tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post8788617432399414194..comments2023-10-11T04:09:53.564-07:00Comments on materfamilias writes: Moving Possibilities -- Some Thoughts on Transition . . . materfamiliashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-4633569835760570622016-05-16T14:08:04.285-07:002016-05-16T14:08:04.285-07:00Physio, acupuncture, massage all sound so nice rig...Physio, acupuncture, massage all sound so nice right now.<br /><br />I preferred handwriting my notes in seminars and at talks, but I took most of my notes on books read for my comps reading lists on my laptop. What I ended up doing was creating a binder for each of my subfields. My problem now is that I continue to blend systems but in less efficient ways for my note-taking for research projects and for the classes I teach. I need to investigate a few of the note taking software programs out there.Raquelitahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13138113830990586689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-87118362982495438812016-05-13T15:06:10.099-07:002016-05-13T15:06:10.099-07:00We have just put our house on the market with much...We have just put our house on the market with much mumbling and fudging about "dipping a toe in the water" " testing the market" and other ways of making us feel we are just playing at it. I am a person who thrives on change and I suspect that I am the driver of this although I have tried very hard indeed to give my husband the space to make his own feelings clear. He is a strong personality and has not taken any opportunity to say no, which he would do I believe, so I am stoppping thinking about that and just going with it. But the business of getting rid of things will be very hard for him. I am a chucker. He is a hoarder. He keeps going out to the workshop for a sort out and coming in for the bathroom...Elizabeth Musgravehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09473705107636868753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-11052303612060496732016-05-06T19:38:26.589-07:002016-05-06T19:38:26.589-07:00I think you're onto something very significant...I think you're onto something very significant here, Mardel -- I do believe (and I think there's science to back us up) that the kinaesthetic part of writing brings words, ideas, knowledges into our bodies and, thus, our brains, even our minds beyond and throughout those brains. At some point, my neurological impulses that directed my inscribing fingers must have been inscribed, however ephemerally, however bio-chemically, in me. I might not be able to turn to those pages anymore, but they have left their mark somehow. And now, as Linda says, above, I'm moving beyond them. . . Again, thanks, I do love thinking through this stuff with all of you!materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-79876278899252377722016-05-06T19:34:01.248-07:002016-05-06T19:34:01.248-07:00That's a great story, and really a lovely way ...That's a great story, and really a lovely way to let go . . . incrementally. By the time you realised they were missing, and you could calculate the effort required to retrieve them, their current worth to you became crystal clear. Better than the hems and haws I had to do in my own home, deliberating over the top of a garbage bing. . . Such a good job to clean up the office at work ahead of time. I left mine too late, and ended up bringing stuff home to think about when much could have been foisted on others on campus.<br />Yes, that worry=lost-sleep=more worry=even more lost sleep, horrid cycle. I have alternated the last four nights, with two good nights balancing the two bad. . . Tonight's the test, and I'd love to know I've put sleepless behind me. We shall see. . . materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-19944924875777717382016-05-06T19:29:19.145-07:002016-05-06T19:29:19.145-07:00Somehow, when you say "we move beyond it,&quo...Somehow, when you say "we move beyond it,"I feel even more positive about throwing the notebooks out. Better even that "letting them go." There's a thrust, a forward momentum there that I hope I can take advantage of -- thank you!<br />And I think that's so generous of you, to think of sending me a book, one that sounds perfect for me -- perhaps I'll enjoy armchair gardening just as well as having my own, and I won't have dirty nails nor aching joints! ;-) materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-52271446977715275952016-05-06T11:08:44.554-07:002016-05-06T11:08:44.554-07:00Beautiful photos, framing and casting light on bea...Beautiful photos, framing and casting light on beautiful, yes beautiful words. As I read about the dismembering of notebooks, I recalled myself doing that same thing, and a flood of emotion followed, memory resurrected.