I Am Not an Environmentalist

Some of you know me as someone who avoids chemicals in my food and body care.  That means I deliberately travel miles out of my way to buy pastured, organic meats and vegetables.  I also hunt and gather household products with minimal petroleum-based ingredients.  You will have to search to find artificial fragrances or preservatives in our home.  It is time-consuming and expensive.

Yesterday, I tuned out of my public radio station's fundraiser (not without some guilt) to the local Christian station.  They had on a Christian scientist discussing the Biblical view of the earth and the environment.  Full disclosure:  I did not listen very long because frankly, it made me impatient.  But it also made me think more clearly on why I choose to live the way I do.

The program made three very important points in the Christian, Biblical world view:
A.  The earth was not created to last forever.
B.  Human beings are distinct from all other living creatures.
C.  We will not find eternal life in preserving the earth.

And I ascribe to those points.  The Bible tells of the "end times," that God created man and woman distinctly from the rest of Creation, and that it is through faith in the Messiah alone that will bring us back to a full, eternal fellowship with God.  I will not become holy by the things I eat or not eat.  Those are "orthodox" Christian beliefs.

"Orthodox" Environmentalism, however, espouses saving our planet because it is our only home, that all creatures are equally valuable, and that we will endure only if we have an earth to call Home.  These views are distinctly different, aren't they?

But in addition, I believe these Biblical views:
1.  We are to be thankful for what God gives us and be wise stewards of our resources.
2.  We are to take care of our bodies and ourselves, not only as the temple of the Holy Spirit, but also as a way to increase our gifts (talents.)
3.  We should not act carelessly, expecting God to show His grace.

I do not find A, B and C to contradict 1, 2 and 3. 

However distasteful it may be to some of you to think of raising animals only for their fur, I have no intention of throwing red paint on anyone.  I suppose it may be distasteful to some that I condone the raising of certain animals only so I can enjoy eating its meat.  The Bible says all things are approved for us to eat.  Whether I choose to do that or not, is a different issue.  That I would save a human being over any animal any day, may not be palatable to some.  I refuse to call fish "sea kittens" to promote PETA's world view. However, I believe that saving bats and bees is taking care of the earth that God made for us, intricate in its interconnectedness, which sustains humankind.

I am not an Environmentalist, or a Feminist, or a Democrat or any other label - I am a Christian.   Firs.  And from that world view do all other views flow.  I choose to live my life caring for the things and Creation that God gave to me.  I choose to feed and care for my family with the safest and healthiest out there so they can be strong and productive for Him.  I married a man who respects all people as the image of God, and that each of us have a useful role to play.  I teach my child the same thing, to be grateful for the garbage collector. to be kind to everyone.  I believe in caring for the poor, that they are not any more lazy or cursed than the rich; that the poor will always be with us.

I do and believe all these things because I am a Christian.

A Little Bit

When scientists, the government, companies, advertisers say something - anything - is "safe," they follow the industry standards.  As a scientist, especially, they must follow good research techniques.  I clearly understand that.  In my lay terms, this, though, is what they mean:

The amount of ingredient "x" used (as directed,) would not cause you permanent damage, or at least not for a long time.  Because there's only a little bit in the toxic item, which deems it "safe."  Really.  That's the scientific definition of something being considered safe or at least doesn't cause cancer.  You know, like TV & video game violence don't cause crimes.  And some things, there's such a little bit of it, and everybody puts that little bit in, that the government doesn't make them disclose it on the ingredients list.  Like lead in your red lipstick.  Or softening chemical in your ice cream.

Here's the thing with me, though.

There's only a little bit of surfactants in soaps and shampoos, fragrances, stain-resistant and water-shedding coatings, parabens (preservatives in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals,) fluoride, lead (in your red lipstick,) pesticides on your fruits and vegetables, hormones, bleach, bisphenal-A so that they won't harm you.  But what about the manufacturing process?  The workers?  The remnants?

