Holidays/Observances

One of the biggest challenges I faced while trying to become a mother was attending baby showers. This was an issue both during fertility procedures and while waiting to adopt. I wrote about this topic on my Hoping to Adopt blog as well:

• Surviving the Wait: Baby Showers
• Surviving the Wait: Baby Shower Survival Tips

Baby showers are hard. They are hard on you as you put on a "happy face" and pretend that your heart is not being ripped to shreds. They are hard on the mother-to-be, who wants a room filled with people who are truly happy about her impending arrival. Of course, in many cases, you will be sincerely happy for the mother-to-be: You will… [more]

Coping With Loss on Mother's Day Plant a tree in her honor Ask God to Help You Through Spend the Day With Family Now I think that the family idea is great, but only if they are sensitive to your feelings. I believe that many times, even the nicest people can make you feel worse by saying ignorant things or saying nothing at all. Be sure to do an emotional check before following this advice. Reach Out and Volunteer A friend of mine volunteered on the holidays after she divorced at a soup kitchen serving food. It kept her busy and her mind off of how the holidays, "used to be". And although it worked for her on the actual day, it wasn't as life changing as she expected it to… [more]

Coping With Loss on Mother's Day submitted by Beliefnet Readers. It's no secret that Mother's Day can be the worst for want to be mommies. Although a lot of the hints from the above article were meant for other losses besides infertility, I believe that some can help out in a lot of different situations. The link above will take you to the complete list. Here are some that I felt were appropriate for this blog: Create an Online Memorial Jane Cassidy, Cerrillos, N.M.: "Grief seems to have a life of its own." Jane's daughter died in her early 20s. To help survive the loss, Jane created www.happybirthdayrenee.com, which I spent the morning looking through. It is a very… [more]

While researching St. Patrick's Day, this popped up on my radar. This is the holiday that I thought we would all be interested in yesterday, so I hope that you are checking back in. Although it isn't very extensive, I thought that the sentiments behind it, would be something for this blog. The Godess of Fertility Day is always celebrated on March 18. There are also offerings given to Aphrodite in the forms of incense and flowers. Goddess of Fertility Day Goddess of Fertility Day celebrates Aphrodite and other gods and goddesses of fertility. In ancient times, many cultures had multiple gods and goddesses. Each one represented various aspects of life. The ancient Greek goddess Aphrodite was by far the most well… [more]

As usual, I was trying to find some sort of connection between today's holiday and fertility. And of course, there are some. Especially with today's custom of wearing green. The green in your clothes is supposed to help with the connection of the fertile ground, representative of lush, ferile lands. Not too much to do with human fertility directly, but there is a connection. The only thing that I really remembered was that I needed to wear green, and to dress the kids in green today to avoid getting a pinch. In my readings, I didn't come across the reason for the pinching, but I did find out the reasoning behind St. Patrick's Day. The holiday of St. Patrick's Day… [more]

Dear Readers, Thank you so much for allowing me to give you my opinions and to share my story on a daily basis with you. Having just come over from www.adoptionblogs.com I wasn't sure how it was going to go over here, blogging all by myself as opposed to blogging with a group. But so far, it has been working out fine. And I am enjoying it as much as I ever have. Thinking back to last Valentine's Day, this has been a nice day. My father was dying at home from pancreatic cancer and every hour we were uncertain how much longer his life would be. Death watch is devastating. And this year, although I miss him so much, I'm… [more]

I'm following in the blogging footsteps on Jan Baker in her wish to you all for a Happy New Year, one day late. To read her post, click here. In my last post, I let you all know about the move of the fertility blog over to it's own site, which can be reached through www.fertilityblogs.com The move has been a tad slower than any of us could have expected, so I'm still here! I will probably be over there starting on Wednesday or Thursday, so keep checking back if you can. Since I won't be able to let you know that I've actually moved, you'll have to come and find me. Blogging over here for the past 7 months has been more than a blast than… [more]

Being a massage therapist, I know the power of touch. For the majority of my clients their favorite section of the massage is the feet. There are a few though that really cannot stand to have their feet even lightly touched. If you are like those very few clients, you may not want to read this post as it will teach you how to enjoy your very own foot massage. The detailed way that this is written is better than what I learned in massage school. The only thing that I would add to these steps is to put on some relaxing music before you start and also to remember to breathe deep to help internalize the relaxation response. From www.lifescript.com Even if you’re not suffering from… [more]

One of my younger brothers called me today to tell me that now every time he hears the Band Aid song, Do They Know It's Christmas, he thinks of little Bec. He said that having Bec has totally changed the way that he understood the song from when he was he was younger. If you grew up in the 80s like we did, you have to know this song. I hadn't heard it on the radio yet this year, so I listened to it online. I did have different images for me as well, and I'm glad that he shared this little tidbit with me. Here are the lyrics, just in case you just got them out of minds! Lyrics With Performers (Paul Young) It's Christmas time There's no need to… [more]

Coley's most recent post inspired this post from me. She writes about how a Christmas letter has changed and does change with growing up. It reminded me of this Christmas song that I listen to every Christmas on my Merry Christmas To You CD by Reba McEntire. Artist/Band: Reba McEntire Lyrics for Song: A Christmas Letter Lyrics for Album: Merry Christmas To You At an antique desk An old man sits alone It's Christmas Eve And it's almost time to go He signs his name to a letter he just wrote Then he reads it back with a voice as soft as snow I want peace on earth for Christmas In a world where there's not one hungry child A day where hope and faith Conquers fear and hate All I'm asking for is a little more love Then he walks outside And… [more]