an·ni·ver·sa·ry    ( P )  Pronunciation Key  (n-vûrs-r)
n. pl. an·ni·ver·sa·ries

1. The annually recurring date of a past event, especially one of historical, national, or personal importance: a wedding anniversary; the anniversary of the founding of Rome.

Today is the anniversary of my mother's death

It's hard to believe it's only been ONE year.

It feels like a lifetime. I keep thinking I will get some 'sign' from her, or some sort of ghostly visit, or some sort of confirmation that her spirit still exists 'out there'.

I know she's still alive in my heart. She can't help but be, I am her daughter. I am like her in ways I probably don't even understand yet. But I still long for some kind of  spiritual affirmation that she's around, maybe even dropping by now and then to see how her grandkids are doing.

How soul soothing that would be, a real knowing that SHE is still SOMEWHERE, not just gone and buried  to rot in the frozen ground, like she always claimed to believe.

I miss her NOW in ways I couldn't have imagined a year ago. Every new mom needs her own mom around, that's the way it's 'supposed' to be.

I thought that in tribute to my mom, I'd share one of my favourite memories of her.

.....

....

after thinking long and hard, however, it's just too hard to choose ONE. SO instead I thought I'd share something I really respect about my mother.

Though her own childhood was certainly difficult, and definately traumatic, she wanted to make 'damn sure' that my brother & I had a better childhood than she did.  For years, she was a single mom, not even a high school diploma, run-away husband, 2 small kids, one multiply handicapped (my Bro, Andrew) and this was back in the early 70's..not alot of social programs & supports back then, not in Nebraska, anyways. PLUS, this being the u.s.a., we had no medical insurance, so when my brother needed medical attention,which happend frequently,  hospitals would try to refuse admittance &/or treatment..but only over my mom's 'dead body' (used to be a favourite saying of hers...yeah, you'll get your way...'over my dead body')

Now, being a mom of 2 small ones myself, I can understand how she had the strength to do it. She was a mommy-bear she HAD to look after her cubs. But, She had no clue what to do with a handicapped child..she had to learn and fight for him.  So when I have bad days as a mom, I think of the strength she had to have to keep going and to raise us, with so much going against her and little support around (Her good friend Joan was her main support and my 'other mother' whom I still love, cherish and keep contact with) (wave to Joan).

I remember, even as a small child, she would always give my brother & I choices. She felt it was important  that we were 'heard', that we had a voice that mattered. Giving us choices helped us feel important. She wanted to be sure that we felt we were 'heard' since she felt she wasn't in her childhood. So even in a raging tantrum at a store, she'd say, it's Okay to be mad, but you still aren't going to get that toy.

So, I think one of the things I value most , that my mom taught me, was  to treat my children as real little people, with their own emotions, perspectives, feelings, attitudes, wants, dislikes,  moods, the whole bit. They are THEIR own person, I can't 'make' them into anything....know what I'm trying to say? I value that my mother allowed me to be me, to express myself. She never 'shh'ed' me  out of embarassment  ...she'd shh me in a library,  or church  or what not, but,  not because I was 'upsetting' folks around me. She let me be me.

I love her for that, and my kids will hopefully love me for that too.

AND if she can cross into cyber-space at all:  Mom, I miss you ....feel free to come visit me ANYTIME!!

Quote

My Windows Live Local Scratch Pad

Our ol' place in N.Van
We miss living in North Vancovuer..it was nice!

 

I'm not dumb enough to thumbtack my current residence  HA

interesting,  tool for msn 

 

check it out!

I found this the other day while browsing thru MSN. I had to post it here. Chyla, #7 is for you. Sorry 'bout the dentist entry, I was just excercising my writing skills (not my spelling skills). Edie told me there is a new 'ozone' treatment for cavities etc.. that is 'painless' check it out. 

1. If your throat tickles, scratch your ear.

When you were 9, playing your armpit was a cool trick. Now, as an adult, you can still appreciate a good body-based feat, but you're more discriminating. Take that tickle in your throat; it's not worth gagging over. Here's a better way to scratch your itch: "When the nerves in the ear are stimulated, it creates a reflex in the throat that can cause a muscle spasm," says Scott Schaffer, M.D., president of an ear, nose and throat specialty center in Gibbsboro, New Jersey. "This spasm relieves the tickle."

2. Experience supersonic hearing!

If you're stuck chatting up a mumbler at a cocktail party, lean in with your right ear. It's better than your left at following the rapid rhythms of speech, according to researchers at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. If, on the other hand, you're trying to identify that song playing softly in the elevator, turn your left ear toward the sound. The left ear is better at picking up music tones.

3. Overcome your most primal urge!

Need to pee? No bathroom nearby? Fantasize about Jessica Simpson. Thinking about sex preoccupies your brain, so you won't feel as much discomfort, says Larry Lipshultz, M.D., chief of male reproductive medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine. For best results, try Simpson's "These Boots Are Made for Walking" video.

4. Feel no pain!

German researchers have discovered that coughing during an injection can lessen the pain of the needle stick. According to Taras Usichenko, author of a study on the phenomenon, the trick causes a sudden, temporary rise in pressure in the chest and spinal canal, inhibiting the pain-conducting structures of the spinal cord.

5. Clear your stuffed nose!

Forget Sudafed. An easier, quicker, and cheaper way to relieve sinus pressure is by alternately thrusting your tongue against the roof of your mouth, then pressing between your eyebrows with one finger. This causes the vomer bone, which runs through the nasal passages to the mouth, to rock back and forth, says Lisa DeStefano, D.O., an assistant professor at the Michigan State University college of osteopathic medicine. The motion loosens congestion; after 20 seconds, you'll feel your sinuses start to drain.