Did anyone test what happens to us and our kids who are in aggregate ingesting
a little bit of hormone in our beef, pork, chicken, eggs and milk,
a little bit of mercury in the approximately 14 vaccines that our babies get,
a little bit of lead in your red lipstick,
a little bit of preservative in our soaps, lotions, cosmetics (which they find lodged in breast tissue,)
a little bit of the petroleum-based estrogenic fragrances in our air fresheners, soaps, candles, shampoos, make up, fragranced markers,
a little bit of bleach on our cut carrots and diapers and tampons,
a little bit of plastic off-gassing from our new car seats, carpet, coats, shoes, pajamas, nail polish
a little bit of plastic leeching out of the pellets they put in farming soil,
a little bit of plastic leeching from our canned goods, paper plate coating, toys.

But don't worry; it's SAFE.

A Shard of Eden

Every Wednesday afternoon, Boo and I make our trip to "The Farm," as we call it.  It's a place about 7 miles from our house, where's we've joined as CSA members.  Every Wednesday, we get our share of vegetables and fruit that are organically grown, bio-diversely farmed, sprouting from non-GMO heirloom seeds.

Boo says hello to the chickens

and walks around with me and Farmer Heather as she gets us our share of greens.  This is in addition to the tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, plums, peppers and the rest of our share of what is currently flourishing.  We also get a dozen or two of healthy eggs, some Farmer-made jams, pickles and such. 

I enjoy finding out, by email, what will fill our cupboard each week.  I love that Jinsok knows where his food comes from.  I love he knows who grows his food, that she works hard, that food comes in cycles and seasons, that sometimes they grow well and sometimes they don't.  But that each time we make our 7 mile trek, we're getting something really fresh - like 1 minute fresh - and that no chemicals are leeching into the waters.

I was hoping that joining a CSA would inspire me to cook more at home.  And it's working!!  Fortunately we like a variety of greens and we like our food rather simply prepared.  Tonight we had (grass-fed) beef and sage sausages, beans, Swiss shard (chard) with some Ezekiel bread.

Make sure there are no bugs in the shard!

Cook the stems first in raw coconut oil and garlic; add the leafy parts and add soup soy sauce to taste.

Feed child.

Who Cares About Organic Clothing??

Whether you see it the earth as God's creation and gift to us, or as Mother Nature brought on by evolution, let's take care of what we have:  the earth and the people that do dwell.

Come read my post on All Things Chic.

Old Reliables That Weren't

Do you remember Merthiolate?

Boo got an ouch yesterday.  He prefers Neosporin, which doesn't hurt,  over Iodine, which does.  I told him we didn't need to use Iodine on his particular kind of ouch (blood blister,) but maybe we should use Bactine, to make the hurt go away.

When we were little, we didn't have Bactine, which has been around since the 50's. My parents were firm believers that it had to HURT for the medicine to work.  They just didn't trust anything that didn't hurt; it couldn't possibly kill those nasty germs.

As each family has their allegiances to certain products, my mom had hers to Merthiolate.  So we didn't have Mercurochrome, which made your skin turn red.  We didn't have iodine, which made your skin turn brown.  We had Merthiolate, which turned your skin a bright, fluorescent orange.  It was the stuff that really.  REALLY.  hurt.  It made you wish you'd die from an infection or blood poisoning before you had to endure the pain of your mom swabbing your open wound with the scratchy plastic wand.  I'm sure that soldiers with blood gushing out of their wounds were glad my mom wasn't around because she would have POURED Merthiolate into the wound.

I did the old person thing of saying to Boo, "When I was your age, we didn't have all these choices and we only had MERTHIOLATE," and went on to tell him the gruesome story of this childhood torture device.

In writing this post, I did some research.
So.  Did you notice the name Mercurochrome?  Did you ever notice the similarity to the word MERCURY?  Mercurochrome is the trademark for merbromin. The molecular formula, for those of you interested, is
C₂₀H₈Br₂HgNa₂O_6.  Notice the Hg right in the middle there?  Do you remember your periodical table from high school chemistry?  Yup.  Hg = MERCURY.

