The Conference

Yesterday I went to an Alternative Living Conference. I think that's what it was called! it was all day long at this place called School Without Walls. It was a neat building and I'll need to find out more about it as a high school option at some point, assuming we'll still be here then.

The first session I went to was on beginning homeschooling, and even though I didn't get my questions answered about legal stuff and doing the paperwork (which I can't seem t stop obsessing about and can't seem to get any answers on from actual homeschoolers here for some reason) I met a couple of really cool women, and got the number of one of them, who has 8 yo b/g twins. She seemed really supportive and cool.

The second session I went to was on Waldorf, as I wanted to learn more about it since I'm sending the girls to a homeschooling program at Lilac Children's Garden in September. I am glad I went, because I now know that the Waldorf philosophy is not an educational one that I'd want to pursue full time. I have some real concerns about how rigid it seems in some ways, among other things.

Then I had a lovely lunch with my friends Krista and Patty and my midwife Meg, and another CNM whose name is Kathleen I think (Or Katherine?) I meet so many people sometimes it's hard to keep track! Anyway, that was nice and we all had an interesting discussion about my spotting, the Rhogam shot and other interventions.

I decided to go to the parenting/childbirth track for session 3 and attend a vaccination workshop, because none of the other tracks appealed to me at the time. It turned out to be a mistake.

The woman who ran it presented a lot of anecdotal evidence, much of the citations were taken out of context to the point where they weren't clear and she was very new to the vaccine movement, as a result of her daughter's death from cancer. I unfortunately let the journalist/research/logical side of myself take over and found myself challenging her facts and the way they were presented, as well as asking for clarification, etc., throughout the entire workshop. I know I came off pretty bitchy at one point (Krista told me so ) but I just couldn't seem to help myself. I hate when people present information poorly, and I think it does the vaccination "movement" a disservice to have these kinds of one-sided diatribes because they only lead some people to think that those who are concerned about vaccines are all fringe lunatics.

The presenter and I ended up talking for quite a long time afterwards and I tried to explain to her that I supported her mission, but that I really thought there were some problems w/ the way she was presenting it, in a gentle way. She clearly didn't get where I was going with it. She is too caught up in her own pain still to move forward, and that's OK. I kept reminding myself of the keynote speaker's message about how we each have our own stories, and we can't know all of someone else's story, so instead of comparing everything and making it good and bad, we should try to always *wonder* what the story is, and try to be open to it.

I am pretty sure I alienated another attendee though, who sadly is the treasurer of Lilac Children's Garden and runs the Homebirth Circle. I did have 2 other people come up to me and say that they agreed with me though - that she needed to organize her info better and that they had heard other complaints about her workshop from prior conferences. ::sigh:: I guess once the LCG woman knows me better, she might understand.

I just think as a responsible parent and consumer and writer, that I can't stand by and not challenge poor logical thinking. I could have done it in a more subtle way though ;).

The final session I went to was Krista's session on babywearing and Elimination Communication/Diaper Free. It was SO nice to put on the sling and imagine nursing my new baby. I got really into it :). Speaking of which, Soren tried to nurse this morning - well she pretended to, and I discovered that I'm making colostrum! So then Emma wanted to nurse, which kind of squicked me out, but she tried once and it hurt like hell! I told her there's no way she is going to remember how after all these years, and that's final ;).

I am actually getting more intersted in EC. It's an extension of being aware of your child's needs, but it sounds like a lot of work, although perhaps in the long run, not any more so than dealing with diapers.

Anyway, the conference was overall a good experience, and I'm glad I went. Tom took the girls with Danielle and the boys to a sheep shearing festival where Soren saw her "best friend" Lani. They apparently had a great time and the girls got their faces painted very professionally like a tiger and a cheetah (or a leopard, I can't remember which). He was skeptical when I told him about it, but last night told me it was a good idea. I knew the kids would love it - he'll get used to this kid stuff ;).

We also got all the crap out of the Suburban so now I can hopefully get all the books over to Danielle's too, so I can have a real living room for a few months!

We're heading off to the UU this morning for the first time if I ever go and get a shower. The girls are skeptical and Emma is nervous about not knowing anyone, as am I, but it should be a good step toward having a spiritual community if we like this fellowship. If not there are two more I want to chec out.