Bad blogger feeling good about what I did

I'm very much feeling like a neglectful blogger. I haven't posted since September 26th. And there are plenty of reasons excuses for the absence.

My number one excuse is <wait for it now ...> I was distracted. I had a huge skating project that I can honestly say I was ill-prepared for and was basically flying by the seat of my pants. My own stubbornness put me in this position and I had a lot to do that I couldn't delegate to anyone else because I hadn't even figured it out for myself.

When I have something hanging over my head, my focus <at least the very little that I have> goes right out the window. Add to that I was stressing about it, so just as I would get into bed, my brain would fire up and start problem solving while my body wanted and needed sleep. It was bad.

Excuse number two is see excuse number one.

The project was the Minnesota Basic Skills Competition Series. It is for our beginning skaters (you know, those cute little ones with the cute little outfits that make you go, "Aww...") and I took it on because "the powers that be" wanted to make it exclusive instead of inclusive.  I'm not about excluding any club or any skater. I recognize that I wasn't fabulously organized at the start, but eventually things started moving forward. Then, this summer, I got word that the rug was being pulled out from underneath me and I would have to shutter the series after one year.

The final part of the series is the on-ice award ceremony for the skaters in each level who accumulated the most points. Honestly, I think it is the most important part because it's about the kids and only the kids. They get to skate out to the podium just like they see on the Olympics. I placed a medal around their necks and told them what a great job they did and then I would step out of the way so the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles in the stands could take photos. And boy did they!

But the event is over now with some minor clean-up to do, but most importantly, I felt great at the end because I helped to make some young skaters feel very special and I had parents thank me for doing it. Having a parent thank me? That was huge.

I've heard that the new Basic Skills series (the one replacing the Minnesota Basic Skills series) isn't planning on doing the on-ice awards. They planned to just mail the awards out to the skaters or something. After seeing what it meant to these skaters this past Saturday, I am happy to hear that they are reconsidering it.

Ya gotta take those little victories.

And a Child Shall Lead Them

Millions of words about the tragedy in Arizona have been written, spoken, tweeted and blogged already. And more will follow. The blame game started immediately. 

I'm guilty of thinking the worst of those with whom I disagree. I'm happy I wasn't near a computer or such at the time as I would have added to the noise.

My thoughts are focused on nine-year old Christina-Taylor Green, the youngest victim of this violence. She was at the event because she had just been elected to her school's student council and she wanted to learn more about government and politics. 

Everyone is talking about the destructive nature of our political rhetoric and Christina-Taylor's death is, perhaps, the metaphor for what this is rhetoric is doing - it is destroying our future and that of our children. The Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said it best Saturday night, "Pretty soon, we're not going to be able to find reasonable, decent people who are willing to subject themselves to serve in public office."

It breaks my heart to know that even the deaths of these six people may not stop the rhetoric; I've heard that the Westboro Baptist Church, who have protested at the funerals of our soldiers and at Elizabeth Edward's funeral, plan to show up at Christina-Taylor's funeral. I pray that they don't. 

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

Edmund Burke 

 

It's time to do something and it can start with each of us. Maybe it won't make any difference, but I have to believe that it will. It's the only way I can get through this.

Maybe It is an Apple a Day

Health care should be focused on the kitchen instead of a clinic.

Dr. Preston Maring of Kaiser Permenente in Oakland, California believes you have to eat well to be well. Makes sense and I would love to be able to follow his example, but finding the time and the organic and non-processed food is always my challenge.

I am not holding myself up as a model of healthy eating, because you would leave the room laughing, but this New York Times article really started me thinking about what I eat. Considering my genetic lineage (my father had diabetes, his mother had diabetes, her mother had diabetes), I have a very high probability of getting diabetes, so what I eat and how much I exercise should be a priority for me instead of an after-thought.

www.nataliedee.co

I guess I've been thinking about nutrition and food a lot in the last couple of weeks after listening to a presentation by Mrs. Q. Who is Mrs. Q, you ask?  Technically, I don't know who she is because she's an anonymous blogger and grade school teacher who authors the blog called "Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project."  She writes about what we are feeding our kids at school and how our government cares so little for the nutritional needs of children. If the government really wants to have an impact on future health care costs, they should start with public school lunches.

