10 Things I Love That Cost Nothing

Today’s theme for Monday Listicles is 10 Things I Love That Cost Nothing.  I thought about how much I love watching movies on HBO, playing games on my smartphone, and eating hummus from Trader Joe’s.  But when considering the cable, Sprint and grocery bills, those all technically cost something.  So, for today’s list, I tried to choose things that bring me joy that are not linked to any sort of recurring payment.  

10 Things I Love That Cost Nothing
(In no particular order)

*Listening to music

*Exchanging smiles with a stranger

*Writing

*Taking naps

*Hearing my girls practice their music—Sophia sings, Antonia plays clarinet

*Laughing, dancing, talking, anything with my kids (the video below is old, like at least two years old. Yay! for this post which has reminded me that I need to make more).

*Dancing  (this video is also old.  It's from last June.  I promise more in the future because I know you love them.)

*Feeling the warm sun on my face

*Sitting with my dog, Frodo, on my lap

*Tucking my girls into bed at night

What brings you joy?

photo credit: bigvern via photopin cc

Really?

“Isn’t this bag cute?” I asked her.

“If you’re a grandma or a 7^th-grader,” she replied.

Really?

Really?

The five year old that I watch always says “Really?!  Really?!” to her 15-month-old little sister when she snatches her Barbie dolls.  She’s a tiny little thief who just can’t wait to get caught.

All smiles.

Sometimes there are hot tears of anger from the five year old who gets fed-up with the toy snatching.

But generally it’s all smiles, all around.

 

I left the 15-month-old’s diaper bag in my car, so it came home with me.  When I showed it to my teen daughter she scrunched her nose and said, “Mom, you’re a bad nanny!” 

It was cute.

Then I asked her to confirm the cuteness of the bag.  

She’s not mean.  She’s just honest.  I’m not as cool as I think.

I’m 43. 

I do not wish to be a 7^th-grader or a grandma. 

I sometimes wish to be somewhere in between, or, maybe, farther along.

I am uncomfortable.  Sometimes the thoughts swirl: “I should be more successful.  I should have saved.  I should have a career.”

The celebration of another year is on the horizon.  I feel it in the unseasonable heat of the day.  Summers end will bring me to 44.

Perhaps I’ll settle into now.

Really.

What type of bags are the 40-somethings carrying?

I've committed to blogging everyday in May with BlogHer's NaBloPoMo.  The theme this month is 'comfort'.  

Why would I do such a thing?  

To challenge myself.

And because I was inspired by Xiomara who did it three months in a row.  Yes, she blogged everyday for three months in a row!

This post is included in her new weekly link up called 'Your Place'.  Click the badge above to check it out.

photo credit: goaliej54 via photopin cc

Wednesday's Woman: Giving Children Hope

Happy May!

Wednesday's Woman is back with an inspiring story by regular contributor, Anna Mahler, who writes at The Mommy Padawan.  What I like most about the woman Anna has chosen to honor is that she has made it easy for us to be of service to children in need.  We do not need to leave the comfort of our homes to make a difference in the lives of children who have been the victims of abuse and neglect.  So, no excuses!

Wednesday's Woman: Giving Children Hope

by Anna Mahler

Screenshot from One Simple Wish

Opening your home and heart to foster a child can be such a kind and beautiful act. Foster parents who provide safe, loving and stable environments have real impact and can change a child’s life for the better. Often, these children are or have been lacking many of the bare necessities we sometimes take for granted so when other needs arise, like needing a nice outfit or being able to go on a special outing, it can feel hopeless and not even worth asking for.

After recognizing these needs and wanting to do something about them, today children in the foster care system have a new way to ask for things they need and all of us, even those who are not foster parents, have a way to help.

Danielle Gletow and her husband Joe have been foster parents since 2006. After hearing friends and family express that they would like to help children separated from their families as well, Danielle wanted to find a way for people to connect with the needs of these children.

"(They) would say, 'I really wish there was something I could do, but I don't want to be a foster parent,' " Gletow said. "I just felt like, this is my opportunity to create something that makes it possible for all of these children who need something to get connected to all of these wonderful people that are out there, that want to help them."

This was the inspiration for, One Simple Wish. Wishes are submitted and approved for kids by social service agencies and caseworkers all over the country. Some of the wishes I read range from a child aging out of the system in need of bedding for his college dorm room, a new bike for a 4 year old girl who loves to play outside, a photography class for a budding artist, a gift card for clothing for a 12 y/o in the care of her grandma and another was simply asking for new shoes for school.

So many of the wishes are basic things I would not even think twice about providing for my own child but for children who may not have an adult in their life they can even go to and ask, it's the little things that mean so much. For many, they have felt let down so many times, they don't feel their voices will be heard so it's not even worth wishing or asking anymore.

"Anybody -- anywhere, anytime -- can go on our website,and they can look at hundreds of wishes that are posted on behalf of children in foster care and children in vulnerable family environments," Gletow said. "These small things make an enormous difference in the life of a child who has spent their entire life wondering if anybody cares about them."

Along with One Simple Wish, Danielle Gletow's nonprofit office is home to two other projects that also benefit foster youths and families in New Jersey.

The Ohana Project helps foster kids, foster-care workers and families by providing 24/7 access to items that can ease a child's transition into a new placement or home like new baby supplies, bed linens, blankets, pajamas and other items.

The Wish to Work program assists older children get the skills needed in professional careers.  They  provide job-training seminars, networking events, résumé feedback and other assistance.

It can take so little to make a difference in a child's life, to give them hope, let them know they are being heard and that someone cares about them. With One Simple Wish, Danielle does all this and more along with allowing all of us the opportunity to make a positive impact as well.

