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Ben Said it Best
“Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy.”
If it was good enough for Ben, it’s good enough for me! Happy Friday everybody!
Someone Else's Shoes...A Renewed Sole for the Soul!
Something for Your Toolbox
Today I would like to share Something for Your Toolbox:
“I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.” ~Agatha Christie
And I might add that though we be ravaged, tomorrow if blessed with goodness and mercy, we will see the light of day. We will be resilient, we will reproduce, we will rebuild and we will remember without effort, forever.
Coming from my very small corner of the universe, this is not much consolation, but nonetheless,
Oklahoma do you hear me?
©2013 Tracie Frank Mayer
The Menopausebarbee Monday Spotlight on Connie Feda
One of the great things about writing this blog is having the opportunity to share news that some of us might not get in the course of a normal day.
Take for example Connie Feda, the Mom shining in the Menopausebearbee Monday Spotlight today. Have you ever heard of her?
Well if you haven’t, Connie is a Mom to six children, a remarkable feat in itself. So along with runny noses, colds, lunch boxes, bus tickets, jeans, tooth brushes, entertainment devices, worries, breakfasts and dinners and on and on and on times 6–Connie is a loving Mother to a child of special needs, her daughter Hannah, now 13, who has Down syndrome.
When Hannah was 9 years old, she discovered while browsing through a catalog, that there were pictures in it of girls who looked like her sister, but none that looked like her. Mama Connie to the rescue in a big way. Because she couldn’t find any dolls already on the market that reflected the essence of her daughter and children like her, she decided to design her own. She wanted her daughter “to see a doll with Down syndrome and see something beautiful, because that's what I see when I look at her," she said.
And that is the love of a Mother times 6 thousand million billion trillion.
You can see more about Connie and her venture on Youtube under the heading: Mom Designs Special Dolls for Down Syndrome Kids. You can also visit the Dolls for Downs website.
Here’s to inspiration.
©2013 Tracie Frank Mayer
It's Friday... So Pump it Up!
The Ballad of Betty and Bill
You think you don’t know them
but before I’m through
I’m sure you will.
Now as I was walking about town
just the other day,
I glanced in a storefront window
then couldn’t look away.
For in this window
was something I’d
never seen before.
No, never something like this
in a trendy women’s
clothing store.
But sure enough
there they were:
mannequins sized like
none I’d ever seen.
I thought to myself,
now what could this
possibly mean?
Well I stood and I looked
and I tried to figure it out
and after a moment it was clear
there wasn’t a trace of doubt.
There was a reason
these dolls were sized like no other
and they surely weren’t on display
for the expectant mother!
It dawned on me who
the owner of the store
was trying to get to:
well of course,
it was the normal people of this world
normal like me and you.
We work hard
to keep it all together-
and you fellas out there
don’t run for cover
cause you know it too;
how often have you
loosened up your belt buckle
in the last year or two?
Yes we exercise and watch what we eat
or at least we try
but the truth of the matter is
things just ain’t like they were
when we were twenty five.
But back to the dolls
in this downtown store,
that looked so real,
in the outfits they wore.
And the outfits too
were also pretty nice
and to top it all off
they had a good
suggested retail price.
And gettin’ a good price is always a deal
cause what you save on clothes
you can spend on a meal.
I’m in the happiness business
and I’m here to share the news,
so here’s the moral of the story
lest you be confused:
The world is constantly changing
and thats a good thing,
so if you want to sell Betty something
that you hope Betty buys,
it better be something big enough
to cover Betty’s thighs.
(Or Bill’s.)
©2013 Tarcie Frank Mayer
Thank You, Angelina.
As we are celebrating Mom's this month, I found her decision to make this brave choice for her children a great gift. I am borrowing the blog from a featured member on Blogher to shed more insight on this courageous choice.
Thank you, Angelina.
Because the first thing I thought after hearing the news story about her elective double-mastectomy, was, “If she can do it, I can do it.”
When I found out, back in November of 2011, that I have the BRCA-1 mutation, the decision to opt for a preventative double mastectomy, followed by an oopharectomy, was pretty much a “no-brainer.” I had lost my mother to breast cancer earlier that year, and wanted to be pro-active in making sure I wouldn’t have to face what my mom had to face: a radical mastectomy, chemotherapy, brain surgery, medication upon medication, and eventually a very heart-breaking, very painful physical decline that preceded her death. I also wanted to do what I could to make sure I would be able to enjoy many years with my children, my husband, my extended family and my friends, without my life turning into a constant battle with a life-threatening disease.
A year and a half has passed since I received the results of my genetic testing. In that span of time, I got pregnant with my second child, had a second c-section, and have breast-fed my son for five months, all which have delayed any steps I can take toward having the surgeries. I have also had time to REALLY come to terms with the decision I am facing, the impact it will have on my body, my brain, and my heart, and have had lots of time to doubt my decision. Do I really want to put my body through yet another surgery? Do I really want to see MORE scars than I already do when I look in the mirror? Am I ok with completely losing feeling in my breasts? Am I okay with becoming post-menopausal in my early 40s? Or should I perhaps just be super-vigilant about self-monitoring, without opting for such a radical surgery?
It’s not an easy decision. But hearing about Angelina Jolie’s choice to get the preventative surgeries has been incredibly comforting. I mean, it’s Angelina Jolie! Never in a million years would I have thought that she and I would have much in common. But here we are, both 37 years old, both with mothers that have recently passed away from cancer, both having the BRCA-1 mutation, both having to decide what to do with the knowledge about our genetic makeup.
And, I mean, it’s Angelina Jolie! Lara Croft, Hollywood goddess, mother of eight billion children, Special Envoy of UN, wife of Brad Pitt! Every move she makes is watched, documented, praised or criticized. She is probably one of the only women in the world who would make international headlines for making this kind of decision public.
It’s not that Angelina’s decision makes my doubts go away. And it’s not that her opting for a double-mastectomy makes my choices any easier. This is still MY body, and MY decision to make.
But seriously, it is encouraging to know that if I DO choose to get the surgeries (which I in all likelihood will), I will be sharing my journey with a very beautiful, very brave, very public figure who chose to be proactive in making decisions about her health, her future, and her identity. Her statement, “I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity,” in turn empowers me to make my decisions without feeling like I will be losing my sense of self.
So thank you, Angelina.
Dvora Koelling
Parenting with imagination. Or at least trying.
Somebody's Baby
Somebody’s Baby
I’m a first thing in the morning sit down with the news and have a good cup of coffee kind of girl.
There is nothing like waking up and discovering what’s happened overnight in all the far reaches of this big wonderful world we live in.
I know that my thoughts and feelings will have to shuffle with the unnecessary, the ugly and the unbelievable, but sometimes I’ll come across the unexpected, meaning the unexpected in a good way. I did that just now and it has left me grinning ear to ear.
The little man in this video seems to sum up all the precious elements of freedom, innocence, humor and the emotional of being a child.
If you’ve ever had a mini me, it may make you want to have another. For a sweet second.
And if looking at him doesn’t stir any parental urges within you, then just sit back and smile and get your day off to a great start.
Youtube Kai and His Girlfriend, Ellen
He is adorable!
©2013 Tracie Frank Mayer
For more stories from Menopausebarbees:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/menopausebarbeescom/101194259988394
Menopausebarbees Said Yes to the Dress!
Don't Forget