France has a great school lunch program with very strict regulations that focuses on nutrition rather than costs. Their strict diet regimen is so high quality that most of us would consider it gourmet. Check out this story on CBS News.

I know organic foods are better for me, but I rationalize not buying them because they generally cost more than their non-organic siblings. However, if I were to spend a few more pennies or dimes on an organic product, what would it save on my health care costs?

Perhaps the best place for me to start is with the basics and take baby steps. Stop and think about my choices. Another Diet Coke or water instead? Candy bar or a banana?

Is it really that difficult to make better food choices?

One of My Favorite Days of the Year

Today is one of my favorite days of the year. And judging by posts on Facebook this morning, it is a favorite day for parents of school age kids.

School officially starts the day after Labor Day here in Minnesota, but I like to think of this day as Fall's New Year's Day. It's a new school year and all your notebooks are clean and un-doodled-upon. You get a clean slate!

I may not have the cool new three-ring binder (I'm just guessing it's the one with that Bieber kid on it), but as it turns out this year, my first day of my New Year will be next Monday when I start my new job at Mayo Clinic.

Here's the "Official First Day of School" photo from my first day of kindergarten before I headed up the hill to Abbott. Now, mom wasn't the type to take first day of school photos, so you got your photo taken on the first day of kindergarten and from that point, it was up to the school photographer.

(What kind of posture did I have in kindergarten?)

I'll have my official first day photo at Mayo Clinic - it's called the ID photo. Unlike school, where if the photo isn't flattering, you just somehow lose it; the Mayo ID photo is with me forever and I'll have to wear it every day. 

The outfit you wore for the first day of school was always important and the pre-first day of school shopping trips meant that you usually got some new clothes along with that three-ring binder. I love shopping now, but back then, not so much. Taking an ADD child shopping isn't easy or very fun for a parent.  Mom would take sister Sue shopping (we're 15 months apart in age) for clothes and just buy two of the same outfit in different colors. 

During my junior high school years, my obsessive-compulsive tendencies came out a bit when I wore the same first-day-ensemble all three years - powder blue knit pants, white turtle neck and a baby pink blazer. Why I ever imagined that was cool is beyond me! I used to call my best friend Labor Day evening to discuss our ensembles. Why didn't she clue me in?

I am envious of my educator friends since they get to experience the annual excitement of the kids.  Yes, it's their job, but you have to imagine the kids' joy at the opportunity for a new year and a new chance must rub off a bit.

I know some people will say that you could have that frame of thought each and every day, but it's not the same if you're the only person feeling it. The "First Day of School" experience is the flip side/positive version of mob mentality.

The rest of the year may or may not be "all joy, all the time," but for that one moment, each and every year, there's a chance. 

www.nataliedee.com

A Childless Mother

If you would have asked me in high school how many kids I was going to have, I would have said "a bunch...4 for sure." ** I had actually determined that I would have a child every 27 months to keep them perfectly spaced. Ha!**  My career ambition was to be a mom and chauffeur the kids to all their activities and be the parent in the stands cheering them on.

I was supposed to find a husband in college. I remember turning 21 and all three of my siblings were married, had children and owned their own homes. I was still in college and felt like I was falling behind in my plan. I honestly felt like a failure.

Now, I don't have a sad story that I was infertile or something, I just never got married and thus, didn't have children. Granted, one of my nieces (at the age of 12) told me that I could have a kid if I just slept around. (Boy, that's a whole 'nother blog post) I didn't take the advice, no matter how interesting the option was.

In my 30's, I looked into artificial insemination. Did you know that you shop for it by selecting a donor through a catalog that describes the man including height, hair color, education, etc? I was reminded several times that you don't get the guy, just a cup of his donation.

In my 40's, I looked at adoption, but doubted I could make it through the screening and never moved forward with it.

I think I would have been a good mom. I hope I would have been a cool mom.

The most difficult part for me because of being childless is not having activities to attend that I see my friends involved with because of their children. They are always busy, but they are also creating connections with the other parents through time spent together with the mutual focus of their kids activities.

I know that many of these same friends think that my life sounds easier and more carefree because I don't schedule my life around someone else's activities.  I don't see it that way. To me, it's about feeling like something is missing.

Luckily, I have friends who include me in their kids' activities and while I might not be related, I do feel like part of the family.