Forwards. Everyone hates them. The new statement is "I don't usually forward, but this is particularly [insert adjective]." The thing that I hate most is when people I haven't talked to or seen in years suddenly send me a forward. The bright side, I guess, that I am still in their address book. On the other hand, one friend sends about four a day. I have this image of her checking her email and sending all the forwards to everyone in her address book without even reading them herself. She recently got a Blackberry. I guess she wanted to send her forwards from the road. Actually, she's not annoying to me, I have everything from her starting in "Fwd" or "Forward" filtered directly to my junk mail. The problem is, occasionally a pertinent email gets into my junk by accident.
"Didn't you get my email about the birthday party?"
Um... "Oh, yeah, sorry it took me so long to respond, I've been so busy." Almost everything you send me goes to my junk mail to save my time to read the important stuff.
If I have time, I can be a very annoying receiver of forwards about missing children, asbestos in tampons, or golfers eaten by crocodiles. I check Snopes to prove them wrong and "Respond to All". Hee hee.
Anyway, for a blogger, herein lies the rub: I discovered a fellow mom-blogger through a forwarded email. Granted, it wasn't random, my friend Melanie said "You should see this thing going around the internet, it's hilarious." It was hilarious, this blogger is extremely talented, I read her blog every day, and I am proud to say she actually reads mine occasionally.
So, with the ingenerate dilemma of Abbie Hoffman's Steal This Book, I ask that if you particularly enjoy one of my stories, forward it along, but please ask permission. And please give it the respect that Melanie gave to my fellow blogger. What's the point if it goes directly into someone's junk mail?
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
And Your Seats Are in the Upright and Locked Position
Last summer I got to know the wife of Charlie’s t-ball coach, as we sat together twice a week for six weeks. I discovered Lauren to be a very patient, attentive mom. Not that I let my kids run wild, but I believe that unless they are a danger to themselves or others, my kids should be able to experience life in any way they want. During one evening game Atticus enjoyed playing in the soft, dusty dirt that can be found on and around a baseball field. I didn't really care because he was going to get a bath as soon as we got home. He had it on his hands, in his hair, on his clothes, and all over his face, the snot having mixed with the dirt to become mud. When he came over to visit me, Lauren asked if I wanted a wipe. "No thanks" I said, thinking it was a lost cause. She proceeded to try to wipe him herself, actually getting out of her chair to chase him when he ran away.
A few weeks after the t-ball season had ended, I ran into Lauren at Target, and we chatted a bit. You know how it goes:
“What are you here for?”
“A sweatshirt for Charlie.” but I’ll never get out of here without spending $200 on crap I don’t need.
That Sunday I was walking into church and our Priest caught my arm. "Lauren Thompson passed away yesterday... a brain tumor."
"Lauren Thompson," I replied, "Lauren Thompson my age?"
"Yes."
Only old people who sip on lye as children die of brain tumors. "Lauren Thompson, my age?!?" I begged, hoping he was mistaken.
"Yes, with two young boys."
I plopped down in the pew next to Mark. "Lauren Thompson died," I said, staring straight ahead.
"Paul’s wife? How?"
"Father said a brain tumor. He must have meant an aneurysm. Who dies that suddenly of a brain tumor?"
After mass I got the story from a close friend of Lauren’s, whose eyes were swollen and she looked terribly pale. Lauren had had dizzy spells for months and flu-like symptoms all summer. She finally had a headache and vomiting so bad she told Paul she needed to go to the ER. There they did an MRI and discovered half her brain was engulfed by a tumor. The pressure on her brain was what was giving her the headaches and vomiting. They removed a part of her skull to relieve some of the pressure, but that didn't work. They asked Paul if he thought they should remove more. He then made the most courageous and impossible decisions anyone would ever have to make. He called the family and children to come say goodbye and took her off life support.
She had kissed her kids goodnight and twelve hours later she was dead.
I am betting Lauren had never seen a doctor for her ailments. You can only imagine how many times she took the kids in for annual checkups, ear infections, and stomach bugs. She probably even reminded Paul to go to the dentist. But I am sure she never found the time to go to the doctor herself. I am sure she thought she would get to it late. Moms since the beginning of time took care of others and put themselves last. I know I do it. I am 39 and never had a mammogram. I have hypothyroidism and I don’t get blood drawn until my hair starts falling out, although I am supposed to go every six weeks. I have been meaning for about six months to get a full body scan at a dermatologist to look for skin cancer because I am very fair.
