Hello, lovely readers! And welcome to another edition of the blogaround!
Today, the family and I are in Iowa, road tripping to Poppa's commencement. No, he hasn't secretly been attending university. Actually, his alma mater is presenting him with an honorary doctorate, and the whole family is using it as an opportunity for a bit of a reunion. Oh yes, there are going to be pictures.
In the meantime, please enjoy these gems from the week's blogs!
Enjoy the blogaround!
"The Origami Master's Revenge" - The Spin Cycle
It's always wonderful to see you children becoming full fledged people, capable of coping with a variety of new problems, new situations, new social interactions. It's even better when you see your children becoming people who are just going to win at life.
"Six Things You Can Do Instead of Shaming Unmarried Women for Having Children" - Racialicious
It's generally good advice for dealing with any parent who is in any way different than you. Which is to say, all parents. But the intro about the attitudes towards single parenthood in this country are worth reading all on their own, regardless of those guidelines.
"Video: Matt Kemp Gives Disabled Fan His Cap, Jersey, and Shoes" - SFist
This kid has terminal cancer. He can't talk. His father told the third base coach about it, and told him that Kemp was his favorite player for his favorite team. Kemp heard the story, and near the end of the game he headed over. The rest is on camera. (And there's more about it
here.)
"Coming to Terms with my Femininity" - The Crafting Hobbit
Okay, this isn't from this week. But this is Irene of the Crafting Hobbit, writing about her decision to have a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy. You know, like Angelina Jolie except that she's a
normal person living a normal life in the United States. She's not a celebrity, she's not wealthy. She's the mom of an autistic child, and a crafter, and an all around nice lady who happens to carry that genetic mutation that gives her an 87% chance of a very aggressive form of breast cancer. Her blog has followed her journey from the decision to have the surgery through her recovery- which included spending her Mother's Day in the hospital due to a post-surgical infection. A post surgical infection that she is STILL recovering from. Definitely go read everything from this post until the present, to get a real and honest understanding of what this issue is, what the surgery is and what it's like, and what normal women in America who don't have the benefit of Ms. Jolie's unfathomable wealth can do when faced with this issue.
"Ticking Time Bomb" - Megan Rosalarian Gedris
A simple illustration of Angelina Jolie's decision to get a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy.
"Food Addiction" - Finally Mom
I laughed out loud. It's about as good as 33 words gets.
"Strange, and yet familiar" - The Writer Revived
S is only a little older than my big girls, and I can't remember the last time I rocked one of them to sleep. It's remarkable how quickly you get used to things once they're normal- just putting the kids in bed and basically walking away is the norm around here. But I would like, just once, to transport back to those nights, rocking my girls and singing them to sleep.
"Why isn't New Orleans Mother's Day shooting a 'national tragedy'?" - theguardian
Did you hear about the shooting at the Mother's Day parade? About the 19 people shot, including children, or the fact that the shooter is still at large? We really need to ask ourselves why we can stand by and accept some horrific acts of violence and not others. In no world should this be something we sweep under the rug.
"Mother shuns Disney Princess ideal and dresses daughter up as five REAL heroines from history to commemorate fifth birthday" - Daily Mail
...and it's FANTASTIC. I may attempt to recreate this feat with my own offspring. I love these so hard it's ridiculous.
