Let's Hear It For The Girls

The other day I was reading a Time Magazine article regarding women in the priesthood.  That's right, women in the priesthood, in the Catholic Church.  Okay, so according to the Vatican they aren't priests in the "Church", okay they aren't even in the church because they have been excommunicated.  But who knew?

So I visited their website and found there are 50 ordained Womenpriests and 5 women bishops in the U.S. and Canada.  They were ordained by a European Bishop whose identity remains guarded by all he ordained.  The women received training and guidance from priests.  But after they were ordained, they were not welcome in their churches and told they could attend Mass, but not wear their collar.  The womenpriests understand this as the priests would be excommunicated if it came out they were complacent in this matter.So far there are 3 in the Chicago area and the push is on for more everywhere.

Of course we would not hear anything about this from our Mother Church,  The Vatican  put the ordaining of female priests on the same level as pedophilia,a grave crime or "graviora delicta".  Really?  Who says women do not receive the priestly call from God?  And if they do they cannot follow the call because the males in the Vatican have determined that the Lord did not have female disciples, according to the Bible, which by the way was edited my men and did not include all the information that was discovered.  So how does anyone know God's intent?  This is the problem I have with organized religion.  Most of it is well intended, but still, come on man.

I believe that the ordination of women is something that the Catholic Church can no longer ignore or categorize as a sin or crime.  So I encourage my readers, especially those of the Catholic persuasion to gather as much information as possible on this subject and perhaps take a stand.  The church is in desperate need of priests and women should be allowed into the priesthood.

The Autumn Of My Life

I love the Fall season.  Leaves crackling underfoot, the familiar smell of autumn in the air.  Even during a warm spell, there is a something in the air reminding you that this is only temporary.  This is my first fall in the Midwest in 5 years, having been trapped in the Pacific Northwest with no seasons.  The climate is very temperate and that in itself is nice.  But because of our proximity to the ocean and the mountains, it is very rainy and gloomy most of the year.  You can count on some nice weather between 4th of July and Labor Day.

But I digress.  Today I find myself sitting on a park bench outside Rochester Methodist Hospital, in the Mayo complex, with my Corgi dog Waylon.  It is a glorious day to be alive.  The lunchtime aromas are wafting through the air.  It is an October-fest type atmosphere.  All of a sudden I realize that 28 years ago this very day, Sam proposed to me.  Neither of us knew then we would be challenged by so many health issues later in our lives.

Just as there are seasons of the year, I believe there are seasons to our life.  I am thinking this is the autumn of my life.  I thought 50 as great fun, but somehow when I turned 60 there was a pall of my own mortality, sneaking up on me without warning, "this is a friendly reminder that you are not going to live forever."  Kind of like the civil defense warnings we get the first Tuesday of every month.  "This is a test, had it been an actual alert, blah blah blah".  I welcome the change in weather, the change in my life, not so much.

Getting off track again...Here in the October noon-time sun, there is a breeze blowing the fallen leaves over my Birkenstock clad feet, as I watch the comings and goings of this medical community.   I love coming up here.  It feels like home.  We are all here for the same reason.  World class medical care.  There is much diversity, yet a camaraderie here that is palpable among all.  It gives me a feeling that I am being enfolded in the loving arms of this great place founded by the Brothers Mayo, and a feeling that everything will be okay and even if it turns out not to be,  a solace knowing you did all you could.

We have experienced Spring, Summer and Fall here in this Southwest Minnesotan city and are hoping that when we come back in the Winter, Sam will be cancer free.  Time has slowed here, giving me time to sort my thoughts and taste life as it has been given to me.  There is much to appreciate and yet so much to question.  I try not to look back, only forward, and make each day the best it can be.

Bump It Baby

We've all seen them.  The infomercials that used to haunt the television in the middle of night that are now inundating daytime TV.  I have bought my share.  The Smooth Away, and Sham-Wow to name a couple and am somewhat intrigued by Mr. Steamy.  Today we are talking about the Bump It.

Flo in the Progressive Insurance commercial wears one, I am sure of it.  The object is to put it in your hair on the crown of your head to give your hair some height.  Prior to this device, we were forced to tease or "rat" our hair for fullness.  At first glance it would appear that this device might save the hair from the ravages of the aforementioned, but in the instructions it says to place the Bump It and then tease the hair to hide it.

A question comes to mind.  Why would you want to look like a prom queen from the early sixties?  I know retro is in right now, but really, this was not one of our finest moments.

While visiting my Grand kids last weekend, we found one and immediately started to experiment with it.  Addie wanted to try it so we obliged her.  She immediately aged, looking as if she was going to appear at the Grand Ole Opry and break into song.  You know Loretta Lynn, Tammy Wynette  etc.  We had a riot!

So here's an idea.  Why not have a party and try the various infomercial products to see how and if they work?  Of course there should be alcohol involved for the adults....

Is The Stock Market An Economic Barometer?

It seems like every day we are bombarded with news on the stock market.  The Dow is up, the Dow is down.  What will the market do when the job numbers come out?  How will it respond to Housing Starts?  We as a society still look to the stock market as a harbinger for the state of our economy. We all keep an eye on it because a large number of our retirement accounts hinge on its activity.
  
