Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Well Said


I am hoping you all can read this article.  I saw it in a post from a friend of mine on Facebook and love the response.  I think a lot of people out there agree that being a stay at home mom is hard work but I also know that a lot of people think we just sit around on our butts watching soap operas and eating bon-bons. 

I am struggling a lot with the stay at home mom job.  I love it, it is what I have always done and within a couple of months, I will not be employed in that area any more.  Getting a full time job scares me.  2 of my kids are in school so I know where they will be during the day but I still have one at home who will now have to be raised by someone other than me and that bugs me.  Not to mention, I love being there to take my kids to school and pick them up after.  If they want to do an after school activity, sure why not, I will pick you up a little later than normal.  So, getting a job will make me unable to do those things.  As much as people tip their hat to those of us that stay home, I have to tip my hat to those who work.  Those who give up that time with their kids and basically have someone else raise them 5 out 7 days of the week. 

To back up the article though, since that is what i initially intended to write about, let me back it up a little.  This is my day today.  My 2 year old climbed in bed with me around 2:30am.  She kicked and hit me numerous times, then decided she wanted to be awake.  After about an hour of her wanting to chat, I asked if I could put her back in her bed, she said yes and it was as if I heard angels singing.  So, off to bed she went at 3:40am.  I slept for another 2 hours and 20 minutes and then it was time to get up.  I made breakfast, got kids dressed, did hair and drove them off to school.  My youngest is now eating her breakfast and as my laundry washes, I am able to sit down to this for a bit.  As soon as that goes off, I will be thoroughly scrubbing my middles room and washing bedding and cleaning up the rest of the house.  All of this will be done while I also make lunch for my youngest, help her go potty every hour and make sure she knows I am actually very interested in her baby dolls and rocking them to sleep.  At noon I head off to get my middle one from school and 45 minutes after I have to go right back to get my oldest.  We come home to do homework for the both of them and then we have doctor appointments.  Dinner will be served and baths will be had.  Bed time stories and prayers need to be said and hopefully they stay in bed after they are put there.  So, that being said, does it seem like I sit around all day?  Could you understand why i would be tired if this is what I do every day and if I had 10 minutes to myself, how I may want silence?  I am sure the girl who wrote in felt foolish enough reading the response, I am not sure if she was prepared to have it start making its rounds on the internet.

And I pose a question relating to those women who do work.  When you come home form work, your day is like mine, so how do you do it?  I think the grass always looks greener and you wonder how everyone else gets along.  Did I mention I have subscribed to Working Mother magazine to try to prepare myself, lol.  I am worried!!!!  I would like to end with this though.  Whether you stay at home or whether you work and raise your kids at the same time, I think we are all pretty remarkable.  There is so much one every ones plates and sometimes it is hard and sometimes it is not but we push forward and know that there is a silver lining and it will be worth it all.  Good job ladies!!!!!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Reflections

I honestly believe with all of my heart that God prepares us for things that will come about in our lives.  One of those things that happens to you and you have no clue that it is preparing you for what lies ahead.  It is only when something happens to you, sometimes years later, that it hits you.  I was prepared for this moment long ago and I am not alone, I will be alright.  My moment hit me this week, it may have taken me over 2 years to realize it but it hit me.  If you have been following my blog for a while or look back at older posts, you will see that my oldest daughter has Epilepsy.  She was diagnosed back in August of 2009 after having a seizure in my arms.  The visuals I have of that morning are still terrifying to me and I think I have been so focused on her treatment and spreading awareness and everything else going on in my life that I never sat down and realized, almost 6 years ago, 4 years before she was ever diagnosed, I had a taste of what my life was going to be.

We used to live in Virginia.  Because we were so close to Washington DC, we would travel there every now and again and see the sights.  We had the hotel we always stayed at and were able to walk to the metro stations and take ti around all over the city.  I am not sure of the name of the station that was near our hotel but it had a huge escalator that got you underground to the metro.  I am not sure if I am giving the size of this thing any justice by just saying huge, this thing was more than huge, I am sure if it went straight up and down it would be at least 8 stories tall.  You could not see the bottom when hopping on it and halfway through, you could no longer see the top.  It is not terrifying, it goes slow but being on an angle really screws with your head.  I think it was our second trip up to DC and we were once again on the gigantic escalator, looking forward to spending a day in our nations capital.  About halfway through, a woman who looked to be in her 20's collapsed.  A gentleman with her jumped over the rails and used the stairs (I forgot to mention the stairs that ran in the middle of the escalators, if you were a super athlete and wanted to use them) to run to the bottom and turn the escalator off.  Some people around the woman were screaming but the people with her remained calm and asked everyone around them to calm down as well.  The escalator eventually stopped and within minutes they had the girl off and being taken to the bottom by using the stairs.  I was pretty shaken.  What the heck just happened?  Would she be ok?  I remember my oldest asking if the lady would be ok and I told her I didn't know but it looked like they knew what they were doing.  After the escalator started moving again and we made it to the bottom, the girl was sitting on a bench drinking a bottle of water and people around her were making sure she was ok.  Since we had to wait for out train, we were able to hear them talk to others.  I heard things like "yes, she is ok, this happens all the time"  "She is ok, the seizure was a typical seizure for her", they kept asking if she felt fine and she was responding as if nothing had happened.  I was very confused.

Who knew that 4 years later I would be in the same spot.  Only, it wouldn't be routine for my family.  That morning brings back bad memories, seeing her not breathing, her lips turning blue, her body violently shaking in my arms and her unresponsive for more than 30 minutes after, we thought she was gone.  After those 30 minutes she was ok.  She sat up and was eventually smiling, able to answer questions.  We took a couple ambulance rides and were admitted to a children's hospital in our area where she went through numerous tests and was diagnosed.  I sat in awe this week after remembering our DC trip.  That could be us one day, seizures can come even when you are on vacation, they don't care where you are. 

