I'm Back....

Finally, I'm back. After much hackling from *artist* I am finally back and blogging. Why have I been gone so long?? I have been SICK. I'm talking as my friend Kelly puts it, death on a cracker sick. I have never been so sick. I ended up being diagnosed with bronchitis in the beginning stage of pneumonia and on top of that ended up catching a head cold that I am still nursing now. yeah no good. So after antibiotics I am finally turning the corner minus my head cold and hopefully can return to my normal duties.

One weird thing that happened while being sick for a month was a lesson I learned. By no choice of mine I had to slow down. I have had no energy for anything...no energy to run around with my head cut off...no energy to make boundless lists of things I would stress about to get done...no energy to worry. That is the big one for me. I am a worry wart by nature. I'm an eeyore married to a pooh. However after being sick I have learned that my house is not going to fall apart if its not properly cleaned for a month (it is still standing...). I have learned that I do not have to cross off every thing on my list in order to have a successful day. I have learned that I can still accomplish a lot without running like a chicken with its head cut off. I have learned what sitting outside on my porch chair and petting the alley cat that has adopted us feels like. It feels good.

It feels good to slow down. To sit outside and not be mentally thinking about my lists but instead just enjoying being outside. Feeling the sun warm my skin, petting the soft fur of our adopted alley cat while she sits on my lap, listening to the kids run around, laugh, scream while playing with the water hose...yep those are good times.

Funny how an illness like death on a cracker could slow me down to reawaken me to living more slowly, more purposely, more fulfilled. Don't get me wrong, I'm still an eeyore (wait for my post on swine flu) but I must say now that I am recovering I am so thankful for my body which is healing itself, my family whom I have rediscovered, and the realization that you can take life slow and still succeed. What a revelation indeed.

Women equating illness

Oh boy are my feathers in a ruffle today...I read in my newspaper today this big spread on PMDD otherwise known as PMS times 100. Mind you this disorder only affects 3-8% of women yet they talk about it like every woman suffers from it. Now I'm not saying that this not true and unheard of..I'm sure there are some women who do suffer with this and for that I am sorry but why give so much publicity to something that only affects such a small population. For instance, I'm sure you have seen the birth control commercials touting their pill as the cure all for PMDD. We watch this group of women talk about their "symptoms" and how once they started taking their birth control pill they magically felt better..oh but at the end they do give a long list of hurriedly said complications that can occur from said pill such as blood clots, heart attack, etc. No thanks.

Why isn't more publicity being thrown at women's cancer and heart disease. Now that is something to be worried about and concerned over. Why they don't? I believe pharmaceutical companies are at play. I mean there is no "cure all" pill for heart disease. There is no "cure all" pill for cancer. These illnesses require a multifaceted approach to treatment which honestly does not make the drug companies money like this "pill" can.

It makes me wonder though how our society makes women feel like we are walking "illnesses". Why must we box women in? Why must we label women as having this, that, and the other and they must take this magic pill or potion to conquer this, that, and the other.

Out of the mouths of babes

Can I not listen to the radio anymore? I mean seriously does every song have to have some kind of bad language in it? I'm not even listening to anything hard core just Top 40 bubble gum pop stations. Uugh.

My kindie told me yesterday as we are in the car driving, "Mom, he said that a** word!" My heavens indeed it was sung on the song! How many times did I miss it because I am so caught up in my mind thinking while driving that I am hardly paying attention to the lyrics. Oy vey. So like a good mom I quickly turned the station to some praise music.

Oh how I wish i had a way to connect my ipod to the car radion I would be one happy camper! I love alternative/folkish kinda music...stuff that is more acoustic and less harmonized like the bubble gum pop.

Looks like we will be listening to a little bit more praise and worship music and some more NPR than those Top 40 stations.