Thank you for the birthday wishes! I had a great time, and it keeps going through the magical mystery weekend over Memorial Day that Bryce is taking me to... Look at me, being okay with surprises!
Shenanigans:
My best friend popped over for Friday night (it was her son's birthday Saturday and he's at a nearby college, but we were able to visit too which was lovely). Behold, my favorite 50th birthday shirt:
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| The bottom of the shirt, under the dancing raccoon, it says "Half a century of shenanigans" |
Mother's Day followed, and somehow I managed to have it pass without incident. My survival strategies worked:
- Do not go on social media
- Do not listen to the radio with commercials
- Do not go to the grocery store
- Plant lots of plants
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| The left side of the birdbath garden, with the toad house, and new wild columbine, spider plants, helenium, and salvia caradonna |
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| The right side of the same garden, there's bog sage and verbena bonariensis along the fence and I'm so pleased my coreopsis and agastache is coming back strong on the right! |
I also went up and visited with my mom and helped her get her annuals at a nursery near her, which was a nice compact visit without being in the mass market fray, and absolutely NO ONE wished me a Happy Mother's Day. Wahoo.
I was also pleased that the messages from our building administration AND our superintendent recognized "mothers and mother figures" and the building email recognized that this can be a time of grief and loss. WHAT A TERRIFIC CHANGE!
Mostly I am so very glad that Mother's Day is not the horrible grief bomb it used to be.
My sister was on a podcast! She joined the host of Unraveling Me for her episode, "Unraveling Amanda." I highly recommend the listen. She's honest, funny, and sharing a very difficult piece that she's only recently publicly embracing. Amanda is very involved in the Right To Know organization, whose mission is: Empowering individuals and families impacted by misattributed parentage, adoption, donor conception, NPEs, and DNA surprises through education, support, advocacy, and community engagement since 2019. (NPE = Non-Paternal Event). I am insanely proud of my sister for letting go of shame that didn't belong to her and living an authentic life, with all her pieces. I will direct you to the podcast to hear her tell her story of NPE.
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| Sisters as kids on the Long Island Sound |
Right to Know also has incredible resources for families regarding adoption and donor conception in addition to DNA surprises. Their Resources page has a lot, including fact sheets towards the bottom that are concise yet helpful. My sister co-runs a support group through the organization and attended the "Untangling Our Roots" conference. It's a great place for belonging if you have a known or recently revealed complex genetic identity.
Lastly, in my google feed today I saw... PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) is now PMOS (polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome). There are a bunch of articles, but this one from CNN was the most thorough in my opinion: PCOS, a condition impacting millions of women worldwide, gets a new name. Why is this name change important? First, research and understanding of women's health SUUUUUCCCCKKKKKSSSS. Second, this is going to address the parts of the syndrome that aren't focused solely on the ovaries. I was diagnosed with PCOS during fertility treatments, and no one seemed to give a hoot about it once I wasn't trying to conceive...even though it has lifelong implications with metabolism, increased stroke/heart attack/diabetes risks, and should be part of my overall health profile, not just my reproductive bits. The hope is that more people will get an accurate diagnosis and better healthcare throughout their life. Fascinating stuff!
Well how's that for a mishmash of an update? I have been underwater lately and figured putting it all together in one post versus hoping I have time for several separate ones will get me to typing and posting. :) Enjoy!
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