Today is my kids’ last day of school. Just the thought of summer break strikes a crippling fear in my heart and now, it is on my doorstep, ringing the doorbell. “I’m not home! Go away!” I’m yelling from under my blanket of denial, but he refuses to leave. I know that I have to open the damn door. I know it. I just cannot bring myself to leave the comfort that has been my denial for the past few days.

I have all of the teacher’s gifts, wrapped and ready to give. It is my last ditch effort to plead with them to take my kids home for the summer. My second grader’s teacher asked if we would keep the class pet, a frog, for the summer. I offered her an even trade…the frog for the second grader. She laughed. I didn’t. Maybe nobody will notice if I forget to pick up the kids after school today. Maybe I can bribe the custodian to lock them in the utility closet for ten weeks. Maybe I can pay her to slide some food and water under the door, so they survive. Maybe I can find a mission trip to send the kids on. What better way to spend the summer than learning about how good life really is in the United States? So they risk Malaria and other unpleasant side effects of third world visitation, it is all part of the experience, right? With great rewards, come great risks!

Okay, so I sound a little desperate. I am. The little beasts were off of school for one extra day, last week. Our house and my temper suffered greatly, that day. They “accidentally” spilled a smoothie in the cable box and broke it. They “accidentally” rode their scooters in the house and made several gouges in the wall, before I caught them. They “accidentally” poured a bottle of baby shampoo all over the bathroom floor, to clean up the ink pen that “accidentally” broke and splatter painted the floor a lovely shade of midnight. They “accidentally” killed my last shred of sanity. I’m not sure how I’m going to avoid being the next “Parent Gone Mad, Drowns Her Children” news headline, but something has to be figured out. I decided to seek out divine intervention, yesterday. I emailed my husband’s uncle, who is a priest, to seek some advice. I kid you not, this was our correspondence:

“Hi Uncle John. How are you? We are fine. The kids will be out of school on Friday. I’m a little scared. It makes me wonder how your sister (my mother in law) survived summer break with 13 kids! Any guidance that you can offer me? Love, Kadi”

“Dear Kadi, I am doing well. Find a summer program for the kids…quickly. Love, Fr. (uncle) John”

I was expecting some words of wisdom, a prayer, a novena, or even a suggestion of exorcism. Nope. He told me to find a place to shove my kids for the summer. Even the priest knows I’m doomed. I’m heading to the store now, to buy a lot of Mr. Clean Magic Erasers, Clorox Wipes, duct tape, rope, Lexapro and other survival essentials. Then, I’m going to schedule some weekly phone “confessions” with Uncle John, because I’m going to need some major absolution of sin, for the next ten weeks! Now, how am I going to leave the house, without opening the door for the grim reaper who is still lurking on my stoop?

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Kati Kim, wife of the deceased James Kim, who died of hypothermia after venturing out of a  desolate road covered in snow and ice, saved her children via breastfeeding. Her daughters, ages 7 months and 4 years, survived because their mother nursed them.

Unbeknownst to the Kims, a wrong turn would prove to be a fatal one for the father who put his life on the line to save his family.

From sfgate.com:

James Kim set out for help Saturday morning after the family had already spent a week stranded 15 miles down a logging road off Bear Camp Road. Kim left because he and his wife, Kati, had been studying a map that they thought indicated Galice was only four miles away, Hastings said.

“In reality, it was 15 miles away,” he said. “He thought if he could get to the road (with other vehicles on it), he could figure out help.”

His is survived by his wife and two young daughters, and was only able to survive as long as they did becaue their mother kept them hydrated with the highly nutritious food source from her own body.

Even though I am a huge advocate in infant feeding choice, I do think this is a tangible instance where breastfeeding advocates have the right to be proud. When you think of Hurricane Katrina and how many babies suffered as a direct result of inaccessible baby formula, it reminds us of what a powerful tool lactation can be.

From abcnews.com:

Remarkably, Kim’s daughters, 4-year-old Penelope and 7-month-old Sabine, were reported to be in good condition after the ordeal.

The key to this fortunate ending may have been the fact that Kim breast-fed both of them to keep them alive amid the harsh conditions once no other food was available.

Experts say the episode suggests how mother’s milk, in a disastrous pinch, can make the difference in whether a child survives.

“The fact that Kati Kim was able to breast-feed both of her children for the amount of time that they were stranded most likely was lifesaving for them,” says Dr. Sheela Geraghty, assistant professor of pediatrics and medical director at the Center for Breastfeeding Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati.

“Breast milk not only provides the calories needed to sustain life, it also helps prevents dehydration,” Geraghty says.

A picture of Kati Kim and infant daughter Sabine after rescue (AP

Lest a formula feeding mom feel guilty, I think that although breastfeeding can be a powerful tool of survival in a disasterous situation, a formula feeding mom can be prepared. If you are going on a road trip, it would be wise to bring bottled water and cans, or better yet, a case of formula with you — ready made formula is even better.

Also, a woman can induce lactation, especially if she has recently breastfed in the past or in the last several months, but being prepared is a much safer bet that inducing lactation undire dire circumstanes. Lactation induction can take a day, even weeks to establish, but can be done in women who have never even breastfed before, proving yet again, how miraculous the human body is.

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