6. Fight fire without water!

Worried those wings will repeat on you tonight? "Sleep on your left side," says Anthony A. Star-poli, M.D., a New York City gastroenterologist and assistant professor of medicine at New York Medical College. Studies have shown that patients who sleep on their left sides are less likely to suffer from acid reflux. The esophagus and stomach connect at an angle. When you sleep on your right, the stomach is higher than the esophagus, allowing food and stomach acid to slide up your throat. When you're on your left, the stomach is lower than the esophagus, so gravity's in your favor.

7. Cure your toothache without opening your mouth!

Just rub ice on the back of your hand, on the V-shaped webbed area between your thumb and index finger. A Canadian study found that this technique reduces toothache pain by as much as 50 percent compared with using no ice. The nerve pathways at the base of that V stimulate an area of the brain that blocks pain signals from the face and hands.

8. Make burns disappear!

When you accidentally singe your finger on the stove, clean the skin and apply light pressure with the finger pads of your unmarred hand. Ice will relieve your pain more quickly, Dr. DeStefano says, but since the natural method brings the burned skin back to a normal temperature, the skin is less likely to blister.

9. Stop the world from spinning!

One too many drinks left you dizzy? Put your hand on something stable. The part of your ear responsible for balance—the cupula—floats in a fluid of the same density as blood. "As alcohol dilutes blood in the cupula, the cupula becomes less dense and rises," says Dr. Schaffer. This confuses your brain. The tactile input from a stable object gives the brain a second opinion, and you feel more in balance. Because the nerves in the hand are so sensitive, this works better than the conventional foot-on-the-floor wisdom.

10. Unstitch your side!

If you're like most people, when you run, you exhale as your right foot hits the ground. This puts downward pressure on your liver (which lives on your right side), which then tugs at the diaphragm and creates a side stitch, according to The Doctors Book of Home Remedies for Men. The fix: Exhale as your left foot strikes the ground.

11. Stanch blood with a single finger!

Pinching your nose and leaning back is a great way to stop a nosebleed—if you don't mind choking on your own O positive. A more civil approach: Put some cotton on your upper gums—just behind that small dent below your nose—and press against it, hard. "Most bleeds come from the front of the septum, the cartilage wall that divides the nose," says Peter Desmarais, M.D., an ear, nose, and throat specialist at Entabeni Hospital, in Durban, South Africa. "Pressing here helps stop them."

12. Make your heart stand still!

Trying to quell first-date jitters? Blow on your thumb. The vagus nerve, which governs heart rate, can be controlled through breathing, says Ben Abo, an emergency medical-services specialist at the University of Pittsburgh. It'll get your heart rate back to normal.

13. Thaw your brain!

Too much Chipwich too fast will freeze the brains of lesser men. As for you, press your tongue flat against the roof of your mouth, covering as much as you can. "Since the nerves in the roof of your mouth get extremely cold, your body thinks your brain is freezing, too," says Abo. "In compensating, it overheats, causing an ice-cream headache." The more pressure you apply to the roof of your mouth, the faster your headache will subside.

14. Prevent near-sightedness!

Poor distance vision is rarely caused by genetics, says Anne Barber, O.D., an optometrist in Tacoma, Washington. "It's usually caused by near-point stress." In other words, staring at your computer screen for too long. So flex your way to 20/20 vision. Every few hours during the day, close your eyes, tense your body, take a deep breath, and, after a few seconds, release your breath and muscles at the same time. Tightening and releasing muscles such as the biceps and glutes can trick involuntary muscles—like the eyes—into relaxing as well.

15. Wake the dead!

If your hand falls asleep while you're driving or sitting in an odd position, rock your head from side to side. It'll painlessly banish your pins and needles in less than a minute, says Dr. DeStefano. A tingly hand or arm is often the result of compression in the bundle of nerves in your neck; loosening your neck muscles releases the pressure. Compressed nerves lower in the body govern the feet, so don't let your sleeping dogs lie. Stand up and walk around.

16. Impress your friends!

Next time you're at a party, try this trick: Have a person hold one arm straight out to the side, palm down, and instruct him to maintain this position. Then place two fingers on his wrist and push down. He'll resist. Now have him put one foot on a surface that's a half inch higher (a few magazines) and repeat. This time his arm will cave like the French. By misaligning his hips, you've offset his spine, says Rachel Cosgrove, C.S.C.S., co-owner of Results Fitness, in Santa Clarita, California. Your brain senses that the spine is vulnerable, so it shuts down the body's ability to resist.

17. Breathe underwater!

If you're dying to retrieve that quarter from the bottom of the pool, take several short breaths first—essentially, hyperventilate. When you're underwater, it's not a lack of oxygen that makes you desperate for a breath; it's the buildup of carbon dioxide, which makes your blood acidic, which signals your brain that somethin' ain't right. "When you hyperventilate, the influx of oxygen lowers blood acidity," says Jonathan Armbruster, Ph.D., an associate professor of biology at Auburn University. "This tricks your brain into thinking it has more oxygen." It'll buy you up to 10 seconds.

18. Read minds!

Your own! "If you're giving a speech the next day, review it before falling asleep," says Candi Heimgartner, an instructor of biological sciences at the University of Idaho. Since most memory consolidation happens during sleep, anything you read right before bed is more likely to be encoded as long-term memory.