<br /><br />I too had notebooks, still do write on paper when I want to study or remember something. I realized when I let go of those pages that yes, I was letting go of a part of myself that was no longer important, but even more, it was not the paper and the imprint of words on that paper that I needed to save. It seems to me that the process of writing, of melding my thoughts with the actions of my hands and the ink on the pages forms neural connections that typing can never duplicate. Those notebooks are still a part of my neural pathways, my memories, my way of thinking, myself. The important parts of yourself that those notebooks helped you discover are still there, but I think you are finding your path.<br />Mardelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04850551308931710502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-6245481991141168102016-05-05T14:02:31.693-07:002016-05-05T14:02:31.693-07:00Oh, I have a definite parallel to this. My husban...Oh, I have a definite parallel to this. My husband and I carted our field exam preparation and dissertation sources and notes around for years. The boxes were stalwarts in our attics in at least three homes. The last time we moved we "accidentally" left them in a corner of the attic for the new owners to find. We thought it really was accidental, but when the new owners called us about the boxes somehow we did not need or want them. I find the same thing with old class notes -- I never use them (even when I should), but it's hard to let that work go too. Not sure why....all the hard work? A picture of my thoughts at the time? My goal this summer is to clean out my university office so we will see.<br />I also find it hard to sleep during life changing events especially ones that bring up intense memories, and then the more I worry about sleep the less I sleep. Give yourself time. <br />LynnAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-18351025181419862982016-05-05T13:25:00.711-07:002016-05-05T13:25:00.711-07:00There was a phase of life when all those intellect...There was a phase of life when all those intellectual trappings were comforting and validating, but I agree, we move beyond it. But those spiral bound pads can be hard to rip. There's a knack. You have forewarned me about the physical reaction to come when I go through the stage you're at just now. <br />Your Guernsey Cream is sublime (mine still in green bud. I never did get that shot I promised). Going back to your previous post, I see you getting on with Monty Don. Presenter of BBC Gardener's World. Writes gardening books that read as novels. Open about his history of depression. Much given to shabby linen shirts and French bleu de travail jackets. Radiates enthusiasm for growing things. At the start of a new season of GW a female journalist admitted that like the rest of the nation's women she was realising "the erotic potential of Monty Don." If you weren't in packing mode I would send you a copy of his "Jewel Garden".Lindahttp://occasionalscotland.blogspot.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-10331312695936963202016-05-05T05:56:47.883-07:002016-05-05T05:56:47.883-07:00This is so exactly what I'm talking about, Ele...This is so exactly what I'm talking about, Eleonore. I'm afraid I wasn't quite as brave about my books, but I tried to do some honest culling at this stage. Far too many anthologies are coming along under the pretense that I will finally refresh my acquaintance with Milton, reread Wordsworth's Prelude, spend some time with Yeats. Alas, I suspect I'll be off on my bike somewhere instead, camera and picnic lunch in the basket. . . But the illusion, those books on my shelves. . . sadly, our new home, when we find it, is not likely to be rundown but neither will it be spacious (a tradeoff we would probably be happy to make but which is unlikely in the market). . . .so many of the books will need to go, and before too long. And I may surprise myself by finding that I'm relieved not to bear their reproach any longer rather than bereft that I've lost their false corroboration. <br />I do like your observation that my sleep might result as much from my writing as from the acupuncture. materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-38670800928845521212016-05-05T05:48:39.695-07:002016-05-05T05:48:39.695-07:00Yes, once that frightening moment of public nudity...Yes, once that frightening moment of public nudity has passed -- (see Georgia, above! ;-)materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-62037536367244742372016-05-05T05:47:24.646-07:002016-05-05T05:47:24.646-07:00It's true, Barb, although the digital formats ...It's true, Barb, although the digital formats have their limits as well -- I chucked some VHS videos my brother-in-law made, perhaps 20 years ago, transferring old family 8mm movies -- we no longer use a video machine, and hadn't viewed those for at least a decade. Even the CDs compiling years' worth of photographs -- I doubt my next computer will have a CD player. . . But I know young moms who scan the pages their little artists bring home from school and toss the original to maintain a minimalist home environment. Smart if the technology persists in a consistent form. . .