The facebook purse game

I wrote a letter to Salon today. 

I was going to run it here, with expanded explanation and links, but I’m sick from the chemo tonight and need to lie down again before I vomit.  So here it is, along with suggested links for awareness, action, and where to donate.

Radiation Energy

Surprisingly, being zapped with 10 million volts of photon radiation each morning does not increase a person’s energy level AT ALL.

Radiation makes you tired. It makes me tired. So tired that last Friday after treatment I just sat outside the radiation center, catching my breath and gathering my energy so that I could drive home.

For nearly an hour.

It scared me. It scared people who care about me too, and now I’m not driving myself to radiation anymore, and I’ve moved the remaining treatments to the afternoon.

Luckily, there are only FOUR more treatments to go. THREE more by the time you read this, actually, as I’m typing on my iphone in the waiting room. Moving to the afternoon has given me my mornings back, a gift, although I’m more and more tired each day, as the effects of treatment are cumulative.

SO cumulative, in fact, that the nurses say that the radiation actually continues working for TWO WEEKS after the treatments end!

So I’ll be tired. I’ll be home. I’d love to see you if you find yourself nearby (and we’ve met before!). But you’ll need to call first in case I’m napping — on Monday, I slept for 14 hours straight!

Wild.

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Three-Day Weekend: Be Careful Out There!

Dear Friends,

I know that with the latest news about sunscreen and the confusing study results, it’s tough to know what to do about that bottle of sunscreen on the shelf.  I know I’ve been confused — use it? Don’t use it? Panic? Don’t panic?  Well, my friend Catherine Morgan has just written a piece over at BlogHer summarizing the issue and the responses to it, including one just for us bloggers from the American Cancer Society.  She lays it all out for us, and I encourage you to read Catherine’s piece.

As you make your plans for Memorial Day, won’t you please remember to Slip, Slap, Slop (Slip on a shirt, slap on a hat, slop on the sunscreen) and protect yourself and your children from the sun’s harsh rays, particularly when they’re at their peak?

If it’s still too much trouble or too awkward to throw on a shirt or a coverup at the beach this weekend, please read this piece by Julie Pippert to understand the importance of skin checks.

Prevention is so much easier than treatment.  Be careful out there.

Susan

They take my breath away

Do you remember the first time a book took your breath away?  The first time you disappeared between the covers of one of the Little House on the Prairie books, a Madeline L’Engle fantasy, or even Harriet the Spy, and you said YES, THIS.  This is what I’ve been trying to say.  These are my words and my soul.  These are my people.  This is where I fit in. These are the people that make me feel closer to all people.  These are the words (or images, or sounds) that feed my soul, and make me a better person. Ever feel that way?  And when the words come to an end, the last few pages disappear, and the notes crescendo, you are at once deeply satisfied and deeply disappointed that there is no more?

The amazing thing about this medium we call blogging is that there is always more.  There is (almost) always another post by that blogger-friend who writes your soul.  There is (almost) always another adventure by that blogger-friend who keeps you laughing, brings the tears, or invites you to say, YES, THIS.  And this is the amazing thing about blogging. And friends.

These are some of my amazing blogger-friends, amazing for the way they write, amazing for the way they teach, amazing for the way they live generously and without fear.  If you haven’t met them yet, I invite you to meet them today.  Go on.  They’re good people.

Amy, Teachmama, teaches us every day how to add a little learning and a lot of fun into ordinary days with our children.  Amy writes and teaches as a labor of love, even starting a network of other parent-teachers called We Teach that is absolutely amazing — and welcomes you.  Amy is a treasured resource in our community and a friend — and if you agree, would you please take a second to tell Scholastic’s Parent & Child magazine that she’s  incredible too?  Amy is one of the top three nominated for the 2010 Parent Blogger Awards in the “Books and Reading” category.  Everyone’s vote counts; you don’t have to be a blogger. Amy is brilliant and giving and kind — won’t you help me recognize her for this by clicking and telling Scholastic she’s a top blogger before June 4?

