So raise your hand if you are up to your eyeballs in Christmas shopping. Yeah, me too.
But I was hoping maybe I could ask you to set aside $30.oo for an important cause.
My blogging friend Anissa is still struggling to recover from a life shattering brain bleed a few weeks back. While she’s been in the ICU trying simply to respond to those asking her questions, her husband has been doing all that he can to take care of their three children on his own. How is he doing this? You can check up on them here.
But he’s doing all of this, and also thinking about his children’s Christmas without their mother, while facing hospital bills and costs they never ever dreamed of. Well, maybe they have. Since Peyton, their youngest daughter, has spent plenty of time in hospitals already. But I’m betting they never dreamed they’d be facing these sorts of hospital bills with one parent being the one in need of care.
So, Melissa Wardy at Pigtail Pals, has created these T-shirts for Anissa. 100% of the proceeds go to support her family.
And what’s with the “Team Anissa” thing? If you know Anissa, you KNOW she loves Twilight. And Edward.
(On a quick sidebar, I keep thinking she NEEDS to see “New Moon“. I have these wild ideas about writing the movie production peeps and seeing if they could give her a private screening in her room somehow. I know she’d hear it. I know she’d love it. I KNOW she’d respond. And probably cat-call too.)
Last night, I read a message from a husband telling his wife’s friends that she has had a stroke. Anissa Mayhew was in the ICU and we had no further information.
A stroke. A mother, a blogger, a friend, my age, infatuated with Edward Cullen and looking forward to a Disney Cruise planned for tomorrow, had a stroke and is now unresponsive.
I don’t claim to be Anissa’s BFF. By no means. And I won’t get all freaky and make this tragedy all my own. But my heart has broken regardless. If you know Anissa even in passing, or from reading her blog, you will understand this. Anissa’s reach extends far beyond her immediate friends or family in Atlanta. And I am having a very hard time expressing all that she has done for everyone else… Really, just go and readabout her. I know I just won’t do her one stick of justice.
So, I’m far from her BFF but I know her. We’ve met a few times and I consider her a friend. We shared a stroller at the March of Dimes walk this year. (By the way, she organized that group. Local Tampa bloggers came together – see pic here – to walk for Maddie because she organized it. It’s just how she rolls.) Our kids have played together. She promised me vodka at the Type A Moms conference. When my friend’s baby passed away, I found myself immediately typing an email to her. HELP. What do I do? She told me to BE THERE for her, don’t back away. Did you know that she went to 9 funerals for children this year? She has seen loss, she knows it well, SHE has been the rock that so many people have depended on. She told me she hated being considered some expert on the subject, who would? But she sure as shit knows how to love her friends. And she gave me advice about how to love better during tragedy and pain. She gives and gives and gives.
So now she is experiencing a horrible tragedy. Her brain bled. And she hasn’t woken up.
Did you know she happened to be on a segment on the Today Show this morning? It was about spanking children. Do you know how she suggested we punish our children? Have them sit on the floor, face each other and hug for ten minutes. I laughed hard.
And then the tweet I cracked up at yesterday and had to retweet:
RT @AnissaMayhew Don’t tell anyone, but I made $326K from blogging last year but I blew it on bacon and the Jonas Bro fan club.
If you’ve heard about all the recent drama regarding bloggers deserving to be paid, I assume you are laughing and loving it just as much as I did.
So anyway. Not long after that tweet (hours?) she collapsed. And is now laying in an ICU. Unresponsive.
Life has plodded on today despite this news, as it always seems to.
But then I was driving home from my 3yo’s school today and Ani came on my MP3 player. Not surprisingly, I couldn’t help but think of her.
buildings and bridges
are made to bend in the wind
to withstand the
world,
that’s what it takes
all that steel and stone
is no match for
the air, my friend
what doesn’t bend breaks
what doesn’t bend
breaks
She knows how to bend, to make room for it all, she has withstood so much. She bends and moves and works against it and surives it all with laughter and love and the purest kind of charity.
we are made to bleed
and scab and heal and bleed again
and
turn every scar into a joke
we are made to fight
and fuck and talk and
fight again
and sit around and laugh until we choke
Anissa is a really funny woman. Really funny. Wit and humor weaves its way through every post, every conversation, every experience. She turns every scar into a joke. And those in pain around her find that they can breathe again when they laugh.
