedule my family has had to keep this summer.

Part of my summer semester of midwifery school was attendance at the ACNM conference in San Antonio Texas.  I also signed up to participate in a two week program at a farm workers health center in southern Georgia. Unfortunately, the farm worker program was at the same time as a conference my husband would attend. We decided it was a great time for the kids to visit their out of state relatives.

Since they were traveling in the northern US anyway, my husband decided he would take the kids back to New York to visit the friends we left there, but he had another conference and it didn’t make sense to drive the kids all they way back to Atlanta first.  It was decided the kids would fly from Michigan to New York, and my husband would drive to the conference and then meet up the kids when it was completed. He would stay an additional week, of course, to visit friends. The trip to Atlanta from New York passes more friends. So the trip will be made slowly to allow adequate time for visiting.

With my family gone so much, what am I doing with myself?  I am spending most of my time in Savannah on call for the birth center. I return to Atlanta only for classes. I’ll be home for a week when my family returns and then I fly to Nairobi. The day after I return will be the first day of school for my kids. Summer will be over and my family will have spent less than two weeks together.

Crazy schedule, but we are starting to get used to this level of activity.  It makes us wonder what next summer will be like.  Next summer I will do my field study for my MPH and the whole family will be overseas.  Equally exciting and equally crazy.