Sunday, from XtremeParenthood. When she heard about my recurrence, Sunday approached me and said that she’s thought about doing something to fight cancer for years (her dad is a survivor!) but this moved her off the couch and into action.  Sunday started a Relay for Life Team, Team WhyMommy, and she and Lara and I will be walking in Catonsville on June 12 (coincidentally, my wedding anniversary!).  Sunday is a mover and a shaker and, since the March Momzshare, a good friend.  Go visit her blog and, if you feel moved, donate a little something to  her Relay for Life Team, Team WhyMommy and/or vote for her blog as Nickelodeon parent’s pick!

Leticia, TechSavvyMama and Chief BitMom, knew about Sunday’s efforts and, while at a meeting with the makers of BitDefender last month, asked them for a donation to support her team and the American Cancer Society in the fight against cancer.  She must have been persuasive, because look what she scored — a THOUSAND DOLLAR CHECK to ACS for Sunday’s efforts in my honor.  WOW.  Thank you, Leticia!  If you’re interested in helping to secure your child’s online safety, go visit her at BitMoms — you can even sign up to join Leticia in this quest!

Jessica, A Parent in Silver Spring; Jennifer, Hip as I Wanna Be; and Lara from Chicken Nuggets of Wisdom organized this AMAZING fun event on Saturday night where dozens of D.C. mom bloggers got to spend a night out with each other, socializing, networking, making connections, and talking about our passions — what makes us dream bigger than the laundry that surrounds us every day — and as a bonus donated all proceeds to the American Cancer Society.  So many of us have been touched by cancer, they explained, and they wanted to do a little something to help.  Well, this was more than a little something.  Thanks to their efforts and the generosity of the mom bloggers that attended, munching on delicious gluten-free cupcakes from Treets and sweet potato soup catered by SouperGirl, while raffling off prizes from some amazing local businesses (I won a beautiful set of plates and goodies from local decorator @TuscanHome) the American Cancer Society is receiving a $1400 donation in the fight against cancer. A-mazing.  Jennifer is nominated for a blogging award too — if you loved MomzShare or the spirit of community, won’t you vote for Jennifer as a Nickelodeon parent’s pick and plan to attend the next MomzShare event?

Julie Pippert is a Texas mama I work with on the American Cancer Society Blogger Council and the Bloggers for More Birthdays.  Julie, Leticia, Amie, Amy, Morra, Catherine, Darryle, and the rest make talking about cancer a fun task.  In fact, we donned birthday hats at MomzShare to wish the American Cancer Society a HAPPY 97th BIRTHDAY and we’ve had fun with the More Birthdays and Choose You campaigns.  Julie, though, is easily one of the most committed to the cause.  Not only did she follow through with her Choose You pledge to get a suspicious blotch on her skin checked out, she went ahead and got cancer.  That’s right.  Julie was diagnosed with skin cancer last week, and she was brave enough to share it with the internet at the Choose You blog and Mothers With Cancer.  Go. Show her some love if you have a minute to spare today.

Some days I’m too tired to blog. Some days I’m too busy to blog.  But I know without a doubt that blogging brings amazing people into my life, and I am grateful for all of you, fellow bloggers and commenters alike.  These are just a few friends who are on my mind today — aren’t they incredible?  When you have a second, won’t you click through and vote for them or drop them a note of support?

At Momzshare Saturday night, life coach and brain cancer survivor Lauree Ostrofsky asked us to name our passion.  Aside from kids and family, she asked, what drives you?  TheMomBabe and I were surprised to find that our passions were very, very similar.  We had never met before, but we both work to encourage women to follow their passion (me in science, her in blogging) and to achieve success as each woman defines it for herself.  The women I introduced you to above are following their passions, encouraging others, and sharing themselves and their words even when it isn’t easy or comfortable.

These women inspire me, and make me eager to turn the page or click through and see what comes next.