So I looked up Merthiolate.  It's the trade name for thimerosol.  Got that?  THIMEROSOL.  The controvertial preservative in vaccines?  That is a mercury compound, too:  C₉H₉HgNaO₂S

Not only did it HURT LIKE HELL, we were being POISONED!!

So the punch line is, after I told Boo how much Merthiolate hurt, he said, "Mom, mom, it shouldn't be called Merthiolate.  It should be called HURT-thiolate."

Right on.

Mountain Sunshine

.

Sierra Mist Natural

What makes it "natural?"  Real lemon and lime juices? Spring water? Organic something?  anything?

Noooooooo.  It's made with REAL SUGAR.  That is what makes it natural.

Sugar.  You know, the addictive stuff that is sprayed with chemicals, poisons our land [and therefore water,] threatens the health of the workers... you know the stuff that is processed and bleached, and subsidized by our government?  Yeah, THAT sugar.

Natural!

A Decade

The decade according to 9-year-olds from allison louie-garcia on Vimeo.

Come out and Play

/
It started with t-shirts.  Or was it bumper stickers?  When we felt the need to tell everyone what we thought.  Or what we thought was funny.  Same thing, I guess.

I remember when they first started showing up.  (Well, I think stickers have been around - remember the suitcases covered with travel destinations?  That was before me.)  When the first opinions were posted across chests and breasts.  Hey look at me. 

LIKE ANYONE CARES. 

Did you know Narcissism is a disease??  Did you know it's in the American Psychological Association DSM-IV?  You thought it was just an annoying boyfriend or selfish mom?  No, it's a serious neurological disorder that can make life a living hell for everyone around them. 
Ask anybody who has to deal with the personality disorder.

Some people are calling it an epidemic.  The article succinctly describes why it's on the rise.  Go read it.   It's a serious neurological issue.  But on a societal, every day feeding frenzy level, are you helping to stoke the fire?  Are you a teacher who must give everyone a prize?  Do you tell your kid everything they do is wonderful even when it stinks?  Or...do you recognize yourself in the article?  I do.  I'm writing this blog.  I take multiple pictures of myself  so I can get a flattering sig pic.

LIKE ANYONE CARES.

Drifting

I am underwater. Hard to move. Hard to hear. Thoughts percolate, then rise up and *pop* like soap bubbles. It's glossy and pinkish and bluish then disappears without leaving a trace. I'm left standing in a conversation with a blank look on my face. Like I don't get it, or I am incapable of getting it.

What was an almost neurotic sense of orderliness and perfectionism, girded by insecurities and overlaid with raging hormones has, over the years, melded into depression. Almost as if my emotions have given up. Tired from holding itself upright for so long. I've fallen back after getting to such a good place. Why? I don't know.

You know, it's not what you think.

It's not what I think. I'm perfectly functional and you'd never know I was depressed. I don't lay in bed with the curtains drawn, crying needlessly. No. I just can't finish a sentence. I keep losing that thought, that connection.

drift drift *POP*
drift drift *POP*

I can't get very interested in anything.

I should be blogging - Eden, garden walls, Israel, His sheep, neither Jew nor Gentile, neither male nor female, wives submit, ability and roles, insults, adoption, the barren, saints, princesses. SO many thoughts.

I can't get myself there. My mind drifts away...

School Lunch, Day 2

I am so proud of myself. Heh. How long can I keep this up??

Clockwise from lower left:

Dried cranberry
Tomato juice

Doshiddok of
Rice and barley
Hard-boiled eggs (from grain-fed chickens) with sea salt
Black grapes (lots of antioxidents!)
Grilled cauliflower (paprika, butter, salt)

along with
Keem (seasoned dried, pressed laver)
Foogo container of 1/2 organic juice, 1/2 water

Taking bets, anyone?

