Sunday Blogaround - 10.13.13

Hello lovely readers! And welcome to the Sunday Blogaround!

This week was intense. It was Mental Health Awareness Week, as well as the #forMiriam campaign, targeting post partum psychological disorders. It's Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Pregnancy Loss Awareness Month. We celebrated National Coming Out Day. In short, a lot of heavy issues, and beautiful posts. But let's start off with something light...



"Tricks or Treats: Which Will You Choose?" - Mama Be Thy Name
I'm a big fan of candy. I remember one year my sisters and I trick or treated until past midnight, when everyone was out of candy and flustered housewives dropped cans of Coke into our pillow cases. I remember the house that handed out sugar free candies and toothbrushes, too. And while we never TP'd the house, the thought definitely crossed our minds.


"What I Learned While Teaching My Son To Ride His Bike" - mamaschmama
This is such a sweet post. The frustrations of trying to parent through difficult tasks, of the kindness of strangers undermining your message, of needing some of the ugliness of life, just a little of it, to rear up- to help them understand danger. And of learning things you never realized you needed to know. Also, that is one hilarious picture.


"Life Goes On" - Antarctica. Srsly.
You may remember that my friend is trapped on the ice. He's going to be remaining there for a long time, helping to keep the station safe while all science is put on hold, thanks to the government shutdown. But there are dark sides to even this sad tale. His friends, the scientists, don't have jobs back home. They don't have homes back home. The future of Palmer is very much in question.


"Facing Demons Inside and Out; This is D's Story" - The Caffeinated Chronicles of a Supermom
Sara is hosting stories about mental illness all month, for Mental Health Awareness Month. This story is incredibly heartbreaking- a tale of bullying and depression and psychosis and addiction. Worth a read for certain.


"Breast Cancer Prevention?" - Motherthoughts
What causes breast cancer? And how can it be prevented? Serious questions with few answers. This post isn't cheerful, and it's not even particularly optimistic, but it is important. Read it.

"Hard lessons learned too young" - The Writer Revived
Elizabeth's father is in the process of dying of dementia. He's not just the man who raised Elizabeth, he's her daughter's best friend. And so her daughter has had to learn about death in a very intimate way. But sometimes, death doesn't come slowly, as with Babop. Sometimes it swoops in out of the blue.


"Life With Kids- I Kicked Cancer's A**" - Diapers n' Heels
One woman's story of breast cancer diagnosis, treatment, and survival. This woman is a champion, and talks about her experience so honestly and with so much optimism... it's worth a read for every single sentence, from noticing a lump to recovering from treatment. Go give her a huge standing ovation.


"Confession Cam #3: This May Wreck Everything" - Picklesink
I have a confession, too. And it's the same one.


"The Betrayal" - Short Fat Dictator
I laughed my ass off at this. I feel her pain. This year, I got to watch my beloved Pirates make their way to the playoffs for the first time in twenty one years. I've gotten used to watching my team lose. I'd kind of made peace with it... until they started winning.


"In an article dated Feb. 8, 1953..." - The Lively Morgue
Such a stunning photograph. I love the Lively Morgue. I don't care how often I have to say it, this is a tumblr worth following. It's not news, it's history. But it's also not history, it's side notes. It's anecdotes. It's utterly fascinating and beautiful, and your day will always be better for having stopped in. Go check it out.


"You're A Better Mom Than Me" - My Life And Kids
I have another confession. This could have been me. There is almost nothing on earth that can wake me up, I'm like my father that way. I remember once when I was about five, I woke up in the middle of the night with a flu. After I puked, I stumbled through my granny's house in the dark to find my parents. I tried to be brave, and said, "I threw up." My father's answer? "Now would be a good time to learn some self reliance."


"Two Pink Lines" - Dovetail Blog
Trying to conceive is awful. You question your body, you question yourself. You fear talking to friends and family, lest they ask questions to which you have no answer. And most important of all, it is fraught with heartbreak. This is a very personal account of one part of that journey- one month of certainty.


"In a fraction of a second, she was lost" - Abandoning Pretense
There are certain nightmares all parents share. Certain horrors we can hardly comprehend. Certain tragedies that we can only see as personal failures, as a glaring stain on our own humanity. This is not that story, but as Kristen points out, it might have been. And every near miss is simply too damn close for comfort.


"Distracted Living" - My Jenn-eration
Another heart breaker about what might have happened. I'm guilty of this, frequently. I've soothed myself with the idea that my twins will watch out for each other. If I need to leave them in the tub or something, I call out "Marco!" every thirty seconds, and they know to call back, "Polo!" But would I do it if there were only one? I just don't know.


"My Little Pony" - Dad Post
As you know, we're big fans of My Little Ponies in this house. But not because there are so many little girls. It's because... honestly? That show is kind of awesome. The characters are well rounded and interesting. They're contradictory and honest. There are good morals and there's real historical and social commentary. This dad? Nails it.


"Grief... of a Different Kind" - Kissing the Frog
Joy guest posted on Kissing the Frog's grief series this week, about the grief that comes from an experience other than the death of a loved one. This is the grief that comes with the events that might have led to death, that might have been the end. Instead, Joy has PTSD, and struggles constantly with the fear of maybe hanging over her head. It's a fear I relate to.


"Whatever you need to believe to be able to sleep at night" - Things I Can't Say
Rape is one of the most under-reported crimes in the country. Not just because of the fear of being shunned, or the fear of not being believed, or the fear of repercussions. It's also because, unbearably frequently, victims shame themselves out of believing that they are actually victims. I don't know what happened to Shell. I do know that I wish every victim had this moment- this moment to feel, if only fleetingly, empowered and righteous. I wish I'd had my own.


"You're a stay-at-home mom? What do you DO all day?" - The Matt Walsh Blog
This post has been going positively viral, and I'm DELIGHTED. Not just because I'm a stay-at-home mom, but because I've long felt that SAHMs deserve their own Taylor Mali-esque anthem. I know it's coming, and I can't WAIT to see the gorgeous graphic representations of Matt's words now that they're out in the world. Bra-freakin'-vo.


"You Can Call Me Mama Ash" - Clothesline Confessional
I have a lot of genderqueer friends who call me Auntie Lea, for similar reasons. And yes, I'm a mom now. But despite being a woman married to a man, I'm bisexual. Go ahead, clutch your pearls. Now get over it. Sexuality is personal, and while it does have a lot to do with who you are, it IS NOT who you are. I only wish there were a million Mama Ashes, for everyone who needed a shoulder to lean on.