Relating

Relating to others makes me feel human. At this point in my life I have been very conscious of who surrounds me. I have let a few friendships taper off naturally. With that said, when I hear someone I know well talk about something I relate to, it makes me feel human. It makes me feel real. The minute I know someone else I respect has had the same experience or feels the same way about something I can almost hear myself exhale from relief that I'm not the only one.

While reading Tina Fey's book, Bossypants, I totally related to her chapter on being a mom. When I became pregnant with Haley there were so many decisions I made about childbirth, breastfeeding, etc. I had it all laid out, and then I went into labor.
I am going to pull a few excerpts that I especially related to. No, I don't know Tina Fey, but I loved that someone put into words what I have felt...
"...I chose to breastfeed and it was an amazing time in my life...Many experts have ideas of how long you should breastfeed, until 6 months, 1 year, toddlerhood. ..For my little angel and me the magic number was 72 hours...We tried the football hold, the cross-cradle hold, and one I like to call the Bret Michaels, where you kind of lie over the baby and stick your breast in its mouth to wake it up."
At this point I laughed out loud.
"...Here we experienced another generational difference. Gen X wanted to succeed so she could tell people she did it." (Breastfeeding IS what's best for you baby). "Gen Z wanted me to hand over the damn formula and she was willing to scream until she got it...I was defensive and grouchy whenever the topic came up...Once I gave up my guilt, which took awhile, the only remaining obstacle were the Teat Nazis. These are the women who not only brag endlessly about how much their 5 year old child still loves breast milk, but they also grill you about your choices.'...Are you breastfeeding? Did you have a vaginal birth? Are you back at work already? Do you feel weird about going back to work?"

For the record, I have been asked all of these questions by various moms.

"Let's be clear. Millions of women breastfeed their babies for years or go back to work without giving anyone a hard time about it. These are not the women I am talking about when I say Teat Nazis."

I thoroughly enjoyed the few pages in that chapter. Thank you Tina Fey, for relating to how I have felt in the past. One of my children was breastfed, the other formula fed. Both are doing just fine. Once I saw that, I was able to let go of the guilt. The guilt I put upon my own self. I feel more human to know that celebrities go through the same things we do.
Just with way more money.