Dave and I have talked more than once about how many more people we know or hear about facing serious, even terminal illnesses compared to years ago when we lived elsewhere.  I have a theory.  And it’s pretty simple.  Back then we were self-centered.  We were in our own little world of immediate friends and family, not open nearly as much as we are now to the tribulation of the rest of society.  Sure we had empathy for what others were facing around us, but we didn’t take the time to pray for them or attend a benefit in their honor or even let thinking about them take up too much of our time.  I hate to hear about tragic circumstances, especially in my backyard.  But the people we are today can’t ignore suffering.  I take the time to mail a card or post a word of encouragement on Facebook and read blogs that document personal health challenges.  We show up for a stranger’s fundraiser, donate to a cause we never paid attention to before and have regular conversations about the needs of others.  It feels good to care.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 46

I need to get out more.  This week accompanying Dave & the kids to a swimming lesson for Thomas, I walked into a junior high concert.  I also dropped my chin to the floor.  Not the majority, but a few of the girls were dressed like they were auditioning to be Vegas showgirls.  Ultra short skirts and ultra high heels in front of young children and grandparents who were in attendance?  It surprised me.  I was naive enough to think parents still had some control over what their 7th or 8th grader wore to a family event held at a school.  Granted the prom dress selection leaves limited conservative options these days, but when you roll out the piano and put the choral kids up on a riser to perform I had no idea inappropriate attire was even an option.  And I don’t blame the school or the teachers.  They aren’t the fashion police and need to focus on learning.  It’s up to the parents, especially in this case when they were in the audience.

Beau’s Beautiful Blessings, a fundraiser to help local children with brain abnormalities, is happening Saturday, April 28 @ Maple Lanes on University in Waterloo from 1-3pm.  Inspired by 4-year-old Beau Weicher, the event includes two hours unlimited bowling and pizza for $25.  Also a silent auction, bake sale and drawings for more than 100 prizes! 

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 46

North Tama National Honor Society

I had the privilege of speaking for 15 minutes to North Tama High School’s 9-12 graders this morning.  Topic:  Leadership .  You know I am never one to hold back, not to mention it’s young people so they have ultra-short attention spans.  I hit ‘em with three points and expounded on each with a little shock value.  First, be selfish.  That’s right.  I told them, especially the girls, until you have a ring on your finger and a baby don’t let some guy dictate where you go to college or the career path you take.  Odds are in a few years they won’t care about you the way they claim to now.  The message seemed to resonate with the young women in the audience.  They clapped in agreement.  Second point:  Be different.  So much peer pressure at that stage in one’s life.  I told them how I decided in high school not to drink, smoke, do drugs or curse and sticking with these choices has served me well.  Adding that guys still liked me and I’m not a boring person.  My final thought centered on the oft-referenced verse from Luke in the Bible that to whom much is given, much is expected.  If you have the advantage of being able to attend college and secure a higher-paying job as a result, you have a responsibility to be benevolent–in my opinion.  Being generous with your finances and time through donating and volunteering is a way to pay forward all that’s been bestowed upon you.  I was given a bouquet of flowers before I exited.  So they liked me, right?

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 46

Now just a month away from Charlotte’s 6th birthday dance party, party games are on my mind.  Sure it was cool to anchor live coverage of President Obama’s visit to the University of Iowa this afternoon; but I’m a mom so now back to kid birthday talk.  My thought is musical chairs would be fun.  Yet we could have way too many kids to do one big circle of chairs.  So should I do three or four smaller groups and eliminate it down to three or four children for a final challenge?  Also Charlotte said something about a Goldfish cracker on a spoon race.  Anyone ever tried that with the 6 & under set?  I need your ideas, Pinterest lovers out there. 

Waterloo's St. Ed's 4th grade volleyball team visited me in the studio!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 46

When my kids saw a cassette tape, for the first time Sunday night, they immediately wanted to pull out the ribbon.  I explained that could only happen after I confirmed the old cassettes my parents had pulled out of storage were ones I could discard for good. 

There was a purpose to keeping my Sony player afterall.  Most of the stuff was crappy recordings of songs from other people’s tapes or the radio.  My dad hooked my stereo up to cable years ago and I was able to record House music remixes out of Chicago.  (Sorry if I lost some of you here.)  The cool thing is I came across a recorded radio interview my mom did as an elementary principal to promote guest reader week.  You don’t realize how much your voice changes until you hear how it sounded so many years ago. 

Once I made sure a tape was not worth saving, I let Charlotte and Thomas destroy them.  That was fun.  Up next–transfer all my VCR tapes!

