Four months to study!

Wow, the last two months flew by and suddenly its fall. I did reach my goal of finishing my clinical work and turning in my PEP (Portfolio Evaluation Process) application to NARM(North American Registry of Midwives) on Sept 10th. okay well actually I overnighted it on Sept 12th but I had gotten that pre-approved through NARM the week before. I had to turn it in late as I realized a few days before it needed to be in that I still needed 5 notarized forms from 4 different midwives that all lived more than an hour away. And just to make me sweat a little, two of them were at a birth for 3 days precisely when I needed them to be signing the forms! Yep, when pregnant women are involved one never really knows what might happen.

My next close call came when I headed to West Virginia to pick up my final form from my dear friend, Ruth Ann Colby Martin, CPM, LM. She was doing this Women Helping Women Retreat for the second year in a row and I was planning on getting the form, sending it out overnight, and then relaxing with a large group of like minded women and a bunch of bottles of WV wine. It was a perfect plan...until I get to the post office in teeny tiny Circleville WV. The ladies at the post office had never overnighted mail before (don't people in WV do last minute important things too?) and so they were calling other employees, digging through drawers and boxes looking for forms, delivery schedules etc. 40 minutes later they declare that there is no overnighting available in WV-or at least this part of it. They are too rural they say, but they can get it there by Tuesday. No way-its Saturday and I got special permission to turn it in by Monday. I plead with them-"Can I pay extra? I'll pay extra." "Well...there is this one thing" they can do. I can pay a bunch more for a Sunday delivery. "Great, I'll do it." Papers shuffle, they dig. "Oh sorry can't do that from here either. Lets just send it "overnight" but it wont actually get there til Tuesday." "What no ahhhh, this is terrible." I thought about traveling back to VA for a post office, but that seemed crazy. I just say do whatever you can and hopefully NARM will forgive me. Well guess what. They cannot even find the right kind of label! More calls, more digging. They end up sending me to the next little town in WV and have me send it from that post office because they do have the label. I get there (not too far of a drive thankfully) and the lady is looking at a checklist to tell her "how" to send something overnight. Come on I think, you work here. You don't know how to send out a package! I help her read it as she seems pretty confused. She checks the wrong box, I correct her. She apologizes. She has never sent overnight either, well except that one time a year ago, but after they finished it all the man returned an hour later and wanted his money back and just sent it the "regular way".
Sheesh! Well it did get sent, finally. And it only took like two hours!
Moral of the story: WV is good for wine and retreats but there are very few necessities such as working mail systems, or Starbucks, therefore prepare before you make the journey and never assume you can do something there the way you would in the rest of the country.

Anyhow the retreat was a blast and I am very excited to be done with that chapter of this journey.

Last time I posted I had mentioned Peggy Franklin the wonderful midwife that I have been working with the past few months. She is an amazing preceptor, full of knowledge, extremely giving and humble, and easy to talk to and always willing to help people. I have learned so much from her in the past three months. I believe working with her has been the perfect ending for my apprenticeship. I feel so balanced now. I have attended 7 births, approx. 100 prenatals and postpartums, and have had many enlightening conversations. I plan on continuing to travel to her place twice a month and go to births here and there until she kicks me out of the practice, or I get so busy here in Harrisonburg that I cannot possibly balance it all. Ha ha ha.

So now my focus is drumming up business and studying for the very scary NARM exam! Being an apprentice involved LOTS of driving and very little pay. I have been living very humbly for a few years now and this entire summer in particular and now the bank account is literally EMPTY. Like I have no clue how I am feeding my kids next week. So if your pregnant or know someone who is I can help you out or, more likely, help your kid OUT OF YOU! Give me a call and spread the word. : ) And wish me luck as I read, take notes, and worry about my exam for the next four months!
Bye.