Whether she likes it or not, she has become an example to so many. She is familiar with death. She knows a parent’s purest kind of fear. So many have looked to her. What do we do? How do we do it?
So Anissa, now its you. Our hearts are gripped with fear but we don’t have you to ask what we should do. But I know your example has already put the wheels of charity and support in motion. If there is one small bit of gratitude I have right now, it would be that I am comforted knowing you are getting all the love you’ve given back right now. Karma is your bitch, she owes you BIIIIIG. The love is coming – for you, for your family, for the community you’ve created, and have left waiting for your return.
Wake up Anissa, fight back again. So you can turn this scar into one more joke. You, of all people, can do this.
For any and all information regarding Anissa, please visit the Aiming Low website where her family is posting updates. Also, please be careful about the information you share and be sure it only comes directly from Aiming Low. Finally, please respect their privacy at this very difficult time. Thank you.
I had no idea. But I guess I shouldn’t blame myself for being so naive. It seems that many parents don’t have any idea either. We generally assume that the drugs we need to worry about our children abusing are such party favorites as alcohol, ecstasy, pot, cocaine or even heroin. I never thought a popular drug of choice these days was dextromethorphan – a key component in cough medicine.
A few weeks ago, I was contacted by a firm representing the CHPA (Consumer Healthcare Products Association) and asked to attend a two day event in Washington DC covering the Five Moms. (Three of the Five Moms are pictured to the right.)
This Monday, I arrived at the lovely, historic Hotel Lombardy curious about what the next two days would bring me. While I settled down in my room over-looking Pennsylvania Avenue, I reviewed the materials that were left for me.
The Problem
A study from the Partnership for a Drug Free America has shown that about one in ten teens (roughly 2.4 million kids) ages 12-17 have reported to have intentionally abused over the counter cough medicine. And about 28% of teens know someone who has abused it. But only 4% of parents believe their children would actually abuse cough medicine. The Partnership for Drug Free America also reports that “41 percent of teens mistakenly believe that abuse of medicines is less dangerous than abuse of illegal street drugs.” And when teens do abuse dextromethorphan, it has been found that they take 20 – 50 times the recommended dosage which equates to consuming multiple bottles of cough medicine at one time.
The Five Moms
On behalf of StopMedicineAbuse.org, five dynamic mothers have currently become the faces of cough medicine abuse. And this week they arrived in Washington DC with the CHPA to meet with Congress people on Capitol Hill to lobby for their support. They had three goals:
Urge the importance of parental education about cough medicine abuse by promoting the StopMedicineAbuse.org site. The Five Moms believe education about the abuse of this common place medication will do more to curb it’s use rather than simply restricting purchase since these medications are found in every home. As one of the Five Moms noted during our meetings on Capitol Hill, “You can’t protect your family from something you don’t know about.”
Gain support for the dextromethorphan Abuse Prevention Act of 2009 (s. 1383) which would amend the Controlled Substances Act and prevent the sale of cough medicine (or any products with dextromethorphan) to those under 18 years of age.
Gain support for the dextromethorphan Distribution Act of 2009 (H.R. 1259) which if enacted would limit who may purchase bulk amounts of raw dextromethorphan. There are no current limits at this time.
During our time in DC, I got to know four of these mothers (the fifth wasn’t able to come due to an illness in the family) and was truly touched by their stories. Misty Fetko shares a powerful and upsetting story about her son Carl who passed away due to a lethal mix and overdose of drugs including dextromethorphan. Blaise Brooks, a strong mother, speaker and mentor, educates her community about over the counter medication abuse. Hilda Morales-Roybal took on this cause after becoming informed about the abuse of over the counter medication in her own community. And finally Cristy Crandell currently has a son serving a 13 year prison sentence for crimes he committed while under the influence of dextromethorphan. Each amazing, each examples, each changing lives in their communities and now each delivering their message to Capitol Hill.
