Rejection

I think it is normal human nature to have rejection hurt.  We all want to be loved, accepted and adored.  I think the level at which you handle it matters.  I can honestly say to myself when someone rejects me, it is THEIR loss.  They never got to fully know or appreciate me, and some reject me without getting to know me at all!  I realize I am uniquely special and kind. They lost out on knowing an awesome human being because they failed to notice I was right there!   If you have been spurned by a romantic interest, just know that that person was not the right person for you.  The right one is out there and is wondering what you are like.  They will be there when you are sick, sad, or not your best self.  They will love and appreciate everything about you and love you for YOU.  You will be inseparable.  If love is not like this or you find yourself loving them more than they love you, it's time to let go.  This was not meant to be.  Except in the rare cases when love comes back.  As in maybe a different time, a different place.  As the saying goes, "if you love something set it free..."  Age and experience really do make us wiser.  I just wish I had this knowledge at 16 when I was dealing with my teenage angst.  If only I had the self confidence then to realize, "you're going to treat me like crap?  NEXT!"

Awareness

We often hear the term "awareness" when it follows breast cancer or AIDS, for example.  Are there really people out there not aware of those medical conditions?  And can you really even prevent breast cancer even if you are "aware" and don't you know what causes AIDS by now?  My point is, I wish people would focus more attention on OTHER causes that are life threatening as well.  (not that breast cancer and AIDS are not important issues!)  For example life threatening allergies.  More and more people seem to have them these days for reasons unknown and yet if you are not afflicted it is an inconvenience.  An eye roll.  And I'll confess I used to be one of those people.  I scoffed when my son was told to never bring treats to school with peanuts.  "Why inconvenience everyone else for one individual?"  used to be my thinking.  Until karma reared its ugly head and my now 2 year old was found to be allergic to peanuts and tree nuts.  Deathly allergic.  The tiniest amount could KILL my sweet angel.  I have such anxiety about it that we don't even take him to restaurants.  After all, if I can't physically see a label telling me what's in the food, why should I trust a chef or waitress with my child's life?  I wish people were more "aware" of this topic and realized it is nothing to scoff at or take lightly when lives are at stake.  You can't just pick off nuts and expect them to then eat the food.  Once the nuts have touched the food it is contaminated.  I wish all people knew to ask the parent before they hand your child any treat to eat.  We hate to be a pain but we have to be! Another issue I am passionate about is suicide awareness after I just recently found out an old friend had been lost at the tender age of 22 to this sickness.  And that's what it is- a mental sickness that needs awareness, not a stigma or "someone else's problem" attached to it. Again that used to be me.  I was ignorant until I was unfortunately touched by it.  And shockingly it has altered my life.  I no longer feel like I am the same person.  And although I refuse to judge, I wonder how so many people with mental illness get access to guns.  Some, like my friend, were police officers or military members!  I think it may just be way too easy if you had an extra bad day and there's a gun in plain sight.  I wonder what warning signs were missed for all these sad victims.  If we were ALL more aware, could we greatly reduce this preventable tragedy?  Lastly I bring forth the cases of women suffering from obstetric fistulas.  In plain English, women in poor countries with complicated labors may labor for days with a dead infant stuck inside them.  Soon the pelvic tissues start dying off due to reduced blood flow and after the shock of finally delivering a dead infant, the woman is left leaking uncontrollable amounts of urine and or feces.  Due to no or much too costly or far off medical care, these women are outcasts for the rest of their lives.  Their husbands divorce them.  Their smell is unbearable.  Many commit suicide.  I bring this cause to attention because I suffered from it after a botched c section surgery where my bladder was cut.  I was miserable for about 4 months until a second surgery finally fixed me for good.  But I was lucky enough to be born in the USA where medical care like this is a given.  In other poor countries, these women suffer needlessly when most cases can be resolved with relatively simple surgeries.  I highly recommend reading the book "The Hospital By The River" by Dr. Catherine Hamlin.  This saint of a woman dedicated her life to helping and fixing these afflicted women in Africa.  Basically this is a quality of life issue for women that no one should have to live with. Simple surgeries and donations are all that's needed.  Thank you for opening your mind today!

Rock a Bye...BUZZARD?

One day when I came home from work I asked the husband how our 2 month old son's day was.  He responded jokingly with, "that buzzard barely slept all day!"  At first I was horrified.  I said, "aww mean!"  But the more I though about it the more I got a good laugh out of that description for a baby.  Hey he's practically bald.  Always hovering around.  Always eating.  Always...there.  I texted my sister what he said and she responded with, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"  Again I laughed. 