There is a Christian radio show called Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss. About a year ago DeMoss discussed Proverbs 31 of the bible. This sums it up her view: "Today, women are so programmed to want their own position and to want recognition for what they do. They do not want to be known as Mrs. So-and-so, but to be known in their own right, for their own gifts and their own contribution. But the excellent woman... recognizes that it is really a compliment to be known as the wife of a man who has risen to a position of spiritual leadership." I don't want to offend anyone who may take stock in these beliefs, but in my opinion, this a very degrading and dangerous attitude. The importance cannot be stressed enough of the equal partnership in a marriage, and that means although the “career” of a stay-at-home mom is to take care of her family, she has to take care of herself too.
When you are on an airplane during the pre-flight safety instructions the flight attendants advise that in the case of "loss of cabin pressure" the oxygen masks will drop. They specifically say to put your mask on first before helping others. This is the way it should be in life, too. You can't effectively nurture others if you don't take care of yourself.
Get a massage, go shopping, get to the gynecologist, get your mammogram, go to the dentist and eye doctor, exercise, drink enough water and have a hobby. My hobby is writing this questionably entertaining blog, but I barely have enough time to do that between schlepping this one here and that one there, wiping butts, doing laundry and cooking dinner.
But when the oxygen masks drop, put yours on first. Then you'll all have a better chance of survival.
A few weeks after the t-ball season had ended, I ran into Lauren at Target, and we chatted a bit. You know how it goes:
“What are you here for?”
“A sweatshirt for Charlie.” but I’ll never get out of here without spending $200 on crap I don’t need.
That Sunday I was walking into church and our Priest caught my arm. "Lauren Thompson passed away yesterday... a brain tumor."
"Lauren Thompson," I replied, "Lauren Thompson my age?"
"Yes."
Only old people who sip on lye as children die of brain tumors. "Lauren Thompson, my age?!?" I begged, hoping he was mistaken.
"Yes, with two young boys."
I plopped down in the pew next to Mark. "Lauren Thompson died," I said, staring straight ahead.
"Paul’s wife? How?"
"Father said a brain tumor. He must have meant an aneurysm. Who dies that suddenly of a brain tumor?"
After mass I got the story from a close friend of Lauren’s, whose eyes were swollen and she looked terribly pale. Lauren had had dizzy spells for months and flu-like symptoms all summer. She finally had a headache and vomiting so bad she told Paul she needed to go to the ER. There they did an MRI and discovered half her brain was engulfed by a tumor. The pressure on her brain was what was giving her the headaches and vomiting. They removed a part of her skull to relieve some of the pressure, but that didn't work. They asked Paul if he thought they should remove more. He then made the most courageous and impossible decisions anyone would ever have to make. He called the family and children to come say goodbye and took her off life support.
She had kissed her kids goodnight and twelve hours later she was dead.
I am betting Lauren had never seen a doctor for her ailments. You can only imagine how many times she took the kids in for annual checkups, ear infections, and stomach bugs. She probably even reminded Paul to go to the dentist. But I am sure she never found the time to go to the doctor herself. I am sure she thought she would get to it late. Moms since the beginning of time took care of others and put themselves last. I know I do it. I am 39 and never had a mammogram. I have hypothyroidism and I don’t get blood drawn until my hair starts falling out, although I am supposed to go every six weeks. I have been meaning for about six months to get a full body scan at a dermatologist to look for skin cancer because I am very fair.
There is a Christian radio show called Revive Our Hearts with Nancy Leigh DeMoss. About a year ago DeMoss discussed Proverbs 31 of the bible. This sums it up her view: "Today, women are so programmed to want their own position and to want recognition for what they do. They do not want to be known as Mrs. So-and-so, but to be known in their own right, for their own gifts and their own contribution. But the excellent woman... recognizes that it is really a compliment to be known as the wife of a man who has risen to a position of spiritual leadership." I don't want to offend anyone who may take stock in these beliefs, but in my opinion, this a very degrading and dangerous attitude. The importance cannot be stressed enough of the equal partnership in a marriage, and that means although the “career” of a stay-at-home mom is to take care of her family, she has to take care of herself too.
When you are on an airplane during the pre-flight safety instructions the flight attendants advise that in the case of "loss of cabin pressure" the oxygen masks will drop. They specifically say to put your mask on first before helping others. This is the way it should be in life, too. You can't effectively nurture others if you don't take care of yourself.