Dr. Drew
And so now you’re probably wondering how Dr. Drew fit in to all of this. Well, the night before we all went to Capitol Hill, we sat down to a lovely dinner with the Five Moms, the CHPA, the PR firm who organized all of our comings and goings, and we bloggers: Jenn, Janice and myself. While chatting with the mothers and considering our menus, an announcement was made that we would have another guest. Dr. Drew Pinsky was able to come to DC also to support this entire initiative and he would be joining us for dinner in a few minutes as well as coming to Capitol Hill with us the following day. After a few blogger (ahem) gasps (to put it subtly), Dr. Drew arrived soon there after and ate a delicious meal with us.
(And in case you’ve been living under a rock, here is where you might find Dr. Drew.)
Let me add a quick sidebar here to share something about Dr. Drew. He sat down at our table and graciously, patiently, wonderfully took question after question about addiction, abuse and even discussed our own personal stories. He didn’t have to do that. But he did. He truly cares about the work he is doing and obviously goes above and beyond to help others on a daily basis. I would like to extend a very heartfelt thank you to Dr. Drew for a fascinating dinner discussion.
CHPA
I have mentioned the CHPA before but should do so again now. Who are they? The Consumer Healthcare Products Association is a non for profit group representing the makers of over the counter medications. And yes, they brought me to this event because they wanted their message heard here. But during my brief time with the CHPA folks, I was impressed by and truly connected with this very committed group of people. And then we were lucky enough to have Alan, a CHPA representative and our valiant leader on the Hill, as part of our group too. With two children of his own and a clear dedication to this message, he fearlessly guided us through our day with humor and tact.
Moms Storm Capitol Hill
On Tuesday morning, the Five Moms, the bloggers, the CHPA folks, and PR peeps piled into cabs and found ourselves on Capitol Hill. Where was was Dr. Drew? He and Misty had already been up taping 39 segments for local television that morning to support this cause and we would meet up with them later. Check one of the segments out here:
However for the rest of us, our first stop that morning was the Rayburn building, home to Representative offices located directly across from the Capitol building. As we filed out of the cab, we stared up at this building’s grandeur considering what our day had in store for us. But we only took a moment and then continued up the steps. There was work to be done.
We met a lot of people that day. A lot. We criss-crossed Capitol Hill, tromped up and down the steps into and out of both the Rayburn Building and the Hart Building (where most Senator offices are located). While our fancy shoes silently tortured us with every step we hardly noticed because we were lucky enough to have appointments with:
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS)
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA)
Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA)
Rep. Ciro Rodriguez (D-TX)
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO)
Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI)
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
We didn’t meet every congress person. In fact, my group usually met with Legislative Assistants. But Dr. Drew and Misty, along with the President and CEO of the Partnership for a Drug Free America, arrived in time for our face to face meetings with both Rep. Fred Upton and Sen. Chuck Grassley.
Every office was welcoming and wholeheartedly interested in the Five Mom’s message. They listened, they gave us time, and they promised further consideration. And as Hilda Morales-Roybal so correctly put forward to each member of her audience: “we are simply asking for you to support common sense”.
Common sense. Yep, that is exactly it. So it would seem these bills are obvious shoe-ins, something every member of congress could get behind – wouldn’t you think? Not so fast. I came to realize that while open to the Five Moms’ message, even the most straight forward, bi-partisan issues won’t be immediately resolved without some behind the scenes work. Call it horse-trading, call it prioritizing, call it plain old politics but these bills have run into a couple brick walls in the Senate. I know, I don’t get it either, but they have.
What Can You Do?