Happiness (I Know, Easier Said Than Done)

"What are you taking?", my mom asked one day, in reference to my new, happy lifestyle, "because I want some." This may sound cliche but I have found that more than anything, happiness is a mindset. I know, I know. Tell that to someone who just broke up with their boyfriend or who found 2 flat tires. A little background here- I WAS that unhappy person. Very recently. Until one day magically something just clicked and I said to myself, you know darnit, I want to be happy! I am going to take it day by day and be good to myself. It's all about the little things. Like, I am going to CHOOSE not to let 2 flat tires bother me. Instead I am going to tell myself that nothing lasts forever and I am going to find something to be grateful for anyways, like the fact that I have a job and can buy new ones, even though it will set me back in other ways. Or if you are unemployed, realize you have family or friends that care about those tires and will help you, you are not alone and that's all that matters. As for the boyfriend, realize it is HIS loss. I mean, why else would he let a person go as awesome as yourself? Enjoy being single because before you know it someone else will come along and you will miss those single days! Mark my words!
I often watch Spongebob Squarepants with my son. There is this one song Spongebob sings called "The Best Day Ever". Those words alone are so powerful and magical, without even hearing the song. Why SHOULDN'T every day be better than the last? (All thanks to a little sea sponge thingy in pants) :)
Mom, no pills here. Just the wanting to be happy and knowing that in a blink of an eye life will all be over and I want to have lived it happily!

Doggie Birthday Parties

I confess: I don't love my pets. They are not my kids. I don't pamper or spoil them or throw them birthday parties. I don't buy them Christmas presents. I CERTAINLY don't sleep with them. Does this make me abnormal or heartless? As a matter of fact, I consider them a nuisance. I was once subjected to a thrown chair when I suggested that a certain person's mother was "cuckoo" for holding a doggie birthday bash, complete with cake and other doggie pals. Now don't get me wrong I am not an animal hater or abuser. I have 2 dogs and 2 cats. I care about animals. But as I age my patience level goes down, and I have less and less tolerance for when Kitty is messing with the Christmas tree or when Doggie has dug another hole. I can quickly morph from calm and collected to raging, shaking beast when I catch the dumb animal on the couch for the 121st time even though they have been taught not to. There was a time as a child where my pets were my everything. That's all I could play with, write about or talk about. But I was 12. I have found that once your universe expands and you have kids of your own, your views change as well. To the people who write or say, "my pets are everything", I'm sorry, but you haven't experienced the "everything" you must still be searching for in life.

Please keep that to yourself!

OK people, some things are private and you just don't share them. With anyone. The worst offender thus far- "we're trying to have a baby". Uh did you just say that? Out loud? To me? As matter of fact as, "I'm going to try to plant a garden this year?" EW. Now my mind went there. THERE. You know. Your bedroom. I am thinking of you 2, uh, doing the ol' mattress mambo. I didn't WANT to go there. My mind couldn't help it. It's like when someone has a disability and you try so hard not to stare that you still stare. So no I don't want to picture you with that sweaty beast gyrating on top of you. That is PRIVATE. I also do not want to ever discuss the following: your colonoscopy and how you had to "cleanse" beforehand, your private relations with your significant other, hemorrhoids, whether your children (or you!) were planned or not, itchy "private" rashes, you get the picture. Enough people. Just because they do it on reality television does not mean I need to hear all about it from you too. Not that I watch reality TV. But I'll save that for another day...

Tip of the day folks- sometimes it's better to remain a bit of a mystery! Makes you more interesting than putting it all out there, that means Facebook too!

UGH ear pain!

I spent my weekend wailing like a newborn due to a nasty case of swimmer's ear. Pain sometimes has the power to make a grown man or woman cry. I'd say part of it was pain, part of it was wanting sympathy. I somehow reverted to a helpless 7 year old who needed nothing more than her mom's comfort during her distress. Well hubby became my "mom", catering to every whim and offering a comforting touch every time I whimpered in pain. I also took the time to lay on the couch and watch "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" with my son, something I rarely have time to do. I realized how I had taken my health for granted, and how much my family means to me, even if it is just sitting besides them watching a movie. Suddenly the ear that I wanted to chop off had bonded us all. My "tricky" ear, as my husband calls it, was smarter than me it seemed :)