Parkersburg’s Aaron Thomas, Ed Thomas’ son, is speaking at 1pm this Sunday, April 29 @ Zion Lutheran (6 corners Waterloo).  Free and open to the public.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 46

Atlanta is where I’ve been since Thursday morning.  I was thrilled to apply for and be awarded a rural health journalism fellowship to attend the Association of Health Care Journalists’ conference there.  Dave came, too, and Charlotte and Thomas went to Nana/Papa’s.  More than 500 print & web reporters, freelance writers, health care agency staff and radio & TV journalists attended the event that kicked off with a conversation with former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn.  Fascinating to hear how the couple married for 60-plus years have worked for decades on global and mental health issues.  Through The Carter Center they founded in Atlanta (1982), they’ve nearly eliminated Guinea worm disease that once infected millions in Africa and Asia from contaminated water.  Mrs. Carter told of the joy she felt when Ethiopian women taught to dig latrines could, for the first time, go to the bathroom during the day.  Until then they had to hold it until nightfall!

The Carters

Of course the more I heard about the latest in Alzheimer’s disease research and resurgence in HIV cases since Americans no longer consider AIDS to be an epidemic, the more I felt frustrated by how overwhelming it can be for reporters to accurately and responsibly educate viewers/readers about health information.  So many studies and recommendations; so little air time to share it all.

Dinners out included fried plantain dipped in mango salsa at a Latin restaurant and another evening with a good friend and former KWWL producer (who moved there) in a warehouse converted into a hip urban dining spot.  We skipped the Cinderella carriage ride due to our horse allergy!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 46

You know that moment when you uncover your swimsuit buried in some dresser drawer and it hits you:  In a few weeks you”ll be expected to wear it in public.  Unfortunately I don’t usually embrace that point in time as one where healthier eating and exercising should kick into high gear.  Instead I convince myself that I still have a few days to give it a half-hearted approach.  And I’m too cheap to find a bigger and heavier-coverage swimsuit.  So I’m stuck with the one I bought the first of the year when I had been steadily losing weight–and assumed I would keep the momentum going.  Somehow that didn’t happen.  The glass-half-full approach is to tell  myself I know I can get back on the wagon since I stayed on it Oct.-Dec. of last year.  The pessimist is reminding me how boring and monotonous it is to restrict your portions and count your caloric intake and how fun it is to dive into the random baked goods and treats set before me on a weekly basis in the newsroom.  As I reach for one salivating, I am screaming at these co-workers inside STOP SABOTAGING ME.  They know I have no will power and many of them are pre-kids and not into the metabolism-changing 30′s.  Monday I will embrace the optimistic viewpoint.  Today, pass me another cookie.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 46

Colleen, Danielle & Natasha

Alex & Bob

The Isle's Kelly Heth & some pale model

I made it to the fashion show I emceed yesterday feeling anything but model-like.  Fortunately, I assumed there would be no runway walking for me as I was just reading the outift descriptions from behind a podium.  Of course the spray tan machine at the tanning place was broken when I raced in to get some color on my way to The Isle where it was happening.  Let’s just say my pale legs were showcased when the Dillard’s employee helping called me up to show off my dress.  Yuck!  My co-workers looked great.  My apologies for the blurry photo.  I was in a hurry when I took it!

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 46

You know that moment when you say something without thinking it through… then seconds later realize you’d have been better off opening your mouth and inserting your foot?  I have been in this situation so many times, you’d think I would learn to avoid it.  Today I witnessed someone else doing it, for a change.  I was walking with Charlotte’s class into the lunch room when a dad asked another woman there to have lunch with a student if she was so-and-so’s GRANDMA.  “No, I’m her aunt,” she replied.  Whoops!  I was so embarrassed for him.  It reminded me of the times my mom was called Sara’s grandma when her hair grayed early in life and she never colored it.  Decades later she got her revenge.  Today my mom looks much younger than a woman in her mid-60′s.  So far I’ve yet to spot any gray hairs on my head.  But I have been getting highlights since my early 20′s and will likely dye it in the future.  Note to self:  Do not call anyone a grandma, ask a woman if she’s pregnant or ask when the baby is due if someone appears to be expecting.  When in doubt, shut your mouth.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 46

A friend asked me to write about how to introduce young children to charity:

Three jars:  one for saving, one for spending and one for giving.  I heard the idea years before I even had children, but it has stayed with me.  Now that my two are 5 and 3, teaching them the value of helping others through charitable giving is a lesson I take very seriously.  The tangible three-jar approach is one I have yet to implement, but as they get older I plan to use it.  In the meantime, my husband and I try to demonstrate our generosity to them through tithing at church, donating to non-profits by mail or in person at events and simply giving something when the opportunity presents itself.  This is where they come in.  Handing them the coins to drop in the red kettle for the Salvation Army during the holidays.  Letting them take the flag from the disabled veteran collecting money in exchange outside the grocery store.  Telling them to open their piggy banks and get some money for collection at Sunday School.  These are the small steps we are asking them to take that ultimately will be big life lessons in terms of their future generosity.  Charity starts at home so my husband and I try to regularly imprint their lives by example.

Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 46