Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Mam's The Word


I want to shine some "lyte" on secrets today. Some new screening guidelines have recently been released by the government suggesting that women wait until age 50 to get mammograms and then get screened only every other year.

This suggestion has been met for the most part with dismay since many women fear that insurance companies will use the new guidelines as an excuse to not pay for mammograms for women under the age of 50. And I do not doubt that some insurance company will "test the waters" by doing just that. Anything to make or save a buck.

I, personally, am not dismayed. I am secretly relieved. See, I don't get yearly mammograms. I know, I know, everyone says screenings save lives, but I disagree. I am mammarily challenged. In other words, I have small breasts.

For those of you who are not familiar with the trials of the mammarily challenged; the smaller the breast, the more painful the mammogram. Squeezing my teeny-tiny girls between two metal plates is uncomfortable at best and excruciating at worst. Plus, I never saw the upside of traumatizing my boobs and radiating them at the same time.

If, in order to prevent prostrate or testicular cancer, men were required to sandwich their balls between two metal plates and bombard them with radiation, I am fairly confident that a more comfortable option would be swiftly forthcoming. In fact, I am positive.

So for now, I will take comfort in the idea that for once, the government and I agree on something. But now I have one more reason to dread my fiftieth birthday.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

My Louvre


I want to shine some "lyte" on nostalgia. The other night, my daughters and I looked through their artwork dating from when they first started drawing through 1st grade. It was a different experience than looking at photos or watching videos. More visceral. More immediate.

Those pictures really took me back to those days. I remembered the plastic picnic table where most of the masterpieces were created. I was amazed at the sheer amount of work they produced. I must have spent a small fortune on paint and paper. Looking at their tiny handprints was especially poignant.

I was feeling quite nostalgic for those days, such simple and yet incredibly difficult, days. But that feeling didn't last long. I also remembered just how frustrating those days were. As challenging as teens can be, I will take them any day over a toddler.

My kids were shocked that I saved so much. I can't explain why. Most of the work is not identified or dated. A lot of it lacks any artistic sensibility. But I see myself in the not-too-distant future; grayer and undoubtably wiser, surrounded by the creativity of my children, hopefully, grandchildren, and if I am really blessed, great-grandchildren. Being bathed in visions of tiny handprints.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Three Ring Circus


I want to shine some "lyte" on balance today. Those of you who follow my blog (all three of you) may have noticed that I haven't posted anything in the last week. I started a new job last week and it has thrown my whole schedule into a tailspin.

Working part time and being home, I had my schedule down to a science. Now I have new responsibilities and less time at home. More like no time at home. And the center is not holding.

Women are urged to find some sort of mythical balance between home and work. I don't know if it is possible. Some times work overwhelms home, other times home over shadows work. As far as my personal priorities, home is always more important than work. But translating that into the real world is delicate work.

So we do our best. Try to do everything we can on the weekends and hope it all holds through the week. But balance? I am not so much a tightrope walker as a juggler. Just trying to keep it all in the air and off the ground.