Rummaging in our office supplies closet yesterday, I came across a simple white mug with the outline of a woman cradling a baby drawn on one side and the inscription “Liga de la Lactancia Materna de Honduras” on the other. It held a variety of pens and pencils at the ready for whoever needed one, but as I looked I saw it filled only with memories.
I worked for La Leche League International for a short fifteen months and left in 1994. Yet, every now and then I find a remnant of that era hiding in my current life; and it reminds me that it was the most important job I ever held. My tenure was short, as I left when the internal politics took more of my time than the job for which I was hired.
Yet, whenever I find something from those days, I recall how committed the women who worked for La Leche League were, regardless of whether they were paid staff or volunteers. I remember Mary Lofton and Betty Crase and Judy Torgas and Rebecca Magalhaes even though I haven’t spoken with any of them in over a decade. I remember going to Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico on behalf of the organization to promote breastfeeding as a lifesaving intervention. I remember being honored to do so, since I hadn’t risen through the ranks of La Leche League and was considered by many to be an outsider.
It was a tumultuous time for the organization. Membership was flat, the administration was in flux, and the group was attempting to purchase a new home in the Chicago suburbs for its international headquarters. Finances and budgets were an added challenge. But it was exciting to be part of a group primarily composed of women who were convinced they could make a categorical difference in the world by promoting breastfeeding. The original seven founders started the organization at a time when even the word itself was not acceptable in print. That was fifty years ago this year. You cannot believe what they’ve done since.
The women in Honduras presented me with the white mug as a token of their friendship. I hardly spoke Spanish, but I tried to convey my appreciation. Yesterday, I removed the mug from its hiding place; in the future, I’ll keep it on my desk.
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