Oh, LIFE

I just need to document some recent wonkiness:
· Some people I know are upset about something so they decided to create a new email account to have their Secret Angry Discussion. They chose to set up a Yahoo email account. I find that hilarious.
· I watched this short film about women’s bodies after birth, thought about my own issues with my post-baby body and ended up crying at my desk. Yay!
· Student asked to sing at this year’s commencement ceremony and I had to tell her no and she thinks it’s personal and it’s not. It’s logistical. Like Honey Badger, She Really Doesn’t Give A Shit.
· Rude faculty is rude. Again. This time I stood up for myself (professionally and politely, but firmly). I’m so thankful to have a boss who supports me when this stuff goes down.
· Program Chair insists that I am a notary. He is so certain! Nope, I’m not. No, really. I’m not. I’m also not a secretary (a term he is still using) and can I say, President Obama, that I loved your SOTU but why are you still calling people secretaries? I get that it was probably easier to say than “Administrative Assistant” but dude you just gave a bazillion old school executives ammo in their argument with their ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT that they should be able to still call them secretaries.
· Forgot a bowl at home (again) so warmed up my chicken noodle soup in cups . . . and then, in my attempt to transfer the broth of one cup to another, poured it into my coffee.
· I wish my husband didn’t hate social media, he’d be an amazing live-tweeter. You should have heard him during the State Of The Union.
· Today’s post on Handmade Ryan Gosling is super popular. Clearly, crafty ladies of the world like to be told we’re sexy even though we haven’t showered in a couple days.

· Last but surely not least: Downton Abbey tumblrs for you!
o Downton Abbeyonce
o Downton Abbey Lamps
o Arrested Downton
o Downton Pawnee
o Downton A Train

Adam Braverman Saves the Day

On last night's episode of NBC's Parenthood, there was a scene that gave me happy chills. I was sitting there with my hand up over my mouth, on the edge of the couch, staring at Adam Braverman (Peter Krause's character) with such love . . . ;)

See, in the show, Adam and his wife Kristina recently had a baby - a very unplanned baby. They already have a teenager and a younger son. Adam and his brother just bought an old recording studio and are trying to turn it into a profitable one. They also hired an assistant who is super crazy young and SMOKING hot.

Kristina is dealing with the I Just Had A Baby And Feel So Incredibly Not Hot And Self Concious stage that most women go through during the weeks & months after giving birth. It takes quite a while for the body to "bounce back" to its old self, and the truth (sorry, y'all) is that for most women, it never does bounce all the way back. Especially after having more than one kid. On top of all that, your body's hormones are still trying to regulate themselves, so your emotions are just all over the place and heightened. You feel gross and your body is healing from birth, so even if the Dr. has given the ok to have sex again, you may not feel ready. You might be scared of pain, of not being attractive, of not enjoying it. Your hormones are trying to tell you "Slow down, you just had a baby" so you may not even be interested in sex. Still, sex is important for most relationships so going weeks and months without it can strain the relationship. And it's like - your husband is giving you space because he knows you're not ready yet, but the fact that they aren't trying to get it on makes you feel like you're not desirable.

It's a tough time to be a chick, I'm telling you. I've been through it 3 times. I remember one day on maternity leave after our last child was born, watching something on tv that prompted me to go look in the full-length mirror. My husband came home and I was sobbing on the couch about how horrible I looked and how I was never going to be hot again and, well, he had to do a lot of encouraging so I wouldn't totally lose it.

So in the scene below, Adam's recording studio is having a big launch party. Kristina is in the red dress, the smoking hot assistant is in the black jacket, and Adam is the guy who totally blew me away with how sweet and loving and real he is when talking to Kristina.

Sigh.

Watch it and sigh with me.