Thank You

With Veteran's Day fast approaching, I wanted to post the link to these very special 'homecomings' --

Military homecomings

Too often, I think we take for granted what members of our military do for all of us on a daily basis to great cost of them personally.  As a mother of two children, I cannot imagine what it must be like for the spouses who remain back, tending to the family, while their loved one serves for us.  Nor can I understand what it must be like for the person who serves our country (and many times on more than one tour), to have to leave their families.  Finally, when I see the tears in the children's faces when their loved one comes home, I know it must be stressful for them to have their family member somewhere else, and in many times, in harms way.

Take time to enjoy the homecomings, and if you are like me, get a tissue. 

Run Like a Girl

After I watched this video, I became more acutely aware of the phrase 'like a girl' and its' negative impact it may have on girls.  As a mother of two young girls, I began to wonder if I 'buy into' the negative notion the phrase 'like a girl' can have; or am I rather, a role model demonstrating that 'like a girl' is both powerful and positive.

During this very tumultuous time with so much information being placed in front of both our boys and girls in regard to social media, my hope is that we can begin to rebuild the idea of 'like a girl' and for that matter 'like a boy' to our children.  It seems much of what we carry into our adult lives were imprinted upon us when we were children. Sometimes this is good, and at other times this can be bad. We need to work at teaching both boys and girls what it means to be kind and respectful to others as well as building their own self-esteem, self-efficacy and confidence.  Growing up can already be a difficult thing; I don't want to add more difficulty for my children.  I hope I teach my girls  'like a girl' is a badge of honor and they should wear it proudly!

Love the Bengals! Heart Warming Story

Too often, it seems, we look to the many negative stories that are in the news, our schools and our communities.  This story (click here)looks at something positive in the world of sports, that too often, we hear about the negatives -- athlete caught using drugs; athlete arrested for DWI; athlete arrested for domestic violence.

This story warms the heart, but also helps us to take pause and perhaps be thankful of our blessings, but I hope too, to keep Leah in our prayers.

Here is a quick video link:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0PG556aOfE

To Multi-sport or Not?

Being a parent of children who participate in many activities, I find it rather interesting that there is dialogue regarding participation in more than one sport activity.  This article asked college lacrosse coaches their feeling  regarding athletes who participated in more than one sport in elementary and high school.  Most coaches who were questioned supported the notion of students who did not specialize, but rather had a varied experience in athletics.  Many of the coaches felt these student-athletes were able to 'bring more to the table' than those who specialized in only one sport.  The coaches were then asked what their own children did - specialize or multi-sport?  Surprisingly, all of the coaches had their children participating in more than one sport and were happy they do.

I believe many parents are led to believe their children must become a specialist within a sport at an early age in order to remain competitive and be the best within that particular sport.  Pressure that is created from club teams can be confused with the thought of the club thinking they are creating the next professional athlete.  Parents are then led to believe, in order to do what is best for their child, must keep their children on a crazy pace.

Proponents who support the idea of multi-sport athletes have demonstrated that children who specialize in one sport are at a higher risk of injury as well as obesity.  Interesting, many college athletes were multi-sport athletes in high school.

My hope is that parents recognize that club athletics, while they have a part in assisting in the skills development of our children, should also be recognized as a business venture for the organization who is actively recruiting your child, having the family pay 'tuition' as well as traveling.  Hopefully, we can keep this in perspective and allow our children to become involved in many activities rather than just one!

Family Makes Courageous Decision

The following story identifies a controversial decision parents made regarding one of their children.  The Whittington's had two children, one of them who though born as a girl, identified as being a boy.  Through their own experience with their child as well as research, the Whittington's decided to support their child's identity and are moving forward in identifying their child as their son.

The video is a compelling one that makes me recognize the need for us as health care providers to ensure equality of care to our patients.  It may also test an individuals' personal belief system, which may conflict with their patients.  My hope would be that regardless of our patients' background including lifestyle, socio-economic status, educational level and religious practice, we would value each our patients and provide our best care possible.

A Parent's Pain

The video in this post is one that elicited quite an emotional response from me.  I cannot imagine the pain these parents went through with the death of their daughter.  It does appear, however, that through the amazing donation of their daughter's heart to another, there has been some help in progressing through their grief.  Have tissues handy, as this is a touching story . . . .

The story highlights the continuing dialogue of organ donation and how difficult the decision must be for those who are making the painful decision during the time in which their loved ones have been declared medically unable to survive.  In addition, this story also points out the conflicting feelings a donor recipient goes through in receiving the organs as they realize in order to do so, someone had to have died.

My hope would be that no one would have to go through what this family did, and that no one would have to make a heart breaking decision.  That said, we know that without people going through this pain and making the decisions they do, others would not have the opportunity to live.