First of all, every parent should educate themselves. Go to StopMedicineAbuse.org to learn more about the risks, the facts, how dextromethorphan is abused and what signs to look for.
Secondly (and probably MOST importantly) you need to discuss this drug and its risks with your teens. Don’t find yourself assuming your sweet innocent child would never do this. Don’t find yourself dealing with a future overdose just like Misty Fetko did.
Thirdly, read medicine labels, look for the educational icon (see at right) and keep careful tabs on what you have in your medicine cabinets. If you see this icon on a medicine label, you should be aware that it has the potential to be abused and may contain dextromethorphan.
Finally, email or write your Representatives and Senators about this issue. Because you know what? They asked me to tell you that. In fact, Senator Grassley had statistics right at his fingertips about how many letters or emails his office receives and how many they respond to. And then after our meeting, his assistant came up to the bloggers and urged us to tell our readers the same. WRITE YOUR REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS. Because they are listening and they will support what you feel strongly about. No really, they will.
My Afterglow
And so, readers of mine, I will wrap up this lengthy post to say that I was officially blown away by my Capitol Hill experience. You see, I got to experience first hand the influence that moms have on their communities and country at large. And it has left me awed and inspired. Because I often flashback a few years to when my children were very young, when I thought I had no affect on very much any longer apart from raising my boys. I was simply a mom not doing too much of consequence apart from wiping bums, washing bottles and watching Ellen from time to time. No no. Actually, we have a voice. An important one. One that is heard on Capitol Hill – whether it be in face to face meetings or via letters and blog posts. We can make an important difference if we get busy, get talking, get writing and get organizing. Don’t forget what we have the potential to accomplish. Thanks to my time with the Five Moms, I know I never will.
Disclosure note: While my trip and hotel expenses were covered by the CHPA, the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own. This is an extremely important initiative and I was proud to be there to offer my support.
Back from something quite mind-blowing. And now I have the task of summing it all up into words, words, words… words which brought me there in the first place. Words which I’ve learned will wield quite a bit of power if used well. Words which better do every woman there and the entire Type A Mom experience some attempted variety of justice. No pressure. So here I go.
Connecting with people online comes with the blogging territory. If you didn’t already know that, consider yourself informed. When you blog, you interact, you contribute, you gain readers, make friends, read others, become immersed in peoples lives and then connect on many social media levels again and again and again, everyday. What I mean is: I have a lot of online friends. I don’t care what your “ew, that’s kind of creepy online stalker-ish” thoughts are on such friendships – I have them and I’m proud of them.
So. This weekend, I had the opporitunity to travel deep into the hills of North Carolina and seek out some of these very women to meet in “real” life. Women who, over the course of four days, became more than just words. They became people – with great accents and loveable mannerisms and diverse backgrounds and fabulous shoes and hysterical stories and gorgeous children and genuine hearts. They live, they breathe, they are more than just a 140 character tweet. Yes, all of my apparent imaginary friends had come to life. In Asheville.
Clearly, I was busting with so much squee, glee and enough “OMG” that I saw stars and felt a teeny bit faint. I was, for all intensive purposes, frigging besiiiides myself I tell you.
So let me get down to these amazing people.
First up, I meet Corina at Down to Earth Mama and Ilina at Dirt and Noise. You wouldn’t have thunk it was for the first time. But those are my girls. They were from the minute I met them last Thursday. Smart, funny, sassy, thoughtful, invested… and did I mention smart? So smart.
(Maybe, somehow you don’t know who a few of these women are. But they are kind of a big deal. And not just to me. So go find them, bookmark them and get to know them too. For real. You won’t be sorry.)
That same night, Kelby showed me the Type A Mom magazine where she had dedicated that issue to “two astounding mothers of Type A Mom editors who passed this year”. My mother was one of the two she mentioned. So yes. In that bar that night there were tears too. Thank you Kelby.
