The power of connection and compassion

And why I have avoided macaroni salad since 2004

As promised in Tuesday’s post, below is an excerpt from the 85,000-word personal narrative I have drafted (fate TBD). The excerpt below ends before the final few original paragraphs that flow into the next chapter of the manuscript. I have instead added a concluding paragraph based on present day observations.

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One of my superpowers is efficiency. I am great at figuring out how to get a lot of shit done in a very compressed amount of time. I can both see the big picture and account for the granular when developing agendas and project plans. All of my projects—including personal ones—are tracked in Excel sheets. I often add rainbow color coding for flair.

So, when I became pregnant for the first time, my efficiency-oriented brain kicked into action. Step 1? Find an OB/GYN and deliver my baby at Massachusetts General Hospital, since that was where I worked as a postdoctoral fellow. My prenatal visits would be so efficient! 

I also researched and put my name on waitlists at daycares near MGH and my auditory perception lab across the Charles River at MIT. I figured that I would be one of those moms who—in effortless fashion—remembers to pack the diaper bag, navigates the stroller on public transit, completes a fulfilling day of mind-blowing scientific research, then picks the baby up and bonds on the way home.

Of course none of it worked out that way. 

Nor did my birth plan.