Dr. Ruther and Health Care

Last night, while my son was eagerly waiting for me to be done chopping apples he was telling me about his day, including both the imaginary fights with dragons and the real games he played with his preschool friends.

He started to tell me about Dr. Ruth, which surprised me and I wasn't sure where that conversation was going to go. Turns out, he was telling me about Dr. Ruther King (known as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr to us). We had a discussion about how some people are mean to others (he already knows that from experience) and that God loves everyone and likes that we look different. So should we.

My son is pretty smart and I hope he stays that way. Last week I had one of those annoying conversations with a co-worker about Dr. King and why a health care company would take the day off in his honor. "What did he do for health care?" Ignorance and bigotry are still rampant.

One of his statements about health care: "Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane."

The AHRQ, a government agency focused on quality in health care, has a speech on their site, delivered by John M. Eisenberg, MD on January 14, 2000.

His speech: Remember!  Celebrate! Act! A day on, not a day off!

The sad fact is that injustice and inequality exists today. There is still great disparity in health care practices, availability and access: AHRQ report on racial disparity.

I hope we do not have to wait until my son's generation become the leaders and the ignorance dies.

And the Winner Is.....

 Anna chose the winner.















Strong Feather! Check out her blog: Breathing Decisive.

Thanks for entering and if you'd like to support your fellow breastfeeding moms (and those who want to) -- purchase a calendar here: La Leche League of Central Lake County.

Breastfeeding Calendar Giveaway!

Breastfeeding is natural and beautiful and NORMAL. My friends who are part of La Leche League of Central Lake County created a wonderful 2010 calendar. They are giving away one here on Rachel's Ramblings!

You can also buy one for yourself, a friend or a new mom.

What is really neat about this calendar is it shows several different stages and situations of breastfeeding -- an infant, toddler, tandem nursing, twins or pumping. I'm sorry to my fans, I'm not in it -- well, except on the front.

To enter, tell me where you will hang the calendar if you win. I'll randomly select a winner on Sunday, January 17 at noon CST.

Thanks for entering!

Rhythm

Sometimes I peruse Google Reader when I'm procrastinating, bored, avoiding sleep. I'm not sure who came up with Google Reader, but I think it's pretty awesome. I usually have 1000+ unread posts but it doesn't stress me out--not like 250 unread emails stresses me. It just means I have 1000+ posts to peruse.

I have so many favorite bloggers and it shouldn't surprise me when they inspire and affirm . Yesterday, I read Stacy at Mama-Om's post about Walking the Labryinth and forwarded to a friend who had invited me to walk one. We never made it, but now I associate labryinths with her.

Above the latest post, she had a few sentences and a link to a July 2009 post: You Can Dance. You must read it as there are so many good nuggets. I appreciated reading that someone else loses cool and behaves in a way she would rather not. But relationships can get fractured. And healed.

One phrase resonated with me: I want to have my own rhythm.

I have spent many years of my adult life with my own rhythm intact--a good 12 years. In that time I had school and work that dictated my schedule. But there was a lot of time where my rhythm set the schedule. I vividly remember stretching like a cat in the sunshine on a Saturday morning. Is 11:00 a.m. still morning?

Sometimes I yearn for my own rhythm. Can I wake up on the weekends when I want to? Can I just sit on the couch tonight and watch stupid TV? I want stillness right now. But someone else's rhythm must take precedence for many reasons. At this point, a deal has been struck -- my rhythm in exchange for beautiful children.

I know they will grow up and sleep away Saturdays as teenagers. And then move away.

And my rhythm will return.

Pet Names

AN ELDERLY COUPLE IN FLORENCE I
Originally uploaded by MEANMAGENTA

"The soup tastes good, hon." It just rolled off my tongue. The pet name, "hon," naturally slipped into the conversation. I didn't think about it. But last night when I used this term of endearment, this pet name, I immediately remembered when it didn't roll off my tongue. The early days of dating and connection, we sought out names for each other to express our affection. They were clumsy and seemed to belong to our parents, who had established a rhythm of partnership and used those pet names without effort. "Honey," "sweetheart," "babe" and "sugar" mocked our new connection. For a long time, we looked for the right words and used "poo-poo face/head" and laughed.

When my son was born, terms of endearment came easily as he stole my heart. I found myself using the same words: "honey," "sweetheart," "darling." But it didn't seem right to use the words with my son. So I chose "sweetheart" for my son and left "honey" for my husband. Now both terms are naturally inserted into conversation, displaying my different yet strong love for both.

My Bucket List for 2010

My goal for 2010 is to experience life and enjoy myself. Here's my list of what I'd like to do in 2010.

1. Sit on the beach and enjoy the sunshine.

2. Go camping for at least a week this summer.

3. Travel to a place I haven't been to with my family.

4. Read a book or two for fun.

5. Buy a bicycle and start a new habit.

6. Get closer to being caught up on my scrapbooking.

7. Make a new friend and strengthen existing relationships

I think that's a pretty full list for a year. I'm looking forward to reporting progress!