My name is Dee Dee, and I go by Dtills on WordPress. I started my blog, Invisible-no-more.com because I felt, well, invisible! I had entered that magical time known as “the midlife crisis”, sort of fell into it really, and couldn’t figure out how to begin the painful process of pulling my life together. My youngest had gone off to college, my husband and I were not connecting well and I felt alone and isolated. My blog is a chronicle of those activities, actions and connections formed that have helped me piece together a future that I now feel is hopeful and engaging. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have helped me as I work through this transition!
As for an amusing story, well this was not all that amusing at the time, but with the passage of 23 years, it has taken on a warm and satisfying glow! In 1994 I was a graduate student working on my doctorate degree at USC in Los Angeles. At that time, the process required the Ph.D. candidates to finish a series of written exams, which, after the successful completion, then required an oral exam. The oral had to be completed within eight weeks of finishing the written tests, or the candidate would have to start over from the beginning. These are the kind of exams that take months to prepare for so starting over is not something anyone wanted to do, I assure you! I was deep into studying for these five written exams, when I found out, in February of 1994, that I was pregnant with our first child. Honestly, the timing could not have been less ideal as I would have to take the exams at the beginning of October that year, and Alex was born October 28th. This meant that my oral exam had to happen in mid November, or I would have to start over, effectively loosing a year of work in my program. The crux of this “amusing” story is that I was breastfeeding my new daughter during this time. Now, all of you lactation survivors know that producing pints of milk all day long comes along with a unique set of challenges. For one thing your milk doesn’t just flow for your little one, a number of triggers can cause milk to “let down”, as the specialists call it. My personal triggers were ANY child crying, my crying, Hallmark commercials and once a dog barked scaring me so much that my shirt was soaked before I could run home. Oh yeah, and stress. Standing up in front my oral testing panel, which was made up of five men, and two women, who choose not to have children in order to focus on their careers, while they fire questions at me was, indeed, stressful.
That day I felt prepared, not well rested with a 4 week old at home, but I had my presentation and had done my research. I also had two sets of nursing pads on and a thick knit sweater. I could have stacked books on my huge, busty chest. The exam started and everything was going well. I was almost done; just a few final questions and I could go home and feed my daughter. Then it happened. The committee member that I feared the most asked me a question and I had absolutely no idea how to answer. I could feel the cortisol rushing through my blood stream and hitting my lac glands. I was starting to sweat and the room went eerily silent as the milk raindrops started hitting my feet! All I could think about was “I am going to fail and my shoes will be squeaking as I walk to the car”! That same committee member, after what felt like a month, gently asked me if I would like to take a break. Hell yes, I wanted to take a break and die! As I was walking through the door I heard him tell the others “she just had a baby a couple weeks ago” and I thought, great now I am done for sure! I took a few minutes to wring out my pads and blot my sweater, as best I could, and most importantly, I figured out the answer to the question. I mustered up what little dignity I could find and entered the exam room. I was expecting them to tell me to pack up and head out but instead they took pity on me. That same, scary committee member told me to just write up the final questions and submit them the following week. He was so nice to me! I had passed on the contingency of submitting the final write up! I didn’t wait around for them to change their minds and got the hell out of there. I guess I didn’t really learn my lesson because I had my final doctoral defense in December of 1996, after giving birth to our son the preceding April. But this time I kept my milk tightly in my jugs!
My daughter and I on graduation day!“
Please join us in our Guest of Jest series
Please submit your guest posts to mainepaperpusher@yahoo.com and they will be published in order of submission every Friday here at Everybody Else Has the Best Titles
Here are the rules:
- Give us some info about your blog. Make sure to add a link to it.
- Write up something amusing. It doesn’t have to be “laugh out loud” funny, but a bit of humor would be great.
- Pictures optional, but encouraged.
- The post can be one that has been posted before.
- Multiple submissions are encouraged!
The piece can be anything that is humorous. A story, a recollection, even something as simple as a joke.
C’mon, you know you want to! Why should we have all the fun?
The featured image was created by Silas at My weird, crazy and mundane life Journal
Wonderful story. It must have been incredibly stressful for you at the time!
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Oh ya, but now it is a funny story to tell my daughter-who just turned 23!! Oh my God, I am so old 😦
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Wait till you get to be my age!
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I can feel the tension and the stress that this must have caused you. Well done to find the courage and pursue what you worked so hard for. 😉
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Thank you!
