“Fetch the bolt cutters, I’ve been in here too long.” Fiona Apple

Once again, Ms. Apple perfectly captures all my feels.  Has anyone seen my bolt cutters?  Fiona Apple and I are the same age, and ever since I was 16, she has been dutifully putting every angsty, existential, dreamy, angry, floaty, rage-filled emotion I’ve ever had into songs.  Now, you may be asking, ‘whyever would you be feeling so existential, so angry, so….feel-y these days, you grown-ass woman?’  JK.  I know you know why.  The whole world is feeling it, the uncertainty, the anxiety, the fog of grief over things large and small, the restless energy begging for focus or at least an outlet.  So here I am, indulging in one of many attempts to focus my energy toward productivity and away from snacks…so many snacks.

Jess and I have taken a lengthy break from the podcast game, so let’s call this the start of season two, shall we?  As go so many side gigs, what was once a fun outlet and an excuse to spend an hour or two together became another appointment on an already packed calendar.  Pre-pandemic, most of our conversations occurred via Marco Polo whenever either of us had a free minute.  These days Marco Polo remains our go-to, but we seem to have quite a few extra “free” minutes and as I discussed above, quite a few extra feelings as well.

This first episode of season two, we want to focus on the things that are giving us life right now, the metaphorical bolt cutters.  I don’t want to put lipstick on a pig, and I’ve never much appreciated “bright side” talk, so let me say this as directly as I can: this pandemic is devastating and that devastation is coming at all of us from seemingly infinite angles.  There is no way to put lipstick on this pig.  BUT.  There are some things bringing me joy, and I want to tell you about them.  There are some things bringing Jess joy, and I want to hear about them.  Hey, maybe some of these things will bring you joy too.  

More importantly, and I guess above all, I wanted to send love into the universe.  So if you’re reading this, take some love for yourself.  Remember that this too shall pass.  Let’s walk each other home with all of the grace we can muster.

Xo,

S and J

Episode 6: Contentment

Note: We are so sorry that the previous version of this episode left something to be desired, technologically speaking.  We hope you’ll try out this new, improved, and properly synced Episode 6 and feel, well, contented.  xo

You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need. -The Rolling Stones

I turned 40 last Saturday, and though I didn’t mourn the number as is culturally expected, I did find myself in a rather pensive mood as the date approached. I suppose the recognition that half my life (or more) has passed led me to ask, what am I to do with the second half?  

In truth, the first half of my life was spent in the land of wants—discovering wants, working hard to achieve and obtain and fulfill those wants, and examining life again and again to find that wants seem to come in endless supply.  To say I haven’t been the model of contentment is an understatement.

A never ending stream of wants leaves a person empty and sick. It isn’t what we need. Wants take us out of the present moment, out of gratitude, and into the reminiscent past or the ever sparkling future. Wants steal our joy by making us feel less than, our circumstances less than.

So here is what I need in the second half of my life: a grateful heart, a present mind, a family and friends to love and be loved by. Nothing more, nothing less.

In that vein, I give you today’s episode, a conversation about contentment, the things that block us, and the practices that cultivate a spirit of contentment. We hope you’ll find it useful, and we hope you’ll be in touch to let us know how you find your happy!

Love,

J and S

Episode 5: Parenting Challenges

I woke up this morning wrapped in a flannel dream–the weight of the comforter tucked around me a protective barrier from the ever-lightening gray sky outside, my feet nuzzled underneath Molly, my constant canine love.  And then I felt it–a ten year old boy, all knees and elbows, crawling in next to me, shoving Molly off with a decidedly unceremonious leg push.  He explained, in great detail, a dream about living as a viking on an island, a dream which ended in his plummeting to death inside an abandoned viking ship, and he followed up this dream story with several good morning farts.  Sigh.  Bubble.  Broken.

