I can’t believe I have been blogging for urbanmoms for 6 months! 6 months and I still haven’t run out of things to say. People who know me well will not be surprised and neither will my mother! The urbanmoms readers haven’t run out of things to say either and I have amassed a wealth of information and inspiration in the comment sections; but, I have not been very good at keeping in touch with those comments so I thought I would dedicate an entire blog to comments, questions, great quotes and ideas. I don’t know how often readers go back to entries and read the comments and sometimes there is great information provided there so I thought I would share some of it with you.
If there were an award for advice, it would have to go to Jen who has provided these nuggets:
1. On birthday cakes….Dairy Queen makes wonderful ice milk birthday cakes and will draw whatever picture you would like on them.
2. On raising children…."I did, however, consult the wisest of wise women (my mom) who assures me every time that I, my children’s mother, actually have very little to do with the people my children turn out to be. That as long as I love them they will pretty much be who they are."
Also some great points on mess and clutter from Annemarie who cited a NY Times article :
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E1EFA3B550C728EDDAB0994DE404482
"Studies are piling up that show that messy desks are the vivid signatures of people with creative, limber minds (who reap higher salaries than those with neat “office landscapes”) and that messy closet owners are probably better parents and nicer and cooler than their tidier counterparts. It’s a movement that confirms what you have known, deep down, all along: really neat people are not avatars of the good life; they are humorless and inflexible prigs, and have way too much time on their hands."
and LoriD:
I read once that a good approach to de-cluttering is to make a list of areas that need to be decluttered (e.g. dining room table, bookshelves, etc.) Pick one area a day (or other interval) and deal with just that area. Don’t shuffle the mess/junk to another area, but deal with it right away. Then, once the area is done, treat it like it’s Penicillin and don’t let the mess infect it again. As you make your way down the list, you’ll have more and more Penicillin areas and things will start to come together.
A children’s book suggestion by Kath, Alice the Fairy and exercise advice in the form of Yoga which I am studiously ignoring although she does refer to it as "soul-and body-regenerating."
Plus a beautiful reminder from Anne about motherhood:
I find adoption an amazing thing. I have always thought that on Mother’s Day we should all make a point of some how honoring the women who give up their children for adoption. That may be difficult to do since so many women who choose this option keep the decision secret from people who care about them. Maybe we can all just take a moment to remember them on that day.
What a difficult decision that must be, and what a selfless one. I have a very dear friend who had an unplanned pregnancy early in her life and gave up her child for adoption. Mother’s Day is always a bitter sweet day for her.
There have been some great questions, my favourite being from Sandi, a 46 year old mother of a 3 and 6 year old and step-mother to a 14 nd 17 year old who wonders if she is too old to have one more. And of course my answer is NO WAY!…if that is what you really want.
Jen wants to know what the Foundation Year Programme at King’s College in Halifax is so I have copied and pasted the explanation from the university itself:
"…a seamless survey of Western civilization from its ancient-world beginnings to contemporary times.
Rather than taking five distinct courses — and juggling five different assignment lists — you embark on an interdisciplinary programme which eliminates traditional separations between the subjects of English, history, philosophy and sociology, allowing humanity’s ideas and dilemmas to be discussed from many perspectives."
And Ali inquired about a Dear Birth Mother.
When you are going through the process for domestic adoption, prospective adoptive parents prepare what is known as a Dear Birth Mother/Parent letter. This letter is a couple of pages long and includes photos and descriptions of the parents, their values, their lifestyle, and how they plan to raise the child. Birth mothers, the women who place their children in adoptive homes, register with adoption agencies who give them these letters, usually three at a time, and they choose which couple they may want to get to know better.
And there have been some great tidbits of information. An anonymous donor found the youtube site for the Kyle Riabko song I praised after the Canada Walk of Fame show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbVGk5e2z_c&mode=related&search=
Jen was the first to guess my infatuation with Jim Cuddy and Wendy gets kudos for the most creative comment after the horrible week that followed my Barry Manilow confession.
I made it through the week
I kept my world protected
I made it throught the week
I kept my point of view
I made it through the week
And found myself respected
By the others who
visit urbanmoms too
And made it through
I have really enjoyed this great opportunity that urbanmoms has provided for me as a writer, but I cherish even more, the responses I get from the readers. I can’t wait to see what great ideas and topics we can all generate over the next six months.
Wow! I got a kudo from you! I’m touched!
I’m just catching up on your blog after missing it this summer. Looking forward to more!
I read your blog all of the time Elizabeth. It’s a way for me to keep up to speed on what’s happening in your life:) Keep it coming…Kath
Wow! Six whole months! I have loved every moment and every post. Thanks for sharing so much of yourself and your soul with us, Elizabeth. Looking forward to the next 6 months.