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Amazing!!
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Such a beautiful story. I am so glad we’ve become friends. I’m proud to know you.
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Oh Jay, that is so sweet!
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Reblogged this on Invisible-No-More and commented:
I was honored to be a Guest in Jest on Linda’s blog! If you haven’t done so already, check out her site and consider submitting a story for her to share 🙂
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Thanks so much! Maybe we’ll get some new victims…er guests!
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I hope so, love this series!
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I am so happy that it’s a hit and I just adore my guests and their stories. I’m looking for more from you as time goes on, you know! Hint Hint…ok, that was more than a hint. That was verging on demand. Can’t help it, you rock!
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Ha Ha! It is so lucky for you that my life is one big joke 🙂
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Honey, I’m right there with ya! 😉
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Unusual story from a mother. May be many mothers go through such experience. Do not know what to say.
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It’s great that you can remember and laugh about something that felt so massive years, great story. 🌹
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Sympathy laughter here. SO glad you had a happy ending! And kudos for braving grad school… twice!
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Very nice story. I can imagine the stress you felt at the time. It reminds me of a funny breastfeeding story of my own. While I was trying to breastfeed after having a cesarian due to the sudden dropping heartbeat of my child’s heart, which had left me in an incredibly stressful state of mind, I had the surprise to discovered that my milk was Green! I mean it is my fav colour but it is not the colour you want for your baby’s milk. The nurses told me to stop breastfeeding right away as they thought I had an infection. I remember crying so much then. Thankfully, two days later, the test showed that there was no infection. Apparently, my milk was green of all the spinach I had eaten during my pregnancy. I also ate a lot of pink grapefruits, why my milk wasn’t pink I don’t know. The funny thing is my son (now 13 years old) does not like vegetables very much but he LOVES spinach!
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Great story!!!
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Thank you Linda for your kind words and for this great idea of yours which helps bloggers getting to know each other better. I just recently discovered your blog and I most say I find it very inspiring. Keep up the good work. -Dominique
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I’m happy you like the blog. Hey, would you consider writing something for Guest in Jest? Anyone who has suffered through green milk must surely have a funny story or two to share. Just a thought….
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I am honoured Linda that you consider me worthy to write a story for Guest in Jest. The thing is English is not my first language and it takes me for ever just to write a comment. I have already so many prior engagements that I really don’t know when I could find the time to do it. I do not like to promise something and not be able to deliver! But if there is no due date in your offer I could eventually come up with something…
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No due date at all. Do it when you can and only if you wish. Your English seems perfect, but if translating is a big obstacle time-wise, I have a friend in Montreal who might be able to help. He’s well-versed in both languages. At any rate, I’d love to have you!
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You are truly a kind person. It is not so much the translation as the writing itself. You see, I try to write most of my posts in the Shakespeare language in order to improve my writing skills in English. Time-wise it’s not such a great idea, but I have made wonderful progress this year so I am motivated to pursue this challenge I have given myself. And you have no idea how stubborn I can be Linda. It scares me sometimes. I’m like a dog with a bone! If you have no due date than you might hear from me eventually. Be patient though. Meantime, I will gladly read you and comment on your posts.
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Your English is wonderful, so you certainly are on the right track. Don’t think another thing about it. However, you just might get a feeling that you want to write something funny and I’ hope you’ll think of me. You’d make an outstanding Guest Jester! 🙂 ❤️
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Dominique is too modest. Her English is fine and she is also funnier than she thinks she is! Glad you two have met 🙂
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You are so right, Darren. I don’t why she thinks that. I’m psyched that I pressured…er cajoled…er talked her into doing a Guest in Jest feature. Yay!
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Oh that is great! I have never heard of that being possible before. You must have consumed Popeye amounts of spinach!!
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I had a spinach salade at lunch almost every day for nine months! I could not help myself, I was craving for it.
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Wow, am so proud of you! I probably would’ve been too embarassed to return to the room, but you showed so much courage which is admirable!
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I think she was pretty darned courageous, too!
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Indeed!
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It never occurred to me not to go back in, if it had, I might have considered it! But my program was so tough that I knew I would not be able to start over-had to move through to get to the end 🙂
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Thank you so much for the shout out! Indeed,I would love some Guest in Jest submissions! Email me at mainepaperpusher@yahoo.com
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