Monday, September 28, 2015

Denial

I never have a length of time sufficient to write about my list of things I need to write about (now including how overwhelmed I am by keeping track of all the things and how I need to get some of it out of my head).

So I'll tell you this instead: A student died at my university- suddenly, probably of an undiagnosed heart problem, as young heathy people sometimes do.  I don't know what happened because I cannot bear to even read about it.  There was an EMT right there and they couldn't save this child.  Someone's precious baby is gone.

There's an old psychology book called 'The Denial of Death' about how much we cannot bear to confront mortality.  For me, it's since having children: I cannot bear to read about or see or hear of violence towards, or death of, children.  

What are you not thinking about this week?

12 comments:

  1. Oh no. I'm so sorry.
    The name "Hospital for Sick Children" makes me sick, it did even before having kids. I do sometimes read about dead babies as I think I can relate, but then recently I unexpectedly came across stories about dying children in the refugee crisis, and... no. The idea is too painful and, like you, I can't.

    The thing I'm (largely unsuccessfully) trying not to think about: giant spider in the basement.

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    1. OMG spiders. Quick, kill it with fire!

      We had a department of mental hygiene in grad school. they need some less depressing names stat.

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  2. Anonymous11:29 AM

    Ugh. How horrible.

    I am not thinking about (a) the papers for journal issue I'm guest editing and (b) all the papers I planned to write over summer that I ... didn't. (At least with (b), I can look at all the ones I DID write, including some unplanned, and feel pretty happy).

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    1. Well, at least you wrote some! (Ask me what useful things I didn't do with MY summer.)

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  3. Anonymous12:40 PM

    Awful, terrible tragedy, I am sorry.
    I am not thinking about what size of house we might buy upon moving next year.

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    1. Oy! Moving is always so terrible. Maybe a nice big house! With room for... a dog! (If you like dogs.)

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  4. It's always sad to hear of an apparently healthy young person's sudden death.

    I'm ignoring the pile of edgers in my backyard. I need to dig about a 20' trench so I can install them around my maple tree, so it's easy to mow. You know how much I dislike digging. *sigh* but the leaves on said maple are reminding me that Winter is coming, and I should finish my outside work while it's still nice enough to work outside. It's no fun planting bulbs in partly frozen soil.

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    1. Hmph. If I were there I would help you dig!

      Fortunately the ground doesn't freeze here really so I have basically forever to plant stuff. It's like vacuuming: you need a reward afterwards.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous11:26 PM

    I'm not thinking about the complimentary picture ID cards that came with my kids' school pictures and the Center for Missing and Exploited Children 800 number for reference. (Now I want to cry too.)

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    1. Nooooooooo noooooo I hear nothing about this thing. I thought I lost Tatoe for like two whole minutes last week and.... noooooo.

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  6. I concur. I read a Jodi Picoult book (Leaving Time) when my baby was only a month old. The book was engrossing and excellent right up until the end, when I wanted to throw it across the room. Spoiler alert: the book involves a woman vindictively killing another woman's toddler. I almost puked.

    I used to love horror movies and that kind of junk. As I grew older, I got more and more turned off. Now that I'm a mom, I literally can't stomach stuff like that. Orange is the New Black was too violent for me, never mind stuff like Breaking Bad and The Wire. I like my TV light and fluffy, thanks.

    Re: not thinking about, I'm not thinking about how I'm going to have to give some of my classes to a brand new teacher mid-year because another teacher left and I have to take over his AP classes. Even this almost makes me vom thinking of all the work I've put into the kids and how I was looking forward to guiding them through learning the rest of intro bio.

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    1. Oh, that sounds super frustrating. The upper level courses are so much more fun to teach! I hope New Person turns out well even if he/she is clearly less awesome than YOU.

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