<br />Now I'm wondering if there's a Jersey-named clematis as well. . . ;-)materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-57828799892847094292016-05-05T05:42:47.170-07:002016-05-05T05:42:47.170-07:00Yes, that post is very resonant, and now I've ...Yes, that post is very resonant, and now I've added a new blog to my feed -- thank you!<br />Throwing out research files, notes for articles and presentations was tough, although not as tough as tossing old letters or little notes the kids wrote when they were 7 or 8 (Yeah, I'll 'fess up, most of the latter survived this purge and will survive the next as well -- Permanent Collection!). <br />I think you're wise to keep editing, culling, with no move in the horizon. I hadn't been able to make time for much over the last 15 years or so -- doing so would have made this much simpler. I do think that getting rid of the old ideas leaves room for the new ones -- I suspect you'll get there! materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-20360664140584140942016-05-05T03:06:17.545-07:002016-05-05T03:06:17.545-07:00When I look up from my desk I can see 5 metres of ...When I look up from my desk I can see 5 metres of shelving covered with books about Peruvian history, from pre-colonial times to the end of the 20th century, agrarian reform, peasant movements, indigenous protests etc. etc. Most of these book were written in the 70s, and - to tell the truth - I haven't touched a single one of them for more than 20 years. They represent a very important stage in my life, but I know it's over. It is most unlikely I will ever move back to that subject. In fact, I don't feel very inclined to move back anywhere. I want to use the time left to me to learn and do new things. <br />Well, that's what I am saying now while I am still living in my run-down but spacious apartment and looking at my wall of books. I know that within a year or two I will move to a much smaller place and many decisions will have to be taken. And your post helped me understand why I always shudder at the idea of getting rid of those books. It will be the material proof that I stopped (long ago) to be a scholar on the subject of Peruvian Social History. I have known this for a long time, but the books helped me to maintain the illusion.<br />Commenting on a comment of yours - I do not wish to put in doubt the wonders done by acupuncture, but could it be possible that you night's sleep was also improved by your own post? That is, by the insights you reached while ripping up your notebooks?Eleonorenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-83856609327724129852016-05-05T00:41:14.245-07:002016-05-05T00:41:14.245-07:00Winter will come but before then there will be a g...Winter will come but before then there will be a glorious Autumn after an Indian summer. Ceri in Bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-36003733025924827252016-05-04T22:06:05.877-07:002016-05-04T22:06:05.877-07:00From a fellow word lover, I appreciate what you...From a fellow word lover, I appreciate what you've done with 'dismantle'. Uncloaking - what a great picture that brings to me of removing something. The word brings to me a feeling of lightness, of casting off something that is no longer necessary as summer approaches, of revealing one's true self, of freedom to move. I'll be thinking about this.<br />The lovely tulips in your garden make a beautiful accompaniment to your words. Lorriehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03653026442945027184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-58381874403092285832016-05-04T14:15:41.497-07:002016-05-04T14:15:41.497-07:00In the future many will not have this problem. The...In the future many will not have this problem. They will back up their computers regularly and keep all the memories of a career. We are from a time when much was hand written. I can feel your pain as you rip those spirals out but it's a good time to dismantle . I'm sure your new declutterred life will please you when you arrive. But for now keep smelling the roses as they say. Love the Guernsey clematis from our sister isle. B xxCoastal Rippleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13355914194686166834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-163631637168320442016-05-04T11:03:52.761-07:002016-05-04T11:03:52.761-07:00I love the double meaning of "dismantling&quo...I love the double meaning of "dismantling" that you've uncovered (pun intended, of course) here.<br /><br />Your post made me think of this post I recently came across by another Canadian blogger:<br />http://seenandsaid.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-slow-thaw-and-spring-clean.html<br />Maybe you find some resonance there? <br />Her formulation of "I have fantasies about getting to a place where every single thing in my apartment has essential and present-tense meaning or utility" is simultaneously so attractive and so scary to me.