bevanddara

Hi.  I’m still alive.  I’ve thought of so many blog posts over the past few weeks but life has been getting in the way.  Thank goodness you (mom) are there to continue the posting.  (She has another quilt that she made for a friend that hopefully she’ll show soon!  Amazing.)

Now . . . on to today’s post . . .

Mike is away this week . . . London.  I was lucky enough to have you (mom) come up to help me take care of my boys while I was also traveling and working long hours.  (THANK YOU!).  But you leave and I almost fall apart.  Not because I need help . . . I do love having a second set of hands . . . but my mind is distracted by too many things (stuff I need to get done before our trip, the mile-long list of things I need to do at work today, guilt of not making it through an entire T25 cycle before I put myself in a bathing suit next week, etc.) that I forget about the most important thing . . . Julian.  This morning I was in the bathroom (for 30 seconds) . . . and during that time Julian managed to pick up Chet’s (ceramic) water dish (which I ALWAYS pick up when Julian’s around but forgot), dump the water out, slip due to the water being on the ground, fall and bring the bowl down with him, break the bowl and . . . by the time I rushed back . . . he had a piece of broken bowl in his hand and blood was dripping on the floor.  My perfect little boy was broken and it was my fault.  Ugh.  I wanted to throw up and cry at the same time . . . meanwhile he was “finger painting” his blood all over the walls and floor.  He could care less.

Have you ever tried to put a band-aid on a 13 month old’s finger?  Its impossible.  Putting on two (to keep his finger straight so the blood stops pouring out) . . . double impossible task.  But you know what?  I did it (after putting hydrogen peroxide on it, mom!).  I also made him breakfast, played for a while, had him help me pick out an outfit (that boy has great taste!), had snuggle time, put him down for a nap, got a shower, sent a few work emails, washed the bathroom rug that was spattered with Julian’s blood, washed the dishes, made Julian lunch . . . and then ran into Diana’s arms when she arrived because I was so relieved she was there and she could tell me that he was going to be okay.  Now I’m here, at my desk, trying not to think about his little finger but its hard.

1. Don’t let fear be an excuse for inaction. “At one point, we were all fearful,” said GMA anchor Robin Roberts. “But as you get older, it’s the things you don’t do that you regret, more so than the things you do. When fear knocks, answer.”
2. If the rights of any woman are threatened, the rights of all women are threatened. “It is my hope that this moment will inspire people to understand that the issues of transgender women are women’s issues,” said Laverne Cox. Preach. We live in a world where trans people still experience high levels of verbal harassment, physical assault, poverty and suicide. Feminism includes fighting for the right of any individual to express their gender identity authentically without having to worry about violence or social stigma.
3. Your story is powerful. So tell it authentically. “The best stories are often true,” said Shonda Rhimes as she introduced Robin Roberts — a woman who has an amazing story. “The narrative of human life is most beautiful when told truthfully and without boundaries.”
4.  You don’t need balls to be courageous. During Amy Schumer’s touching — and hilarious — tribute to the late Joan Rivers, she explained one thing that Rivers taught us all: “Having balls has nothing to do with it.” Damn straight.
5. Women’s equality isn’t just an idea. It has real consequence for all of us — and for our children. “We need to close the imagination gap for women,” said Chelsea Clinton, touching on how the current climate of gender inequality impacts the girls who will grow up to be the women of tomorrow, including her newborn daughter Charlotte. “I want Charlotte to grow up whatever she dreams to be, wherever she dreams to do it, however she chooses to become it.”
6. Ignorance isn’t bliss. It’s damage. “The biggest problem is ignorance,” said Sylvia Earle. “If you do not know, you can’t care.”
7. Being the first is great, but being one of many is better. “I live for the day it’s not groundbreaking to have an Indian woman with her own TV show,” said Mindy Kaling, who is often singled out simply for existing as a successful woman of color in the entertainment industry. “I long for the time when there are so many women who look like me that I am no longer a model minority.”
8. “To be a woman is to be human.” And as Lupita Nyong’o explained, our humanity is the most beautiful part about us. “To be human is to seek perfection and find joy in never attaining it,” she said.
9. Do what you can, because every bit of change matters. As U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Power so eloquently stated: “Just try to change your slice of the world and the rest will follow.”