So I have not blogged in a bit, my crazy life just consumes me! Today something touched my heart and made me realize that the words that I write in my blogs can set the tone for someones day. I follow Angels for Abby Grace on facebook https://www.facebook.com/#!/AngelsForAbby?sk=wall. Abby is a 3 year old little girl that was dignosed with Pineoblastoma, a malignant brain cancer that has spread to her spine. I first became aware of Abby through my daughter Kassidee who attends Madera High School. Abby's dad Duncan Needham is a teacher there. She told me that her cooking teacher was planning a recipe book and was going to donate the proceeds to the Abbys Angels fund. This fund helps the Needham family so they are able to travel and take time off from their jobs to be with their daughter as she fights the biggest battle of her life. Madera High also sold special t-shirts to raise money and held a football game in which all of the proceeds were donated to the Abby's Angels fund. The community in general has just reached out and supported the Needhams wholeheartedly with various fundraisers, more of which are planned. I am genuinely proud to belong to a community like this! Especially with so many young people being involved. It gives me hope for the future.
Today I read the status on Abby's page and her dad was talking about an article that offended him with the writer compairing the flu to a 72 hour cancer. Maybe you or I would have laughed this off and just kept reading without a second thought, but to someone whose life has been touched and irrevokably changed by cancer how much those words must hurt. The odd thing is this is on the Central Valley Moms homepage http://centralvalleymoms.com/2011/10/24/sick/#comment-7980 a blogging roundup that I have blogged on. You would think that this would have had more thought going to the mainframe or even being published in the newspaper, The Fresno Bee, especially with it being breast cancer awareness month! So much for humanity today! No its not that I don't get the writers comparison, a sad attempt at humor, I just agree with all of the people that commented on Mr. Needhams post that it was insensitive. So do you ask the writer or the paper to apologize for offending someone, or do you say that you live in a country where free speech however insensitive, or offensive it may be is free speech and that anyone has the right to say or write anything? I love that I live in the USA, I love that I am able to write my opinion down. I often write to provoke or piss people off. I mean thats why I blog, to tell you in my words how I feel. After reading Mr. Needhams words I realized that maybe something I write would set the tone for someones day, that maybe there are other ways to get your point across, that maybe sometimes we need to reread what we write, maybe as bloggers we need to be aware of how our words could be perceived by someone else. I know when I am in the moment and blogging, it is just a flow, a stream that pours out of me... if you will. That maybe in my moment I am not really thinking how what you read over your morning coffee will affect you, most times I actually do think about how what I have to say will affect you. I like to write thought provoking pieces.
The Central Valley Moms post was actually a very provocative piece on reality show, "Toddlers and Tiaras" and how after being sick with the flu the writer found herself enthralled and disgusted with the show and how it promotes little girls being sexually objectified. I read the whole thing. It was writing that was puncuated with sarcasm and from the view of the writer as she watched this show with her own daughter. I know that her comparing the flu to cancer was not intentionally put there to upset someone. Just the same that phrase could have been left out, had it been, would I be writing about cancer today? In particular would I be writing about Abby and her fight against cancer, or her family? Would you know who she was, and would she matter to you if you didnt read this? All I know is that when I look at Abby's photos or watch her on youtube I see my grandson and how blessed I am that he is healthy. I thank Abby's family for reminding me that every day is a day to be cherished with the ones you love for tomorrow is never promised. So remember in your day that the things you do or say or write about affect someone somewhere. Thanks Mr. Needham for reminding me of my responsibility as a blogger, I needed that reality check.
To learn more about Abby visit her page at this link https://www.facebook.com/#!/AngelsForAbby, to view Abby's videos on youtube.com go to this link http://www.youtube.com/user/DTLANeed or to participate in fundraising for Abby and the Needham family go to this link https://www.facebook.com/AngelsForAbby?sk=events#!/FundraisingForAbbyGrace
