My Interview Questions - Answered

Thank you to Mrs. Spit for asking.

1. You are in training to be a midwife. What made you choose this career?

For a very long time, I have been interested in medicine. I love anatomy and helping people and being hands-on. Unfortunately, I am one of those people who always brought home a report card that said "Two Hands could do very well, if only she applied herself." My marks, while not bad, are not good enough for medical school.
I learned about midwifery from a Medical Anthropology class. Before that, I had no idea the profession even existed and if I heard the name (which I did when my friend said he wanted his university jacket to say 'Midwifery and Wrestling' on it) had no idea what it was. When it came time for me to choose health care for a pregnancy, I chose midwives for a few reasons: I don't fancy the idea of a strange man down there, I wanted someone who would actually talk to me for more than five minutes and I wanted to know who was going to be there for me when I needed them, not whoever was on-call.
After my experiences with them, I kept going to school, finished my Anthro degree and kind of floated around for a while until it occurred to me that I, too, could be a midwife. So I applied. Everyone I told said, "Ohhhh, that's a hard program to get into." I never thought I would get in. At first I thought I'd be weeded out because of my marks and then I thought my impersonation of lead (i.e. dense) at the interview had done me in. Something must have gone horribly wrong in the admissions process because, wonder of wonders, I got in.
I think midwifery is superior to medicine in many respects, not the least of which being that we do actually spend enough time with people to get to know them. Mostly, I just want to help and this is something I can be passionate about and devoted to.

2. How will you balance being a midwife with being a mum?

Ah, a question I ask myself every day. I tend to think, having been in school for a millenium a long time, that once I'm done, I'll just have fun and do nothing. I have to gently remind myself all the time that I will have to work when I'm done. A sobering reality. I worry about not being around for them enough, but then I think about my own childhood. Although my father worked 6 days out of 7, most of my memories growing up are of being with him. Much of balancing it will depend on my family. Thankfully, my mother has really stepped up and despite the fact I turned out this way, I still believe in her parenting skills. She is beloved by my offspring and treats them with great love and respect in return. I couldn't ask for a better person to fill that role. Moz is also pretty good and we plan to have him stay at home when I am working so there is always a parent around. I hope to include them as often as possible in my own work, taking them on home visits when I can, etc. They are already showing interest in what I do and I think involving them will be a good way for us to grow together.

3. If you could knit only one thing in the world, for the rest of your life, what would that thing be?

Even though I had SUCH a hard time with my Mom 2's sleeves, I'd have to say sweaters. It's the sweaters I drool the most over. I would miss baby hats, but I could always make hooded sweaters!

4. What would your ideal day be?

A day on the East coast, with my family, all of them. My parents, my grandparents, my brother and his family, my FIL, my aunts and uncles, my dearest friends. I have been blessed with some truly amazing people in my life and I can't imagine a better day than one spent with them. Of course, hopping on a cruise ship with all of them at the end of the day to go tour Turkey, Egypt and Greece (I'm so wanting to see Pompeii and Herculaneum) would be nice too.
The day would have to include a horseback ride, a boat ride and a bonfire.

I'd really like to sit down for tea with you too, Mrs. Spit. Alberta is getting mighty alluring with all the people out there I'd like to visit.

5. You have been faced with a difficult situation with your MIL and husband. What have you learned from it? What would you teach your children about relationships as a result?

I suppose I've learned that you really can't change people. I've tried hard for the past few years to show them who I am, but they really don't or can't see me for who I am nor can they see any perspective but their own. It sounds terrible and harsh, but from what I've seen now, I don't know any other way to say it. I want my children to be able to see the other side of arguments, stories, the coin if you will and I see now how important it is for them to understand that there is another side. I think at this point, I am still too much in the midst of this to really get a grasp of what will come of it. It would be nice if we all could sit down and lay it out. Have you ever read the Chronicles of Narnia? There's a passage in the last book of the series, The Last Battle, where they are trying to convince a group of dwarves that they are not, in fact, in a dank, little shed anymore, but they are in Aslan's country. Although they are surrounded by it, they can't see it, feel it or smell it. They are so entrenched in what they think is going on, they don't see the reality of it. That's what the situation reminds me of. (Reading that, I think it makes me sound superior in some respect, but that's not what I intended!)

Thanks for asking!