This episode is all about parenting, or said more accurately, all about the current parenting trials and tribulations in the Kerley and Jameson households.  We laugh, we cry, and we offer very little in the way of true advice.  Jk, jk, there’s some advice thrown in there too.  We hope you’ll give it a listen, and please let us know what you think!  Also, we mention quite a few books in this episode, so see below for titles.

Thanks again for listening!

Love,

J and S

 

Notes:

The Optimistic Child by Martin Seligman,  Ph.D.

The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt

The Conscious Parent by Dr. Shefali Tsabary

The Whole Brain Child by Daniel Siegal

The Out of Sync Child by Carol Kranowitz

Free Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy

Episode 4: Owning Your Power

Well hello there, Friends!  So after a prolonged holiday break, we are back.  This episode was, in fact, recorded prior to Christmas, but laziness, travel, and a terrific viral upper respiratory infection prevented me from posting it.  (Look at those excuses!  See: “how not to own your power” ha!)  That said, I hope you had a beautiful holiday season, and I hope your transition into 2019 has been lovely.  This is going to be an excellent year, I can feel it.

What do you think of when you hear the phrase “own your power”?  In this episode we discuss what it means to be powerful, authentic, and true.  We hope it reminds you that you are more than enough, that the world needs YOU, and that when you stand in your own power and gifts, amazing things can happen!

In addition to these serious matters, we also have a short discourse on natural deodorant.  Please provide your thoughts and recommendations, particularly re: all things body odor.

Sending blessings and happy listening!

Love,

Jess and Sara

 

Episode 3: Dreams and Ambition

I had a dream the other night that I was taking a shower in a filthy bathroom, and a small child popped in and called me the c word.  I know, very graphic.  But don’t be scared, these are NOT the kind of dreams we will be discussing on today’s episode.  And what, your psyche doesn’t do mean things to you at night?  I don’t buy it…but I digress.

In this episode we tackle dreaming big and planning small, how to take those first steps, how to wait for the right season, and how to identify and overcome obstacles that may stand in your way.  We hope you’ll spend some time with us and hey, let us know what your goals are and how you plan to make them happen!  Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go clean my bathroom and let my son out of time out.  Tee hee.  Thank you so much for listening.

Love,

J and S

 

Episode 2: How to Make Friends as an Adult

Adulting is hard, and it’s even harder when you try to do it without friends by your side.  On this episode, we explore the often fraught with challenges process of establishing new friendships as an adult.  If your life is in a period of transition, this episode is for you.  We discuss the where (hello early morning soccer games), the how (like that one time I asked my physical therapist to be my friend), and the holdups (don’t let those yoga pants moms scare you!) to putting yourself out there and making some awesome new connections.  In an era of almost epidemic loneliness in our culture, friendship, connection, and community couldn’t be more crucial.  Also, I really like alliteration.  Anywho, we hope you enjoy this episode and, um, I was wondering….will you be my friend?

Love,

J and S

Our First Podcast!

You guys!  We did it!

I proudly present our first episode, made with love and a great desire to conquer all things technology.  I’ll let you be the judge of whether or not we actually did conquer all things technology (hint-we totally did!).

This first episode is an introduction to our podcast, an overview of who we are, and a discussion of what we’d like to do with these conversations.  We really hope you’ll love it.  Please give it a listen, and give us your feedback.  We can’t wait to hear from you!

Love,

J and S

 

Girlfriend’s Anatomy

Hello world! We are Dr. Jessica Jameson and Dr. Sara Kerley, and it seems an introduction is long overdue. Let’s be honest–we launched into this blog game over a year ago without much of a plan or clear direction. We knew we had something to say, yes, and we knew we wanted to do a blog, a podcast or maybe both. Many late night texts later, we are ready.

So welcome! Welcome to Girlfriend’s Anatomy, the blog and podcast where we dissect work, life, spirituality, and much more from the perspective of two women physicians navigating the prime of life. In the spirit of transparency, here are some of our goals: to work together on a creative outlet, to generate content that is unique and uplifting, to ultimately create a non-profit working to support widows worldwide, and of course, we want to meet Oprah and Rob Bell. (Please read and respond, Universe. Thx.)

