Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity

That was the verdict handed down today for Andrea Yates. For those who don't remember she was the mother who drowned her five kids in the bathtub a few years back. Although only she, the children, and God really know what happened, I believe in my heart that that is the right verdict. Having been through postpartum depression and having been suicidal myself, I believe there is a fine line between postpartum depression and psychosis. Do I think it's ok to drown your children? Absolutely not!! But do I see the recipe that led up to it? Absolutely. One day when I was doing some patient teaching about pp depression/psychosis, I brought this example up and the baby's dad said, "That woman was crazy!" And I said to him, "That woman was ill and needed help." It is only due to the grace of God and a really supportive circle of friends, family, and coworkers *and God* that I'm alive today. I'm don't think Andrea Yates had that to help her through her mental illness.

In lighter news, we are repainting our livingroom, and boy did it need it! It looks so good. It went from a pale yellow to an aqua turquoise color, the color that the ocean looks when you see a postcard from the Caribbean. So to go with that theme, I'm looking for some either pictures or prints of Mexican/Caribbean things to decorate with. I've ordered a Diego Rivera print called "Girl with Sunflowers" so far and I think I'm going to get some more of his stuff because, although the man's lifestyle left much to be desired, he was a great painter with an ability to capture the essence of Mexico. Anyway, we're both happy with how our "new room" looks.

New words: Mexico, Lola (stroller), toe, shorts, and zebra AKA "horsie".

A quick few words of advice to my friends Miles and Brooklynne who are expecting their first baby Oct. 8: 1) You don't need all the Increase Your Baby's IQ toys & stuff that's advertised. Just wearing a different shirt every day, playing a little music, and talking to the baby will be enough the first 4-8 weeks. Then you can get more things little by little. It gets to be too much real fast. 2) Sleep when Baby Girl Travis sleeps! 3) You can't spoil her by holding her too much!! She is only this little once and it flies by, so enjoy her!!! Ok, enough of my parent soliloquy. As my uncle Jerry tells me, free advice is usually worth what you pay for it.