School Lunch

Boo doesn't do sandwiches. If he's at a friend's, he'll eat what's offered but he's the kid who'll eat the innards and discard the perfectly wonderful 7-grain organic bread. (Like that was cheap!) I've been so horrified at the school lunches that this year, I made a New (School) Year Resolution to pack more lunches.

So here's Boo's first day snack and lunch - clockwise from lower left:

7-grain pretzels
Tomato juice

Doshiddok of
Home-grown cucumbers
Home-grown cherry tomatoes
Black grapes (lots of antioxidents!)
Krab sticks (still processed, but made of pollock, not unidentified fish stuffs)

along with
Foogo container of water
Organic fruit juice

Purty.

Seminal

Saftey Rules

I believe vaccines are a wonder and a blessing to us. Like anti-biotics, like surgery, and all manner of things. I do, however, wonder why we're being convinced to have so many, why the list has grown and grown, and why a toxin like thimerosol is allowed to be injected into my baby? Why boosters are given whether the child needs it or not? Why? Why? Why? To me, it's not a matter of whether or not to vaccinate. I will. I did. The question is:

Do we need that many, and can we make them safer?

Do we really need to inject so aggressively into a 14 lb., 20 lb., 30 lb. little human? And why do they need preservatives?

I recently read a blog in which a mom expressed why she decided it is important and responsible to immunize her children with the "standard" schedule currently in place. Apparently, she read a story a child who caught something from an unvaccinated child and died. How tragic! To have your child die of, say, chicken pox in this day and age?? But is there something we can agree on that is less than the current "standard" that we should be fighting for? I think most doctors would agree they don't know everything. They aren't taught anything about the role of nutrition in our health except the most obvious things we all now know (fat=clogged arteries yadda yadda.) Most don't even know what autism spectrum disorders look like except in their most perverse and serious form. So how about looking at the thousands of circumstantial cases and playing it safe?

Imagine this scenario: You are one of thousands and thousands and thousands of parents, who has a beautiful, well-developing and perfectly healthy toddler. She's your joy, a delight! You entrust her to your pediatrician, but right after a visit, this same bundle of giggles and crawls stops developing: loses skills like talking, stares into space, won't hug, screams in terror for unknown reasons, or any of the variety of symptoms of a mysterious illness. Not to mention the entire spectrum of symptoms.

Here are excerpts from what I think is a very rational opinion piece about the role of vaccines in today's society. You can read the whole thing by clicking on the link. I know this is a HUGE, hot-button topic. For full disclosure, I'm warning you that this is written by Jenny McCarthy's boyfriend. Some of you may things Jenny's wacko; some of you may think she's a saint. So, I ask just one thing. Please take your Opinion Hat off, sit back, and read the words he is saying. Try to get over the big-bad-pharma, sheister-cdc stance or over-interpret the phrases and see the important points he's making:

"Not everyone gets cancer from smoking, but cigarettes do cause cancer. " (In my mind, this means not everyone gets autism from vaccines, but we may find out vaccines may be the main contributor to autism.)

"The anecdotal evidence of millions of parents who've seen their totally normal kids regress into sickness and mental isolation after a trip to the pediatrician's office must be seriously considered."

"We have never argued that people shouldn't be immunized for the most serious threats including measles and polio, but surely there's a limit as to how many viruses and toxins can be introduced into the body of a small child. Veterinarians found out years ago that in many cases they were over-immunizing our pets, a syndrome they call Vaccinosis. It overwhelmed the immune system of the animals, causing myriad physical and neurological disorders. Sound familiar? If you can over-immunize a dog, is it so far out to assume that you can over-immunize a child? These forward thinking vets also decided to remove thimerosal from animal vaccines in 1992, and yet this substance, which is 49% mercury, is still in human vaccines. Don't our children deserve as much consideration as our pets?"

"In all likelihood the truth about vaccines is that they are both good and bad."