When people start returning to work, that's when we will know that the economy is turning around.   There will have to be new jobs created, as manufacturing is dead in this country, having been sent abroad to save shareholder profits.  Not to mention the corporations have been able to operate "lean and mean" having reduced head count but  not reducing work load.  So you have a smaller payroll, with one employee doing three jobs,  at the same pay level.  Companies have found that this works, so why should they add jobs?  (Rhetorical question.)  What probably started out to be a short-term solution has evolved into long-term in our present economy.  It would be insanity to look for another job because, a). there are none, and b).even if you were lucky enough to land a job, if you needed to relocate,  you probably could not, because chances are you owe more on you home than it is worth.  And it just keeps getting better.  (That is sarcasm.)

Many corporations (i.e. Microsoft and others) have vast amounts of cash overseas in foreign banks, while they borrow money here because it is advantageous to pay dividends with debt market money rather than repatriate it and have a tax liability.  Everyone is working the system, it seems, except the middle-class taxpayer who is footing the bill..

The Ravages Of Cancer

Today we mark a milestone in Sam's fight against cancer.  He returns to work, albeit half-time, after being off for more than 120 days.  During that time he endured major surgery, a rigorous radiation and chemotherapy schedule, and weeks of slow recovery.  He is down 100 lbs from this time last year, appears to have lost a bet and had to have his head shaved, and relegated to eat most of his meals with a straw.

At this point he is eating soft foods, speaking more clearly, and anxious to get back to normal life.  He is fatigued, but that will last according to the docs for about a year.  He won't be tired all the time, but he will experience waves of fatigue.

We go back to Mayo on October 7th and hopefully will get a clean bill of health as far as Cancer goes.

The Not So Incredible Shrinking Woman Tackles The Flat Belly Diet

When it comes to losing weight, I am a work in progress. Over the last few years I have tried a myriad of diets including Weight Watchers, and many fad diets. I often wonder why there are so many. My son swears by Atkins, but I need some carbs. Doing a lot of reading regarding weight loss only confused me. It seems there is not a one diet fits all.

I was a bit leery when someone suggested that I try the above mentioned diet, telling me it really works. I went out and bought the book while Sam was recuperating from his cancer surgery. I read it and it made sense to me, and because it was formulated by the editors of Prevention Magazine, (giving it credence in my eyes) I thought it sounded like something I could do.

Those of you who know me, know that I am hooked on caffeine. It was not unusual for me to drink a couple of pots of coffee a day and don't get me started on my Diet Coke habit. Caffeine is one thing that you really should give up, because it is a diuretic and messes with your metabolism. Carbonated beverages are also a no-no, due to the fact that the bubbles create bloating.

One of the pains about starting a new eating program is the expense of buying all the food. This was not cheap, but if I had gone to Meijer, instead of the Jewel, I could have save about $20. So $70 later I am ready to begin. After 4 days, I had lost 4 pounds. Does not sound like much does it? But the great part was that I had lost inches. It almost appeared that I had a waist! This gave me the desire to keep it up. For 28 more days I lugged my food around with me every where I went.

The first week without coffee nearly killed me. Seriously, it was crazy how caffeine lifted my mood and gave me energy to face the day. Well now I didn't have it and boy this better be worth it! But after 4 days, seeing a difference, it made it easier for me to continue. Results are the impetus to continue anything you are doing in your life.

I started the "Flat Belly Diet" by Liz Vaccariello, on June 21 and as of today, August 20, I have lost 16 lbs. and several inches. I went from an xl to a medium and I feel so much better. Once more this is a great way to eat and you can still splurge once in a while (because God knows I CANNOT give up my beer) . I enjoy 1 cup of coffee in the morning now and that seems to be enough. I can walk by cherry Gummi Bears on the sidewalk and not be the least bit tempted to pick them up.

It needs to be noted that I did not accomplish these results without exercise, running 2 miles on the treadmill 5 days a week. I still want to lose an additional 15 pounds so until then I remain focused. The upside is that I will continue to eat this way the rest of my life (it is basically a Mediterranean diet) so it shouldn't be hard to keep the weight off.

So I encourage any of you who want to lose weight to go out and by the book and get started. It will change your life!

This Is NOT The Life I Ordered

Unrealistic expectations. I believe we all start out with them. When I was growing up in a small town, I was not exposed to life anywhere else. Thinking that all there was to life for me, was to get married, have children, and be there for my husband. Well that didn't work out so pretty good.

I did not go to college, as a drinking incident put me on probation (and I was too embarrassed to continue.) So I went to Parsons Business School, where I studied Fashion Merchandising. I have to admit that was fun and one of the highlights was a trip to New York City with a couple of my fellow students. We visited a few of the fashion houses on 7th Avenue. That was back when Bobbie Brooks was around and I think we even met Geoffrey Beene. It was very exciting, but I limited my options by not attending college.

So what happened was I started working at a bank, in Delton, married the first guy that asked me, from Delton, pretty much limiting what I could get out of life. The best thing that happened to me from that first marriage was my son. So after the divorce we continued on and ventured to Kalamazoo where I had better opportunities.

Sure enough I worked myself up the food chain both in my work and love life. It was not easy but within the next 5 years I married a great guy and had a great job at a major employer. By the time we moved to Washington in 2004, I had owned my own real estate business for 8 years. But none of that was planned ahead of time. Yes I put in the work, but on the fly, more or less. When I found myself really not liking a job I explored my options (there's that word again) and I found that indeed, I did have options.

Once again at age (gasp) 60, I find myself restless and wanting more out of life. I am in the midst of researching some alternatives. So just as I was ready to flag down my waiter to tell them this not the life I ordered, I find that maybe it's a good thing that I did not have a plan, because after all, I have options.