Get a massage, go shopping, get to the gynecologist, get your mammogram, go to the dentist and eye doctor, exercise, drink enough water and have a hobby. My hobby is writing this questionably entertaining blog, but I barely have enough time to do that between schlepping this one here and that one there, wiping butts, doing laundry and cooking dinner.
But when the oxygen masks drop, put yours on first. Then you'll all have a better chance of survival.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The Truth About Handbags
This one has been going around the Internet, but I thought I'd post it here since it has really gotten me to change the way I do things...
HANDBAGS...
I never gave it a thought. Who would have thought? Have you ever noticed women who sit their handbags on public toilet floors - then go directly to their dining tables and set it on the table? Happens a lot. It's not always the 'restaurant food' that causes stomach distress. Sometimes 'what you don't know will hurt you'.
Read on... Mum got so upset when guests came in the door and plopped their handbags down on the counter where she was cooking or setting up food. She always said that handbags are really dirty, because of where they have been. Smart Mum!!! It's something just about every woman carries with them. While we may know what's inside our handbags, do you have any idea what's on the outside? Shauna Lake put handbags to the test - for bacteria – with surprising results. You may think twice about where you put your handbag.
Women carry handbags everywhere; from the office to public toilets to the floor of the car. Most women won't be caught without their handbags, but did you ever stop to think about where your handbag goes during the day?...
We decided to find out if handbags harbor a lot of bacteria. We learned how to test them at Nelson Laboratories in Salt Lake , and then we set out to test the average woman's handbag... Microbiologist Amy Karen of Nelson Labs says nearly all of the handbags tested were not only high in bacteria, but high in harmful kinds of bacteria. Pseudomonas can cause eye infections, staphylococcus aurous can cause serious skin infections, and salmonella and e-coli found on the handbags could make people very sick. In one sampling, four of five handbags tested positive for salmonella, and that's not the worst of it. 'There is fecal contamination on the handbags,' says Amy. Leather or vinyl handbags tended to be cleaner than cloth handbags, and lifestyle seemed to play a role. People with kids tended to have dirtier handbags than those without, with one exception. The handbag of one single woman who frequented nightclubs had one of the worst contaminations of all. 'Some type of feces, or possibly vomit' says Amy.
So, the moral of this story - your handbag won't kill you, but it does have the potential to make you very sick if you keep it on places where you eat.
Use hooks to hang your handbag at home and in toilets, and don't put it on your desk, a restaurant table, or on your kitchen countertop. Experts say you should think of your handbag the same way you would a pair of shoes. ' If you think about putting a pair of shoes onto your countertops, that's the same thing you're doing when you put your handbag on the countertops' - your handbag has gone where individuals before you have sneezed, coughed, spat, urinated, emptied bowels, etc! Do you really want to bring that home with you? The microbiologists at Nelson also said cleaning a handbag will help. Wash cloth handbags and use leather cleaner to clean the bottom of leather handbags.
Thanks to my friend Ellie for passing this along. By the way, I checked Snopes and they confirmed this is true.
HANDBAGS...
I never gave it a thought. Who would have thought? Have you ever noticed women who sit their handbags on public toilet floors - then go directly to their dining tables and set it on the table? Happens a lot. It's not always the 'restaurant food' that causes stomach distress. Sometimes 'what you don't know will hurt you'.
Read on... Mum got so upset when guests came in the door and plopped their handbags down on the counter where she was cooking or setting up food. She always said that handbags are really dirty, because of where they have been. Smart Mum!!! It's something just about every woman carries with them. While we may know what's inside our handbags, do you have any idea what's on the outside? Shauna Lake put handbags to the test - for bacteria – with surprising results. You may think twice about where you put your handbag.
Women carry handbags everywhere; from the office to public toilets to the floor of the car. Most women won't be caught without their handbags, but did you ever stop to think about where your handbag goes during the day?...
We decided to find out if handbags harbor a lot of bacteria. We learned how to test them at Nelson Laboratories in Salt Lake , and then we set out to test the average woman's handbag... Microbiologist Amy Karen of Nelson Labs says nearly all of the handbags tested were not only high in bacteria, but high in harmful kinds of bacteria. Pseudomonas can cause eye infections, staphylococcus aurous can cause serious skin infections, and salmonella and e-coli found on the handbags could make people very sick. In one sampling, four of five handbags tested positive for salmonella, and that's not the worst of it. 'There is fecal contamination on the handbags,' says Amy. Leather or vinyl handbags tended to be cleaner than cloth handbags, and lifestyle seemed to play a role. People with kids tended to have dirtier handbags than those without, with one exception. The handbag of one single woman who frequented nightclubs had one of the worst contaminations of all. 'Some type of feces, or possibly vomit' says Amy.