I know there are as many people vociferously on one side as the other. In the pro-vaccine camp, I see a lot of condescension about the crazy, unreasonable and (implied) stupid people who are concerned about the way vaccines are handled these days. I'm not a doctor, but I'm pretty smart. I went to very legitimate universities, earned a master's degree, learned to read, analyze and reason. I also learned to question and criticize. There must be a reasonable stance between "vaccines are totally healthy and cause no problems" and "vaccines are the complete cause of all forms of autism."

I am reminded of something that happened to my husband in the ER. He was shaking, shivering. I asked the nurse for a warm blanket. Do you know what she said? "His temperature is fine." and would not get us a blanket. Did you read that? He was teeth-chattering, shaking. He was also extremely dehydrated. I asked for an IV drip. This nurse said, "His saliva is fine and his numbers look good." Not even a drink of water. Guess what? He was dehydrated. My point is this: the "numbers" and "data" don't necessarily reflect what is happening in real life, in the trenches, to a real person. (I just want you to know I went to the nurses' station and insisted on a blanket. Yeah, I could sense their condescension.)

I immunized and boosted my son. My only son. I will never know, if those toxins contributed to his autistic-like behaviors. If those toxins on top of all the environmental toxins we breathe, lather, drink and eat pushed him over the proverbial edge. And I have to live with that. Because, deep in my heart, I didn't do the ONE thing that is required of me as a mother: Keep my baby safe.

*Boldface and italices mine

Some of My Favorite Things

Added at 10:53 pm: I should mention that if you go to my right bar, to Places I'd Like You to Know, you'll find several great links re: health, wellness and being green.

I was talking to some friends of mine the other day and we started talking about cleaning products. Yes, you missed a highly intellectual, scintillating conversation! But it did get to the interesting issue of the toxins that we have gotten used to using - or been convinced we need. What is it that you are smelling, touching, tasting, lathering that enter your (and your children's) bloodstream and into our groundwater and then into our drinking water back into our bellies instead of our kitchen counter? Do we have to use toxic sprays and "miracle" erasers that leave behind unknown residues? What ever happened to using good ole soap and water? Remember Ivory? 99 and 44/100 pure, it said. So, here are my favorite, earth-friendly, brain-friendly, bank-account friendly products that I love. LOVE. So, in honor of Earth Week:

Burt's Bees Products

I started using the Baby Bee line when Boo was . . . a baby. I didn't like the idea of questionable ingredients in the supposedly baby-friendly products getting into my baby's blood stream. And into his brain.

Then, I started using the adult lotions, too and found the Sensitive Skin one the best.Almost every lotion out there has "parabens." Though not scientifically linked to cancer, globs of them have been found in women's breast tissue. Cancerous or not, it's no picnic finding lumps of unknown globules in your booby.

At first, I wasn't thrilled with the fragrance because I was used to the artificial petroleum-based fragrances in conventional products. It's ironic to me now, that I had to get used to smells that God created for us. Now, I love the way they smell. I love the way they work, too.

The $9.99 price tag put me off a little at first, but I realized quickly it is well worth every drop. Plus, at CVS, you can save up points and use the coupons. I haven't used all the products but these three I am devoted to: Soothingly Sensitive lotion, the Baby Bee lotion and Royal Jelly Day Cream. I haven't been very impressed with their soaps (shampoo, shower gels) because they don't lather up enough for me.

I love Burt's Bees because in my mind, they have the highest overall score because they have a wide-ranging line, are readily accessible [I can get much of the product line at CVS and Giant, and the full line at the health-food store,] are reasonably priced and have a well-balanced philosophy. They were recently bought by Clorox, and I, like many others, were concerned about lowered quality, but I've decided what I need to watch out for is other Clorox items that they will try to sell-off as "green" or "natural" while they still contain plenty of toxins.


I was at a dinner for an area preservation group and got a sample of the all-purpose cleaner. I love the smell of citrus. If you don't, give these products a whiff anyway, because like I said above, the smells from natural oils is different than the artificial petroleum-based smells.