<br /><br />I've been thinking of what I've been doing as "deaccessioning," as if I were some librarian or curator (in the pre-Pinterest sense) of quotidian stuff. So there's a sense of passing along the things that no longer have a place in the Permanent Collection, while also wanting to do right by the objects. (I, too, would devote a whole morning -- and have done -- to ripping the pages of spiral-bound notebooks away from their metal coils.)<br /><br />Surely my own efforts are not as emotionally fraught as yours, since I don't have that added element of moving house and moving into a different phase of life as well. Still, some things are much more difficult to get rid of than they ought to be. I have files full of clippings and such having to do with articles I wrote years ago, and articles I never did actually manage to write years ago. I tell myself that getting rid of old ideas makes room for new ones (and I do believe this, there goes my woo-woo again), and yet bringing myself to actually do it is sometimes a different story....Sarahhttp://becoming-gezellig.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-23275087011786399292016-05-04T07:54:46.228-07:002016-05-04T07:54:46.228-07:00So true. The not knowing can be seductive, all sor...So true. The not knowing can be seductive, all sorts of possibilities and freedom one imagines when these big moves are still only future dreams, but as we move right into them, it's so tempting to cling to the known.<br />Thanks for encouraging, and for reminding me that others have done this and it's not only manageable but will lead to good places. materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-23759560304698302252016-05-04T07:51:57.570-07:002016-05-04T07:51:57.570-07:00Such kind words to wake up to -- after, get this! ...Such kind words to wake up to -- after, get this! eight solid hours last night!! I couldn't believe it, and I suspect it had to do with yesterday's physio visit when needles were stuck all over me -- IMS for a tender knee (knotted quads, ITB, etc., torquing all the supporting /surrounding soft tissues of the knee, not the joint itself) and then a 5-minute acupuncture session that could have been illustrated by those cartoon arcing electric sparks -- awesome!). Curious to know about your own comps-prep notebooks, or are your notes all electronic?materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-26100726783638336692016-05-04T07:48:08.510-07:002016-05-04T07:48:08.510-07:00Yeah, was there ever a more ironic title? Not sure...Yeah, was there ever a more ironic title? Not sure why this tends to be my escape genre of choice, in reading as well. . . materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-68314220283320882212016-05-04T07:47:18.637-07:002016-05-04T07:47:18.637-07:00"Very" bordering on a "too"? ;..."Very" bordering on a "too"? ;-)materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-7514806281425025512016-05-04T07:46:48.468-07:002016-05-04T07:46:48.468-07:00Ah, true! And it is scary. But I agree -- in the l...Ah, true! And it is scary. But I agree -- in the long run, I think it will be good. Good and bad, maybe, and that's okay. Or even, that's good. . . if that makes sense. Thanks!materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-81724838480696456422016-05-04T07:45:36.890-07:002016-05-04T07:45:36.890-07:00Yes, I suspect many readers will have dismantled t...Yes, I suspect many readers will have dismantled their lives, some more drastically than others, and it can "tear apart the heart." Some of you will have made lemonade. I wonder if everything does become whole again, though. I know there are some losses from which one never recovers -- moving house doesn't qualify, at least not on the scale of my move. . . materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-11563284766539778322016-05-04T07:41:34.761-07:002016-05-04T07:41:34.761-07:00Isn't it interesting how that has happened, Ce...Isn't it interesting how that has happened, Ceri in B. I wonder if it's because those of us who took on the doc a bit later in life get frustrated with the academic world's apparent exclusion of so many things that matter to us on a quotidian basis. . .<br />I think there's something to your idea of seasons. Certainly, there are times when it's foolish to ignore harbingers of, and invitations to, change. . . (of course, the darker side of seasons is that, realistically, I'm moving rather too close to Winter, on a linear sketch, rather than a cyclical one, of the Year. . . ;-)materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4904021173466473381.post-67872112769294502552016-05-04T07:35:37.828-07:002016-05-04T07:35:37.828-07:00I suspect you've done quite a bit over the yea...I suspect you've done quite a bit over the years, Patricia, with the many career-related moves your husband has had to make. But if you haven't done it since the kids have left home, there may be room to KondoMar even more! (although I have some serious reservations about that program!)materfamiliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16062766947897513369noreply@blogger.com