"Do Not Compare The Flu To Cancer...When What I Write As A Blogger May Be Deemed Insensitive....

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

BOOBIES BRACELET UPROAR......

So I recently read and retweeted an article about the two girls from Pennsylvania who took their school district to U.S. Court with a case of free speech. The two young women took their school to court for suspending them for wearing the infamous "I heart boobies" bracelet that has become popular amongst teens and tweens in the last 6 months. The girls were called into the principals office for a dresscode violation in October when they refused to take the bracelets off. They were suspended for what amounted to defiance and disruption. The girls mom's filed a case back in November. It was heard in December. The case will be decided in early January and if it is decided in favor of the girls, I will gladly send my daughters to school wearing them.

Really now why get your panties in a bunch over the term "boobies" and especially in school.It is the recipe for rebellion,the more you pay attention to a behavior you deem negative the more of it your kid does, I learned that in Child Development. Come on now shouldn't you be worried about the kids who call my daughter a bitch or a dike? The very kids who would take the term "boobie" and make it well, "explicit" in their little tweener minds. My fifteen year old daughter wore one all summer and I recently allowed my 11 year old daughter to buy one. I asked her why she wanted one and her answer was classic "they are cool and everyone has one," then she added without prompting from me, "they raise awareness for breast cancer." I love my smart kid. I only allowed her to wear it on weekends or after school, because her school will cut them off of the kids and though they only cost $4.00 I wanted her to understand that she should follow the rules.  Do I think that the two students from Pennsylvania were breaking the rules?

No I don't, and I wholeheartedly support their stance. I just kick myself that I didn't think of taking our school district to court! Seriously I think society is just one big contradiction. They let Victoria's Secret Fashion shows be shown on TV during the family hour, but they won't show a woman breastfeeding on the boobtube, sorry I could not resist. I mean no one complained when Pamela Anderson was bouncing her way across the beach to save someone with her inflated tube thingie. Breasts have become something they are and are not. Their primary purpose is to feed and nurture and I proudly breastfed all of my daughters, which probably accounts for their boob fascination. My daughter even breastfed my grandson for a little while. Aside from natures intentions and I do think nature intended for men to look at breasts or they would have had some like women, is the fact that they are part of what makes a woman attractive. The female form is built the way it is for a reason. I personally like being sexy on occassion showing some cleavage or maybe wearing a fitted top that covers me entirely and leaves more to the imagination. Breasts are something that signal your womanhood and I am proud of mine for hanging on this long. Way to go girls!

I have not had anyone close to me get breast cancer, but my daughters and I know someone who lost their father to breast cancer, yes men get it too. Breast cancer does not care if you are a man or woman or if you have large boobs or small ones. So why should the school care if my kid wears a bracelet that raises awareness with a term they deem disruptive. Kids wear all kinds of disrupting clothing. They are kids, they are going to test the limits of authority. What they don't realize at this age is that one day they will grow up and say man I was a dumbass look at what I had on? Then too maybe in their growing up someone they love or they themselves will be touched by breast cancer and they will pull out the bracelet and remember that they were way ahead of the rest of us when it came to being aware of how fragile life really is.

So I cannot wait for this decision to come down and yup I am going to get a bunch of these bracelets and give em to everyone in my life and when my daughters go back to school I think I might wear a shirt that says "my school district needs to worry about bullies not boobies!" I just love challenging authority...if you want to challenge authority or just support the cause go to this link to get your bracelet  http://www.keep-a-breast.org/ .