So, the moral of this story - your handbag won't kill you, but it does have the potential to make you very sick if you keep it on places where you eat.
Use hooks to hang your handbag at home and in toilets, and don't put it on your desk, a restaurant table, or on your kitchen countertop. Experts say you should think of your handbag the same way you would a pair of shoes. ' If you think about putting a pair of shoes onto your countertops, that's the same thing you're doing when you put your handbag on the countertops' - your handbag has gone where individuals before you have sneezed, coughed, spat, urinated, emptied bowels, etc! Do you really want to bring that home with you? The microbiologists at Nelson also said cleaning a handbag will help. Wash cloth handbags and use leather cleaner to clean the bottom of leather handbags.
Thanks to my friend Ellie for passing this along. By the way, I checked Snopes and they confirmed this is true.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Crappy Birthday To Me
I hate my birthday. It has nothing to do with getting older. I turned 39 this year, and I do not fear 40. I am smarter and healthier than I was at age 30. No, it has to do with the day itself.
The birthday celebration has a really interesting history. The celebration itself is steeped in superstition, as things often are in most beliefs of ancient man. According to the placemat at many Chinese restaurants, the Chinese base their horoscope system on year of birth. I always thought that was kind of silly since that would assume that everyone with the same year of birth would have the same personality characteristics. Just looking at my brother and my husband throws that theory out the window. However, I am an Earth Rooster, which is surprisingly pretty accurate. The modern horoscope, as presented in Cosmopolitan Magazine is based on the Zodiac. The Zodiac horoscope method divides the year into birthday date ranges and creates a daily prediction of the occurrences in the life of each person. Again, that's silly because it would assume that everyone in my date range would have the same characteristics. However, I am Pisces, which again is surprisingly pretty accurate.Theoretically, in my mind, someone's birthday should be the celebration of the life of one human being. I do try to treat the birthday of the people in my life that way. I always give good wishes, send a card or an email, or give a gift. Another talent of my mother's was celebrating our birthdays. She always made a huge deal, with wonderful gifts. She made us feel really special. My friend Melanie and I have somehow started the tradition of giving each other little gifts. It's fun. I think most of all, it is most important just to acknowledge the date is remembered.
1. The weather: in the best case it's cold, damp and sunny. Usually it's cold, damp and grey
2. Lent: Lent is the most grim time of the Catholic calendar, a time of introspection, leading to Easter. Who wants to introspect, really? Also, usually I give up sweets for Lent, so no cake on the actual day, I have to wait for the closest Sunday
3. My dad never remembers, but he has deep psychological reasons to "forget," so I kind of let him off the hook
My birthday is extremely forgettable, I know this. It's at the beginning of the month. It doesn't give anyone any time to think "Oh my gosh, it's March, Cyn's birthday is coming up." Additionally, there is not good karma around it either. All I asked for from my husband was a new Starbucks travel coffee mug. He was unable to fulfill this small request. We had the largest snowstorm in central Ohio since 1910 (see #1 above). There were 24 inches of snow and a level three snow emergency. I think he is off the hook. Even flower deliveries were delayed three days.
I don't blame anyone for forgetting my birthday. This year my mother-in-law called and wished me a happy birthday. I am pretty sure she actually called me for something else. After she wished me a Happy Birthday I said "Guess who forgot my birthday." Oh, no," she replied, "not Mark?" "No, not Mark, I said... Me."
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Today I grabbed a tissue from the box and to my surprise it had a big green bugger on it. I guess some one has been taking Jack Johnson too seriously:
"If you're going to the market to buy some juice
You've got to bring your own bags and you learn to reduce your waste
And if your brother or your sister's got some cool clothes
You could try them on before you buy some more of those
Reuse, we've got to learn to reuse
And if the first two R's don't work out
And if you've got to make some trash
Don't throw it out
Recycle, we've got to learn to recycle..."
From "The 3 Rs" by Jack Johnson
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Big Boo-boo
One time my husband's brother's family was visiting. They are not Catholic, nor practice any religion as far as I know. I caught my nephew in an unguarded moment staring at a crucifix on the wall that was at about eye level. After a moment I heard him whisper to himself "Ouch."
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