Another thing that hit me from that day was the way it was all handled.  They knew what they were doing, they knew what to tell the people around them and they knew the kind of help their friend/daughter/sister, whoever she was, they knew what she needed.  I did not know what to do that morning.  Luckily my mom and my daughters father were there and were able to tend to her while I called 911.  But they still made mistakes and it is all because we as a society don't know what to do.  We may vaguely remember what was told to us years ago, put something in their mouth so they don't swallow their tongue.  Did you know it is impossible to do that?  This week a friend of mine shared a clip form the Dr.Oz show.  He actually went over seizure safety, never before have I seen this on day time television.  It was a great clip, he pulled a lady form the audience to help and show what she would think to do (which was obviously not right) and then he proper things to do.  If you have a couple of minutes, please watch the video and be informed.  You never know if something like this can happen to your loved ones or if you see a stranger who needs help.  My friend Julie who lives in Japan told me that she was at a local market and saw a lady having a seizure and everyone was standing around watching her, not knowing what to do.  She was amazing and stepped in.  I am sure I don't have to tell you how amazing that act is to me and how much she means to me, she is a rock star!  So, please watch and be like Julie, help someone when they are in need!!!

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/seizure-first-aid

Epilepsy Awareness Month is next month and I am planning some special events.  If you live in the Southern California area and would like to get involved, please let me know.  If you do not live in the area and would like to help anyways, please contact me.  Together we can make a difference!!!!!

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

My Internal Organs Are Working!

How do I know my internal organs are working?  Because I feel these babies in them.......

Yes, these are gallstones and no, they are not mine.  The reason these are not mine is because mine are still within the confines of my gallbladder.  They may look like sweet little pebbles that would look pretty in a rock garden but they don't feel so pretty.  They hurt and they make you nauseous and they need to be taken out in one way only.  So, next week I go in to have a surgeon consult and we discuss my surgery and hopefully I will feel some relief shortly there after.  The good news with all of this?  I have dropped a good amount of weight since even water can kick my butt and send me running for the bathroom.  As much as this weight loss excites me, I do not want to keep my friends within me for much longer.  So, I apologize for not being on here as much, I try to lay down as much as possible and do nothing, ti seems when I do too much they get aggravated and voice their opinion.  I do have some exciting things coming up on my good 'ol blog though.  I hinted a while ago about some flying pigs and pretty soon all will be revealed.  So, stay tuned and tell your friends, I promise it is going to be a good time!!!!

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Crazy Day In This Crazy World!

I don't think that October 3, 2011 was a very good day for quite a few people out here in southern Cali.  Mine started out crazy and ended crazy and I am glad ti is now October 4, 2011.  Our first bout of crazy times hit when I realized that my middle girls earring back on her left side was actually implanted within her ear lobe.  After dropping the oldest off at school, we headed to the ER.  It was there that they found the other side was in there as well, not nearly as bad as the other side since I had pulled the earring not knowing it was in there.  So, 2 needles, a scalpel and 2 sliced open ears later, her earring backs were out and in a cup for us to take home.  My girl was brave, she didn't cry at all and the doc repeatedly told me how good she was and even rewarded her with a purse filled with coloring books, markers and clay.  We were able to come home for a brief second before getting my oldest out of school early to head to her neurology appointment.  Little did we know that as we passed a point on the freeway, a shooting was going down on the northbound side.  We soon found out when we got down to the hospital and the freeway was empty and the nurses informed us.  How were we to get home?  Side streets aren't too bad right?  Wrong!!!  When an entire southern Cali freeway is evacuated, it makes side street driving beyond ridiculous.  3 hours later, when it normally takes 45 minutes tops, we were home and feeling very lucky to have not been on the other side of the freeway at that moment.

I feel that I am completely aware that evil exists in our world.  I would like to see the world through rose colored glasses and at times, I do.  I like to seek out the good and bring smiles to peoples faces and have a smile on my own, but I am very aware that not everyone thinks this way and that some people may want to seek out the complete opposite.  I just don't understand driving down a freeway and shooting at random cars.  As I drove home it made me think, how would I deal with that?  I could stop and get us all down, but my younger one is strapped in a seat where she is unable, would she be harmed?  It is such a scary situation.  On the news last night a reporter went to the door of the family of the suspect (who is still out there at this very second) to ask if they knew he was capable of doing this and where he might be, etc.  The sister answered the door and just seemed to not care.  She had no clue where he was since he had moved out over the summer and didn't care where he was.  Not that I feel any sympathy for the man and what he did but I have to think, they seemed so uncaring.  Did he grow up thinking he was not loved and therefore started to hate people, people he had not even met?  After growing up, did he not have friends who cared or  a family who noticed his absence form love and took him in?  It really makes me want to smile more at people, especially those who look like they might need one.  Is it too hard that as a society, as children of God that we can band together and take care of one another whether blood related or not?  I know this is my rose colored glasses speaking but I think a little kindness can go a long way.  There was the story that was circulated years ago about a kid who was going home to kill himself because he felt that no one cared about him.  When he dropped his school books after getting off the bus, another kid came up and helped him and walked him home.  The kid decided not to do it and years later at graduation told everyone in his speech and the friend had no clue he had saved his life.  How amazing is that?  A small act of kindness kept a child form taking his life.  As a society I think we can all step up a little, show some compassion and you never know, maybe you will keep someone from trying to kill others or take their own life!
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