Oh wait! There were panels! I mean, they were kind of the point to all of this right? And those panels practically deserve their own post. So much was hashed out. So much was discussed. For instance, we tackled some of the following questions:
How can women involve themselves in politics of any kind as a blogger? What effect can we actually have? What are our expectations for working with companies and PR representatives? How do we advocate for ourselves? What level of professionalism is expected? How do we blog with authenticity? How to we keep it real and keep on writing? How much do we share? What the hell is SEO and how do we get a clue about it? Does blogging mean any kind of long term pay off or future as a writer? Did you know blogger karma always, ALWAYS pays off? Can’t we be ok with being paid in cupcakes and cough syrup or should we demand actual payment for our writing and reviews? Should we be called Mommy Bloggers? Does it matter what we’re labeled?
The panels and the thoughtful discussions they inspired were enough in of themselves. And I learned a great deal. But those panels (as fabulous as they were) weren’t what left the greatest impression on me.
It was community. It was realizing that while I blog at home in my own stay at home solitude, there are women out there who have my back and support me. It was understanding that every blogger – no matter how well known – puts her pants on one leg at a time. We all have insecurities and frustrations with blogging, we all have hopes for our futures with our writing, we all -to the core- appreciate those that read us, we all find our momentum from the most impressive element of this conference: community.
To all of the women there sharing hugs and affirming each other with conversation, thank you for gracefully folding me into this astounding community of ours.
Oh and by the way, I still don’t think I did this whole weekend any justice. To get a better sense, go here and read more. I will be adding posts as I find them so feel free to share some with me in your comments:
So thanks to my wonderful, amazing father flying in to babysit my kids and my wonderful, amazing husband who is working his tail off so that I could even afford to go to in the first place, I am heading to the Type A Mom Conference in Asheville tomorrow.
And I’m going to be 100% honest here. No kids, blog chatter for 4 days and connecting with my blogger girl friends? Yeah. I’m kind besides myself with glee. I’ll be roadtripping with Down to Earth Mama and rooming with Ilina from Dirt and Noise. And I will be stalking too too many to list. So many it’s kind of embarrassing. At least Pundit Mom expects some stalking from me. So does Anissa Meyhew. And shoot, Kelby Carr? Fugetaboutit. Oh and Sugar Jones should watch her back because I may just tackle her with a hug. There are too many… TOO MANY I TELL YOU!
*Panting*
Must calm down. I can say I’m stalking people, but I can’t really stalk anyone for real. (Right?) Seriously. BE COOL, CAROLINE.
(Noting to self: No panting, no staring, no following. Got it.)
So that’s where I’ll be. I feel kind of like I am telling my mom what I’m doing. I promise to call if I’ll be late. No, there won’t be any sex or drugs, I swear (…that I’ll be made aware of)… (although, my fingers are crossed behind my back in anticipation of a couple cocktails however…). Leave the porch light on and I promise I will tell you ALL about it when I get back.
Sometimes I don’t feel like posting. Sometimes, I’m just having a bad day. In fact, if it gets quiet around here – that’s usually why. Dragging out and rehashing those feelings here every time I have them just gets old. So instead, I’d rather focus my energy on things I want to support! Positivity! For everyone! Including PMSing mothers on the verge of tears because her child is tantruming but not really since it’s really because her mom died a month and a half ago. Yeah them too. Yay!
So stick with me here. I have some shout outs I’d like to give. Pay attention. Because if I do say so myself, they are truly worth your attention.
Never Too Late For College
A good blogging friend and I both have background in college administration. She is from the guidance side of things and I spent many years working in college admissions. So one day we got to talking and she had a fabulous idea of starting a site where she could post content supporting students who have decided to return college. People like us with families and jobs and busy lives who might also be looking to pursue a degree. And like us, these very same people are probably stressed about how they will squeak one more thing into their lives, how will they afford it, how long will it take. Her site is brand new but I do think she is on to something there. I hope to guest post soon and support her any way that I can. If you are thinking about going back to school and are concerned about how you will balance it all – go check out Never Too late For College. Give Mary a shout out – she has some amazing content on there right now.