I love the laundry, dish, dishwasher and hand soaps as well as the all-purpose cleaner. I haven't tried anything else but I'm sure it'll be worth trying. I love the laundry soap because it really works great for me. I love the smell of the hand soap and it works just great. The dish soap? I have to say it doesn't seem to have the lasting power of, say, Dawn, but I am willing to compromise a little for what I get in return. Same with the all-purpose. I can usually find them at my regular grocery store.

Nicole, over at A Mommy's Musings, is having a great Sun & Earth giveaway so check out her blog before the 30th!***

If there's something that's really tough to get out, I may need to use another product, but I've still decreased the toxin level in my home. That is my goal: REDUCTION. I can't rid the world nor can I adjust my life enough to become toxin-free, but I'm going to do my best.

Dr. Bronner's Products

This guy - Dr. Bronner - a real guy - dead, but real - has got to have the wierdest philosophy /religion. And he tells you about it on each bottle of his pure vegetable-based castille soap. I found this by chance while browsing at the health food store for a non-toxic soap. I had been reading about all the crap that are in soaps and wanted to reduce putting crap in our bloodstreams and crap in our streams.

Look, I know just because it's natural doesn't mean it's safe. I mean, arsenic is natural, isn't it? But look at the ingredients to the Tea Tree soap:

Water, saponified organic coconut, olive, jojoba and hemp oils, tea tree extract, citric acid and viitamin E.

That's it. No, I didn't miss any ingredients. No preservatives, no fragrances, no parabens.

Hubs uses the Tea Tree and Boo uses the Almond. The Tea Tree has enough of the naturally anti-bacterial tea tree oil to really make an impact on HH's cleanliness. You will notice a difference in your, um, "aura," shall we say, after a stressful day, or after a baseball game, having used the tea tree soap.

I have to warn you, it takes some getting used to. It is very thin because they don't use any stuff to make it "rich and creamy." But don't be fooled - it is as effective and probably more long-lasting than the chemical-laden creamy stuff you're used to. Creamy and lathery don't equal Clean. The chemicals that make the product lather is not a cleansing product. You have to get used to pumping just a little bit onto your hands and then - watch it just stretch and stretch and stretch.

It's eaier being green these days!

. . . brown paper packages tied up with string, these are a few of my favorite things! La-la laaa laaa, mmm-hm hmmm-mm. . . .

*

When Life Gives You Lemons...

.
Make Lemonade!

I know I've forgotten how easy, healthy and inexpensive home-made things can be. Instead, I stand at the grocery aisle and bemoan the $4 for a bottle of juice, the high fructose corn syrup and other unidentifiable junk manufacturers feel they have to use.

SO! Let's make lemonade!

Here's what you need:

• Juicer
• Bag of organic lemons (10-12)
• 1/2 cup of organic sugar
• Glass measuring cup
• Large glass carafe
• Medium canning jar

1. Cut the lemons in half, and juice ALL of them. Put them in the canning jar. It is helpful to find a jar that has the measurement markings on the side.
2. Put about a cup of hot water (tap water is fine) in the carafe. Swish/stir the 1/2 cup of sugar to dissolve.
   
3. Pour about 1/2 cup of lemon juice in the carafe. Fill with cold water - about 8 cups or 32 ounces.
4. Keep the jar of juice in the fridge. When your lemonade runs out, you'll be able to make more in about 2 minutes! It should be enough lemon juice to make 4-5 carafes.
   

Voila! Drink! Be healthy! Help the earth!

Here is a great chance to buy some organic products without breaking your budget. When you use organic, you are:

1. eliminating one source of toxins (pesticides) for your family
   
2. helping to keep the workers and their families healthy because the workers aren't being exposed to toxins
3. helping little critters (aka birdies, bumblebees, etc.) live because they aren't exposed to the pesticides
4. helping the earth be clean because the toxins are not leeching into the soil and into our ground water

Lemons, more effectively than cranberries, keep your urinary tract clean. If you are concerned about UTIs or prone to kidney or liver issues, this is for you! And of course, with its high vitamin C content, you are strengthening your immune system, too!

