Sticks and stones are nothing!

We've all heard the expression: "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me".

Oh, how I wish this was true. But, alas, words do hurt; and the wounds sometimes never heal.

How do I know this is true? Ask any adult about a physical trauma during their childhood and you will probably get a play by play on how they broke their arm in two places or how many stitches it took to close the hole in their head. Good stories, no doubt; even a few laughs. But notice, please; but emotional flashback.

But now, let's get to the subject of words that hurt. It's never laughed about; it still hurts. We don't talk about how we were humiliated in 5th grade by the most popular girl in the class; the shame is still with us. It doesn't even matter if that girl became an outstanding, caring adult; we never forget that moment. We can't let go. We've been damaged.

What I'm trying to say; words do matter, and people never forget emotions.

So, let's get to the positive side. People never forget kindness. Don't you want people to remember your kindness instead of the hurt.

They will feel good about you; and so will you. As Martha Stewart would say: "It's a good thing".

The cloud has lifted!!

Hi everyone. Missed me? You haven't? Well, I'll tell you anyway.

Lucy (that's the pretty brown dog in the picture) and I have been on medical leave.

Me: gallbladder attack (have to get it out) and pneumonia. No biggie. Thousands a day.

Lucy: Glaucoma. This is so much more serious in dogs than us humans. We've been working with meds for the last 6 weeks. No go. Tomorrow, surgery to remove her left eye. When we adopted Lucy from the Shelter, we made the committment to be her best friend and take care of her. She is a VALUED member of our family and we will do everything to make her comfortable.

Wish us luck tomorrow and say a little prayer. Thanks.

Exposure overload.

I just read a small article in the May 9, 2011, issue of Time about all the toxins and chemicals in our daily lifes.

It stated 27 trillion pounds are produced or imported into our country each year. The problem is, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics' Council on Environmental Health, there is very little research on what effect these have on our children.

The last law on regulating chemicals was in 1976. Wow. How our world has changed since then. The Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) doesn't require any chemical manufacturer to pretest their products in regard to human health. So, if I'm reading this article correctly, the only concern of the manufacturer is to get the job done and make a profit. I'm all for effective products and making profits; and wait, let's be a little responsible.

It took independent studies to prove bisphenol A was causing long term health problems for our kids. This is after it had been and still is on the market and in our everyday lifes.

My greatest concern; there is so much exposure. It's everywhere.

A great website for educating yourself is the Environmental Health Perspectives. Great articles. Here's the link http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/home.action.