Savvy Source in Tampa- Join!
If you’ve done any background stalking on me (like checking out the buttons posted to the right), you’ll know I’ve been working for Savvy Source for the past year. I post about events, activities, and general fun things happening in Tampa for preschool aged kids. Recently, our site had a make-over and we are now introducing a very cool option for our readers. For those who join (which is FREE), members can personalize the site to their children’s interests. Also we (well not ME but the Savvy Source brains behind all of this) have added a new social networking feature. In fact we have a Tampa area group and I (clearing my throat, looking quite proud) am the moderator. What does that mean? Well, I’m in charge of the party and will be doing my damnedest to bounce any spammers or lame-os who disrespect any great conversations happening. If you’re a parent living in Tampa – JOIN! I need someone to talk to…
Cancer Sucks. Children with Cancer Sucks Even More.
Did you know that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month? No? Well, its time you did. Click on over there and meet Peyton and her mom Anissa. Cancer happens all the time, and it happens all the time to babies and children who don’t get why they spend months in and out of hospitals, getting poked and feeling horrid. And then when they’re better, no one is ever sure it won’t come back. And have you ever thought of what kind of effects the drugs that put children into remission might have on a child’s development? And how does a mother cope wondering when the next shoe might drop. Remission. It sounds an awful lot like the word dormant. Quiet for now but who knows? Be aware, learn, share, donate.
My Mom
And while I’m having one of those “on the verge of tears days”, I may as well give a shout out to the Susan G. Komen Foundation where I’ve set up a memorial fund for my mom. She was in remission from cancer too – for 15 years. Sure, she didn’t die from breast cancer but she was extraordinarily changed by it. She knew it could come back at any moment. She knew we needed to stay proactive about cancer and do what we can to beat it. She participated in walks, she was a part of many research groups, she did her part. So, yeah, she didn’t die from cancer but she cared about it. So I care about it. And have set up this memorial in her name.
All right, my friends. Thanks for reading. I hope you’ve checked out these sites and learned a little something. Now back to what you were doing and I’ll get back to wallowing for as long as I can before someone who claims he’s potty trained decides – for today only – why bother?
So I suppose it’s fairly obvious that I’ve needed some time off from blogging recently. Not because I don’t want to write – but because I can’t seem to get organized enough to do it. Simply getting my life together seems to be an enormous task. The little stuff has been overwhelming, I feel like a first grader attempting (unsuccessfully) to tie her shoes in the morning, just making dinner for my children pushes all my cylinders into overdrive, multi-tasking eludes me, I forget everything, I remember nothing, I loose things, what do we need to get done today, I have no idea.
Did you know today was my three year old’s first day of school? Did you know I figured this out YESTERDAY?
*banging head on desk*
So grief apparently makes one stupid. And slow. And traps you in a strange “what just happened” haze.
Huh. I won? Wow. I still kind of can’t believe it. (Remember that “what just happened” feeling?) My competition was fierce. And I mean that in the Christian Siriano from Project Runway kind of “fierce”. They are amazing bloggers and women. If you aren’t already reading them, start now. So, come on, to win? In such amazing company? Well. Let’s just say it’s enough to inspire my ass to get out of my funk and get back to what I do: write, blog, and be Morningside Mom.
Thank you to Parent’s Connect. But most importantly, thank you a million times over to everyone who voted. I know many of you voted almost everyday and I can’t tell you how much your faith in me means.
I also know my mom voted everyday. In fact, this is one of her last Facebook status updates:
“I vote faithfully for Morningside Mom in the Tampa blog contest.”
Love it.
So even IF I won this thing thanks to every single one of my relatives voting for me religiously, everyday, on every computer they had access to – I know my family has my back. I certainly know my mom did. So this win is for her. Thanks for every vote, mom. I love you, I miss you, I wish you were here to make a much bigger deal than really should be made over this.
