Lynn, I considered e-mailing you privately but you and
I are not the only posters who have occasionally been
misread, nor will we be the last.  We may even misread
others on occasion.  It is part of the experience of
the forum.

My experience with Lactnet has been that all of us who
go to the effort of posting will occasionally be
misunderstood.  Sometimes we shoot first, & examine
the target later.  Unfortunately, this happens most
often with issues that touch our hearts and passion.

My last post just before the heartache that still
rocks the US & many parts of the world was an effort
to quell judgment.  Imagine my sadness & dismay when
my effort was seen by a few as one of judgment.
Judgment is not my intent in this post or any other,
made today or any other day.  I believe that all of us
hope to read and to reach out in a sincere effort to
communicate.  I feel strongly there is real community
here.  If we sometimes misread one another, don’t we
also as families?  It is part of what we so humanly
do.  It is part of our growth and learning.

I wish for all of us that we assume the best of one
another, and lead with that attitude.

In the children’s picture book GRASPER (Paul Owen
Lewis) [with which I have no financial connection!] a
young crab worries about taking chances in his world:

*****

[Said the giant crab:]  “Everyone knows a crab will
only grow as large as the world he lives in, and as
big as the heart inside him.  YOU MUST HAVE A BIG
HEART TO LIVE IN A BIG WORLD.”

“But they told me I must have a hard heart, not a big
heart,” said Grasper.

“A hard heart will not grow, little one. . . .

“Then a soft heart isn’t dangerous?” asked Grasper.

“Oh yes, it can be,” he replied, “but it is the only
way a crab can really grow.”

*****

One of many readings at my nephew’s interfaith
welcoming ceremony, I continue to learn from it.  Many
of us continue to welcome babies to the breast and to
the world during this difficult moment.  In all our
moments, wide or small, I hope we will remain open.
Barb shared with us a wonderful time of openness with
a new mother welcoming her baby to the breast at a
human pace.  How extraordinary for Barb, for the
mother, for the baby.  If only it could be ordinary,
what ordinarily happens with each of us, in welcoming
babies and in welcoming life.


Susan Johnson  MFA, IBCLC



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