What would Judi do?

I've missed a few weeks of Good News posts.  This has been a good week.  Welcome back, good news. Let's see......what has happened this week: 1.  I (finally) got a washer!  This is more exciting than I ever imagined.  I washed just about everything that has been waiting for a washer.  All the clothes, linens and a comforter!!!   No flooding!  No thump, thump, thump as it tries to move into the middle of the room.  Nothing!  And it sings to me.  This is love. 2.  I remembered why I actually like being an interpreter this week.  Most of my work like is pretty routine.  I stepped outside of my familiar world and tried something different.  And I was able to work with another interpreter from another country.  That was so cool!  Fabulous exercise for my brain and confidence level. 3.  Without divulging specifics, I learned that the mommy network is strong and I'm happy to be part...

Today is World Down Syndrome Day .  There's a lot of stuff going around social media about the R word.  I have a long history with the R word.  I'm changing that history. I admit it.  Calling someone retarded - even myself - made me laugh.  It was a word that held no meaning for me.  I didn't think about the history or the implications of using it.  I thought it was funny. Now I realized that it does indeed have implications and a lot of meaning.  Lesson learned. I was guilty of this for years.   My ex and I even had a code word we used that meant "you're retarded" without actually saying that word, but the sentiment was the same.  We knew it was wrong to use, hence the slight change there.  We didn't want our girls learning it.  But we didn't really stop using it. Then after our separation, he started dating a woman who has a daughter with Down Syndrome.  That girl will probably never understand how much she has cha...

This has been a challenging week.  I rarely drink and when I do it's very rarely wine.  I've had wine this week.  And beer.   And the week isn't over yet. But a few good things did happen.  Let me see if I can remember them......  Oh yeah.... 1.  I won a printer from one of my favorite bloggers, Jessica McFadden over at A Parent in Silver Spring and A Parent in America (http://aparentinamerica.com/).  And she brought it to me over at the skating rink.  That's a great (and understanding) mom! 2.  I am in my third week of not yelling at drivers.  Miracles do happen. 3.  I've been scouring craigslist for a year looking for a very particular dresser.  I found it at a fraction of the price I expected.  And it fit in my car!  Win, win and extra win! 4.  One of my girls broke her leg.  Or so we thought.  The urgent care place said it was broken.  The orthopedic specialist isn't so sure...

I am 47 years old.  I think this surprises some folks, probably not because of my youthful appearance but more of a maturity level thing.  I keep thinking one day CPS will realize I'm not really an adult and take my kids away.  Then I realize I do a good job of taking care of them and my mom and myself and it hits me:  I am indeed an adult. This is the first year I feel older. This is also the first year I'm realizing the media is playing a part in this.  On a nearly daily basis, I am told to hide my fine lines, cover my grays, make my skin tone more even - change how I look.  It has made me look at myself and others differently. I wasn't seeing the lines around my eyes - that tend to show more when I'm happy and laughing - as a good thing.  I wasn't seeing the scars I've gotten over the years as anything positive.  The occasional gray hairs were making me nuts. But why? The man I date doesn't care that I'm not perfect.  When we were ...