Oh, and by the way? My sweet little three year old did fantastically today. He marched into his classroom with his enormous backpack on. He beamed up at his teacher. While his big brother hung his backpack on the hook, he successfully sought out and used the potty. And then, with all of us watching, he sat down next to a shy, pig-tailed girl to play with some puzzles. When I said good-bye, he said “bye mom” back – but I’m not even sure he looked up.
My baby. At school? I suppose it’s no surprise I am overwhelmed by that “what just happened” feeling yet again.
Soooo. Remember way back when I got nominated for Tampa’s Best Local Parenting Blog by Nick Jr.? Yup, the voting for this award is still going on. In fact as of today, we’ve got two weeks to go until the last day of voting on July 15th.
Luckily, thankfully, folks out there have been amazing and have voted for me. So we’re doing pretty well so far.
Which is frigging *MIND BLOWING* considering how cool the other nominees are. Not that you need to vote for them but they’re legit, awesome, amazing bloggers. For real.
Although I’m sure this lead has nothing to do with my crazed, foot stomping threats to disown my family and in laws if they forgot to vote every single day too. NOTHING. At all.
I mean, no one listened to me when I blew my top about wanting a pony at ten years old. So I guess they’re helping me out now. Which is cool. Cuz this might be better than a real, live pony anyway.
So yeah. Two more weeks. And, well, I hate to be that blogger who begs for votes, especially when we have a healthy lead, but, well, I thought I would just casually remind folks about the nomination. So if you just happen to be on the Nick Jr. website, you might want to wander over to the Tampa section and vote for Morningside Mom.
Only if you want to. If you don’t, maybe you can just get me that pony instead? My kids would love it and all the 5th grade girls would think I was the coolest. Just an idea.
Ok, let me be perfectly honest. Self promotion isn’t really my bag. But I am my own thing here at Morningside Mom so sometimes someone other than my parents has to talk up this blog of mine. So bear with me for a minute. Here I go.
The very kind folks over at Nickelodeon’s Parent’s Connect seems to think I am worthy to be nominated in their “Best Local Blog” category on Nickelodeon’s Parents Picks website.
So I thought I’d let you all know.
I mean, “gee shucks DARN” is all I gotta say. I am truly honored. (Little ol’ me. Whoda thunk?)
And what makes it even more flattering is the company I am keeping. The other nominees are straight up, kick ass Tampa bloggers. So. Wow, you know? Just being nominated means a great deal.
If you want to vote for me (see how awkward this self promotion thing is… “Yay me?” I mean, weird….), just click here (voting ends July 15th and it is a daily vote):
Jumping right out of bed at 5:45am with verve and vigor is usually not my thing. But I did this morning. Blurry eyed but fired up, I went straight to my closet and pulled out my purple. Today was the Tampa March for Babies walk. I had been looking forward to this for a long time. Go wake up the kids, we’ve got some walking to do.
We arrived early and made our way through the already gathering crowd. As we passed the registration desk, I saw two women sitting nearby with T-shirts that simply read “Friends of Maddie“. Ok. Here we are.
Our group gathered, bloggers chatted, kids played with freebie bubbles, babies nursed and the sun began to peek up over the buildings. Anissa Mayhew, our fearless team leader, and I chatted. How was Maddie’s funeral? How is Heather? How is she handling all of this new found (er, not sure what else to call it but) fame? Is she finding privacy to grieve? But our kids distracted us often, climbing up onto the wall, jumping off tree limbs, giggling and carrying on.
I was taken by a pic I snapped of Anissa’s Peyton and my five year old. Both had survived time in children’s hospitals. Peyton may be the more decorated veteran of the two – but both were there today: climbing, laughing, alive and wonderful.
