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Cancer Is Crap So Fight Like A Girl

Sep 08 2012

* Originally posted on Yummy Mummy Club September 14, 2010. Reposted today in honour of the amazing women and men who are walking this weekend. Especially Dee. And for Jan. I love you. There isn’t anyone who hasn’t been touched in some way by breast, cervical or ovarian cancer. Last weekend I participated for the first time in the Weekend To End Women’s Cancers. Along the 60 km route there were plenty of heart wrenching and heart swelling moments. The experience was, in Jann Arden’s words, a Beautiful Pain. The weekend left me feeling powerful and loved, humbled and hopeful but most of all, grateful; for my family, my health, my friends, my life. And, for amazing people like those who support the walkers. The unsung heros are the volunteers and supporters who come out to cheer, honk and hand out treats, high fives and hugs. We all chose to walk this year for our own personal reasons. I was inspired by my teammate and friend Karen and by two special ladies in my life. You inspire me every day. I would walk a million miles for you… Here is my experience in pictures. *Music: Beautiful Pain by Jann Arden

Sep 06 2012

My child is different. Her genetics make it so. Due to a random stroke of fate, a chunk of her DNA is missing. Nobody knows why. But old friends don’t search for what is missing. They just see what’s right there in front of them—the joyful light surrounding this happy girl. They love her big laugh and even bigger hugs. They embrace her mischievous streak of curiosity. They accept her just as she is. But new friends, some adults and children, hesitate. “What’s wrong with her?” they ask in hushed voices…which we can totally hear by the way. There is nothing wrong with her. She may have trouble communicating succinctly. She might stumble over her words or repeat herself, but she has something to say. She wants to contribute to the conversation. She doesn’t always understand when you’re making fun of her or that you’re leaving her out, but as she gets older, she is more aware. When your child, with a disability or not, comes home from school in tears because they had nobody to play with at recess, it stings. She doesn’t need to be invited to everything. (Side Note: Number of parties she was[…]

Aug 31 2012

It’s a Blue Moon tonight! When I looked up what a Blue Moon actually is {I was absent from science class the day we studied that I’m sure} I was surprised to learn that a Blue Moon is not the result of sticking ones bum out a car window on a chilly night. I was also disappointed to discover that the moon isn’t even blue at all. It’s just an ordinary greyish moon. What makes it unique is that every two or three years there’s an extra full moon. This has something to do with the lunar calendar and other factors. Lke I said, I missed that day in science class… My husband and son have been all over an ipad app called “Skyview” (to locate constellations) and they’ve been ogling the night sky all summer long. But, those massive luminous spheres of plasma held together by gravity (yes, I did look that up on Wikipedia) aren’t the only stars we gazed upon this summer… Our son and nephew rocked summer drama camp! Their star performance of “The History of Rock and Roll” was out of this world. One of the best numbers in the show? Blue Moon! When we[…]

Aug 28 2012

Yesterday {on my Yummy Mummy Club blog} I wrote about backpacks. Specifically, tips to ensure your child’s spine doesn’t warp under the weight of all the crap they carry around. Plus, I’m giving away a fun Back-to-School-Prize-Pack…just because. As I was writing I had this backpack flashback: I used to teach second grade at a private school. For the sake of time {and the fact that a locker room filled with seven-year-olds is sheer chaos} the children changed out of their uniforms into their gym shorts in the classroom. One afternoon as I sat at my desk “marking papers” (aka…checking my email) while the class changed, I heard a small voice say, “What is this?” as he investigated a mystery item discovered at the bottom of his backpack. “I don’t know what it is,” he said to his friend, “but I can do this with it!” He then held an unwrapped tampon firmly by the string and circled it overhead like a cowboy with a lasso. “Yee-haw!” he exclaimed enthusiastically. I suggested he toss that little doggie in the trash and promptly shooed him off to gym class. When his mother picked him up after school I asked if she[…]

Aug 21 2012

I’m concerned that since my daughter requires a lot of my attention due to medical and developmental issues, that my son pays a price. Though so far he’s yet to be jealous of his younger sister, and in fact he plays a monumental role in nurturing her. I couldn’t be the parent I am without him and his “lion heart.” And so I hold onto him, with all my heart. And my two arms, wrapped tightly around him. Some might say that because my youngest child has special needs and has had her share of medical emergencies, that over-protecting my older child is a natural response. I suspect that I’d be just as controlling despite the trauma and trying times with our daughter. I’m a worry-wart by nature and a controlling Capricorn to boot. My poor, poor children… If I don’t learn to let go and allow my kids a little independence, I WILL become the mother from Robert Munsch’s “Love you forever,” breaking and entering into their homes nightly to cuddle them without their (or their spouse’s) permission. That won’t go over well, I’m sure of it. I recently discovered “Bubble Wrap Kids” on the Slice Network. I watched the first episode and verbally tsk-tsked the[…]

Cancer Is Crap So Fight Like A Girl

Include Classmates Who Have Special Needs

Blue Moon

Tampax Cowboy!

Bubble Wrapped