Danielle Gletow is nominated as a 2013 CNN Hero. You can learn more about her and wonderful ways to help a child at OneSimpleWish.org.

WEDNESDAY'S WOMAN IS A WEEKLY FEATURE DEDICATED TO SPOTLIGHTING WOMEN WHO ARE ROLE MODELS FOR OUR DAUGHTERS. . . AND THE WORLD.

photo credit: ecstaticist via photopin cc

Acronyms: "Mom, Nobody Uses Those Anymore!"

My writing chops are a little rusty.  I can feel it. 

Apparently, my knowledge of acronyms is terribly dated as well.  I can feel that, too—especially when my daughter, upon reading my text, exclaims, “Mom! LOL? Nobody uses that anymore!”

No worries.  I am a Lady in the Know at Ladies Holiday.  I am honored to take up a little room at their space, so check it out.

Now what about those acronyms which just happen to be today’s theme at Monday Listicles? 

Well, for that, I had to ask my daughters (who are 12 and 14, arguably more in the know than I) for input.  The consensus was that really, no one uses them at all anymore.  They are a thing of the past. 

I didn't believe it. 

With a little prodding, I got my girls to help me compile a list.  Here’s what we came up with:

10 Acronyms We Still Use 

(even though nobody really uses them anymore)

LOL – According to my 14 year old this acronym for laugh out loud is no longer used as a way to express the fact that one is laughing.  She said it is used to make a statement less awkward, like, “I saw you at the store, LOL.”

LAWLZ – Apparently this is the new LOL.  What each letter stands for is unknown to anyone in this household.  I would guess the L’s stand for laugh and loud.  The rest is up for interpretation.

HBU – 14yo still uses this one for how ‘bout you, confirming the fact that teenagers exaggerate (see title).

SMH – I have seen this one in my 14yo’s Instagram feed.  I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what it meant and had been dying to ask her.  I hesitated for weeks because I was afraid it was something wacky and inappropriate.  Nope.  It’s harmless: shake my head.

TBT – Another one from Instagram: Throwback Thursday

IDK – Oldie but goodie: I don’t know

BRB – Be right back, respectively submitted by my 12yo.

JK – Just kidding, respectively submitted by my 12yo.

CSA – I usually use it with a hashtag in front of it and the word 'survivor' behind it: child sexual abuse.  (Uncomfortable?  Statistics point to CSA being an epidemic.  Do something).

HALT – I love that this was the first acronym my girls reminded me of upon asking them for help with this list.  It’s one I learned in recovery and have taught them to use to discern their moods: hungry, angry, lonely, tired.  If they seem annoyed or down, I’ll ask “How many letters do you have in HALT?  How can you take care of it?”

Here’s to HALT and here’s to you, LOL. (Yes, I’m trying to end this post with as little awkwardness as possible.)

photo credit: See-ming Lee 李思明 SML via photopin cc

Save It for Later: 3 Things April

In Save It for Later you’re getting a brief run-down of each week's stand-outs from things I've bookmarked to "read later" either from my Diigo "Read Later" list, Pulse News, Twitter, and/or Pinterest.

I haven’t blogged for a month, so my read later list is quite extensive.  I’ll spare you the lot of it and share with you what I think is most important.  All happen to be relating to April.

April is National Poetry Month.  This week BlogHer gave us 6 Amazing Last-Minute Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month.  I really like #5 which is an online app called That Can Be My Next Tweet that mashes up your own Twitter stream to create tweets that are somewhat poetic.  I tried the app.  Here are some of my mashed up tweets:

I Want and comment. I Want and the lights go. Do I pay my friend, Anna Mahler....

Linking up with a great info you've been posting here and doing nothing.

Couldn't be happier to one's courage. - I am now a difference in the great women making history?

Number 7 on the BlogHer list, spine poetry, is also fun.  Stack up a few books, take a photo of their spines, and voila, their titles make poetry.  Here’s one that I attempted:

You can share yours on Twitter with the hashtag #spinepoetry.

For more ideas on last minute National Poetry Month celebrations check out the BlogHer article or Poets.org

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.  As a survivor of child sexual abuse this is an awareness campaign close to my heart.  Like most of these month-long campaigns, I feel it is one that should be at the forefront of our awareness all year.

In the pursuit to eradicate child abuse the most important tool is prevention.  Prevention can only happen through education, answering the question of “how do we stop this from happening?”  The Child Welfare Information Gateway has a wealth of information on prevention geared towards parents, professionals and educators.  I also have been curating information on prevention on Pinterest for over a year.  There are several organizations working towards the prevention of child abuse.  The video below is from one such organization, Darkness to Light.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.  In light of the Steubenville rape case getting so much media attention, this campaign couldn’t be more timely.  I have been gathering information on preventing sexual assault at Pinterest and you can check out some very informative links by clicking here.  The National Sexual Violence Resource Center is always my first stop for solid, accessible information.  Their current campaign is "Talk early, talk often. Prevent sexual violence"  

Also, check out the newly launched NO MORE, “The first unifying symbol to express support for ending domestic violence and sexual assault,” which provides tools for individuals to get involved locally and on social media in order to shed light on the invisible problems of sexual assault and domestic violence.  I downloaded their free toolkit containing sample social media posts, email templates, and more.  I think it's great and you should download and use it, too:   Activate NO MORE

April is just about to turn into May but don't expect this to be the last you read here about the prevention of child abuse and the awareness/prevention of sexual assault.  Beware, I just may subject you to the torture of my own poetry, too!