And while watching the mothers around us, many had taped signs to their strollers for children who were not there but tucked carefully away in varying NICUs, fighting. Of course, I thought back to my own child’s limited time in the NICU. The hissing and lights, the various beeping counting off seconds, minutes and hours, the days that melted into one another. I remember the mothers in my NICU rocking their babies with cupped hands. Their baby’s chests raising up for air, their mothers whispering encouragement, their futures entirely unknown. Their hours entirely unknown. I remember. My heart knows. And this was a world I only shared for 11 days. Nothing, comparatively.
So there we were. My family: healthy and ready to go. For me, today was as much about celebrating life as it was remembering life lost. Time to breathe air and walk forward for all of those children who never could or – with help from the March of Dimes and fantastic NICU staffs – finally did.
Before the walk began, we took a quick group picture. Here we are. Bloggers and friends alike. All there in Maddie’s honor. In a mere 17 months, Maddie has reached thousands of people and has made an enormous impact on the March of Dimes. I wonder if I could ever do half of what she’s done in my entire lifetime.
And so we got underway. The sun warmed up the day, the palm trees swayed, the traffic was stopped for us and we mosied along, chatting, connecting and enjoying.
Before we knew it, the walk was over. We arrived back at the University of Tampa to James Brown’s “I Feel Good”, free meals from the Olive Garden, Popsicles from Blue Bonnet, a bounce house and people everywhere. A positive, good moment. There is life even after death. Parents march on. Hope continues. The sun shines down on all of it. What a privilege to participate in this moment.
And with that, we got into the car and went to find breakfast. After all, it was still only the beginning of our day.
A Big Unintentionally Forgotten P.S.:
I was a little caught up in the emotion of that day while writing this post that I forgot to actually mention and link up to the fabulous bloggers I walked with. (I know… doh!) I was thrilled to share this day with:
So, I’m far from her BFF but I know her. We’ve met a few times and I consider her a friend. We shared a stroller at the March of Dimes walk this year. (By the way, she organized that group. Local Tampa bloggers came together – see pic here – to walk for 
I had no idea. But I guess I shouldn’t blame myself for being so naive. It seems that many parents don’t have any idea either. We generally assume that the drugs we need to worry about our children abusing are such party favorites as alcohol, ecstasy, pot, cocaine or even heroin. I never thought a popular drug of choice these days was dextromethorphan – a key component in cough medicine.
Moms Storm Capitol Hill
We didn’t meet every congress person. In fact, my group usually met with Legislative Assistants. But Dr. Drew and Misty, along with the President and CEO of the Partnership for a Drug Free America, arrived in time for our face to face meetings with both Rep. Fred Upton and Sen. Chuck Grassley.
Thirdly, read medicine labels, look for the educational icon (see at right) and keep careful tabs on what you have in your medicine cabinets. If you see this icon on a medicine label, you should be aware that it has the potential to be abused and may contain dextromethorphan.
Back from something quite mind-blowing. And now I have the task of summing it all up into words, words, words… words which brought me there in the first place. Words which I’ve learned will wield quite a bit of power if used well. Words which better do every woman there and the entire 
Upon arrival at the bar the first evening, I was greeted by a delish Type A Mom cocktail along with 
It was community. It was realizing that while I blog at home in my own stay at home solitude, there are women out there who have my back and support me. It was understanding that every blogger – no matter how well known – puts her pants on one leg at a time. We all have insecurities and frustrations with blogging, we all have hopes for our futures with our writing, we all -to the core- appreciate those that read us, we all find our momentum from the most impressive element of this conference: community.
For Local Blog
For Local Blog
Jumping right out of bed at 5:45am with verve and vigor is usually not my thing. But I did this morning. Blurry eyed but fired up, I went straight to my closet and pulled out my purple. Today was the Tampa March for Babies walk. I had been looking forward to this for a long time. Go wake up the kids, we’ve got some walking to do.
Before the walk began, we took a quick group picture. Here we are. Bloggers and friends alike. All there in Maddie’s honor. In a mere 17 months, Maddie has reached thousands of people and has made an enormous impact on the March of Dimes. I wonder if I could ever do half of what she’s done in my entire lifetime.
Stumble It!