Excuse this interruption in first person writing for a brief biography section…

Dr. Jessica Jameson is board-certified in Anesthesia and Pain Management. She shares a practice in North Idaho with a spine surgeon, and together they focus on patients who have failed previous treatments and surgeries. Jessica is a leader in her field, and she provides mentorship to women in her specialty nationwide. Her loves include her husband, her three children, and she finds joy through singing, skiing, fishing, and reading.

Dr. Sara Kerley is board-certified in Family Medicine, and after nearly 12 years in the Air Force, she has found freedom and life balance through Urgent Care work. Sara lives in South New Jersey with her husband and 2 boys, and she enjoys reading, writing, hiking, and hanging out with her German Shepherd girl and orange tabby boy. Her most vivid dream involves living on an Alpaca ranch in Colorado, and she’s pretty sure that one day, it’s going to happen.

Aaaaannnnnd we’re back. We met on the first day of our intern year in 2005, in the auditorium at David Grant Medical Center, a hospital on Travis Air Force Base in California. It truly was love at first conversation, and we haven’t stopped talking since. Our friendship has spanned 1 marriage, 5 children, 2 residencies, 1 fellowship, 3 deployments, 2 separations from the Air Force, and 8 states. Having seen so much transition in our lives, we know how rare true friendship is, and believe me, we have our down payments ready for adjacent rooms in the assisted living center. In other words, to steal from our good friend Taylor Swift, we are never ever ever going to leave each other.

So that’s us! Stay tuned for our first podcast episode and future episodes on topics like “Making Friends as an Adult”, “Parenting Challenges”, “Woo Woo Medicine”, and the ever popular, much requested “Smashing the Patriarchy Whilst Raising Sons.” We promise our sense of humor on recordings is much better than the one you’ve seen trotted out here. In all seriousness, we can’t wait to bring you into our circle and hear your thoughts and ideas. We sincerely hope you’ll join us.

Love,
J and S

What Mary Oliver Knows

Mary Oliver knows how to be alone

I want to walk in the woods with Mary

Or spend a while

Laying in the grass

Listening to the whole earth singing

 

This is what Mary knows:

We are never alone

 

When she sees the geese flying overhead

She hears a message from God

She says we don’t have to be good

She says we are already loved

 

I want to know what Mary knows

That beauty is a thing to be seen

Not owned

That love and possession aren’t the same

That beauty isn’t a thing at all, but a revelation

That the songbirds don’t seek to cage or be caged

But only to send their notes skyward

Their simple prayer

The clearest announcement

Just be

Just be

Just be

For Mark

He was 75

He wore an old sweater and good shoes

He had horn-rimmed reading glasses that hid his glinty eyes

It had all the effect of painting him an elder hipster

 

He danced tango with his much younger wife

He made inappropriate jokes during class

Like me, he was bored

Thrice married, supporting his step-children through college

I couldn’t tell if his own children were estranged

 

I couldn’t find his obituary but

I did read the article about the accident

A motorcycle seems risky at 75

But then again, so does a third wife

 

The truck hit him from the side, and

He was thrown from the bike

He died on the side of a Southern California Highway

And isn’t that just like him,

To dance on out of this world and into the next?

 

He said, don’t go to Argentina with a beautiful woman

Unless, of course, you want to fall in love

 

But I didn’t need to go to Argentina

I went to St Louis

I sat by an older man in a corporate training class

He teased me and checked his stock portfolio while

We were supposed to be paying attention and instead

We just barely survived fake-nice Linda together

 

I fell in love with the way he loved life

And made fun of the inspirational sayings in my planner

 

I hope he wasn’t cold and

I hope he didn’t hurt and

I hope he’s dancing tango with an angel

Right now