The Miracle In You

If you're a mom (or even if you're not,) you may be saying "Awwwww, how sweet." But you also might think that it's not so extraordinary.

You may think you understand when I say that this makes me choke up and practically hysterical. If your child has or had a life-threatening disease, then you do understand. A woman like me, who a close buddy described decades ago as "like glass - shiny and hard but breaks," has been shattered. To smithereens.
Silica.

I am not weepy in a Hallmark or Kodak kind of way. No, not weepy. But I weep because it is Redemption. The power of producing Good out of Evil. What could do that? Who? This month 6 years ago, the 3 of us via Seoul, Taejon and DC, arrived back in Pennsylvania. Even then, as a 7-1/2 month old, we are sure he could sense our relief, that this, finally, was our last stop. He fell asleep on the sofa, into that arms-over-the-head I-give-up nothingness.

Our home, but not his. His was back in Seoul, with that other family he knew as his own. In that garlic aromad, seaweed souped, crowded apartment.

He never let me rock him. He never hugged me out of joy or affection. He never sat in my lap. For more than a second. Never mimicked me the way toddlers do. When he was 2-1/2 years old, I distinctly remember laying down behind him while he slept. I reached out to touch his shoulder and he flinched to shake me off. Time and time again, night after night I tried. Weeks of moving bit by bit, a hand, an arm. After months - of emails, phone calls, one therapist then another, this book then that, changing my entire focus and approach, neurological reorganization - this boy, this boy. . . became my son.

During the night, 3 and 4 times, I go to his room and watch him sleep. I touch him - and now - 6 years later, he leans into me. Now he seeks me out to fall asleep on my breast. He was lost but now am found. The miracle in you.

*

What a Change 12 Hours Can Bring

.
This is Boo on any given day. He is honestly, as others have said to me, the most cheerful little boy. Sun, rain, hot, cold. Okay, so sometimes he is anxious and needy. But you get the picture.
















.
This is Boo today, with a 103 temperature. The only good thing about this is that oma get lots of snuggles.
.

Snips and Snails

You know how dirty little boys can get. Boo comes home covered in marker. He showers without shampooing his hair. He washes half his face. And sometimes - ack! I can't even write it! Ew. Ew. Ew.

I said "Boo, "ung-ahs" are really, really dirty. They are full of germs. If you have any left on your hands, you can get sick and make other people sick. Hundreds of years ago, people didn't have bathrooms. The "ung-ahs" used to float down the streets and hundreds of thousands of people died!"

Think I made a convincing case? Think he'll have nightmares?

I HOPE SO!!!!!!!

*

Drumroll Please....

BENIGN!!!
I get to keep my hair!

*

Grateful

I am just getting over a terrible bout of strep throat. I couldn't swallow anything. I was so weak, I could barely sit at the table for lunch. Sit?! I couldn't walk over. Lunch? All I could even think of eating was rice porridge. All I could drink was herbal tea. I alternated between sweating through my clothes and shivering with a heating pad. I would sit on the toilet with a blanket around me! I slept 20 hours a day. I'm finally feeling like a person again. I actually went out today for pre-admission work for my upcoming surgery and got in a little bit of Christmas shopping. But boy, I was sick as a dawg for 3 days. Like a wet rag. Had the stuffin knocked outta me. Add any other cliches you'd like.

This morning, I arose, checked my email while drinking my coffee. Like a real person. As I was taking my long overdue shower, I was so darn GRATEFUL. I was GRATEFUL I had a house. GRATEFUL I had running water. GRATEFUL it was waaaarmmm. Very warm. I was GRATEFUL I had shampoo. And a big cushy towel. Everything felt like Spring. Even the freezing weather was a joy to me.





*