October is a big month in our house. It is Down Syndrome Awareness month as well as Breast Cancer Awareness month.
Tell me, are you AWARE of Down syndrome? If you're reading here, I'm sure that you are. Enough of awareness, what we need is acceptance. Your acceptance tip for today is this: Accept that when you say, "I just hope it's healthy" that having Down syndrome doesn't make a baby unhealthy. It makes them just one chromosome different than you.
Now lets talk about breast cancer awareness. Do you know it exists? I'm pretty sure you have to be living under a rock if you don't. I see all the "secret" memes go around social media, "I like to hang mine on the back of a chair." which is supposed to somehow raise your knowledge about breast cancer. How does wearing a pink ribbon on my lapel increase your knowledge? It doesn't. So I am going to go out on a huge limb here and talk to you about the realities of breast cancer. Here is my real life breast cancer experience from today:
I was by myself (gasp!) in a new, local sandwich shop; a bit on the upscale side because I was giving myself a little treat. There were a lot of local moms there, all dressed in their labels and high price tags. I wanted to stick out my tongue and say, "You know in ten years you're going to be sorry you wore those shoes." and then kind of wanted to hide in my Gloria Vanderbilt stretch denim jeans and a top that suddenly felt like a gunny sack. It was in that moment that I decided I might like to give Stitch Fix a try.
I sat down at my computer and scrolled over the informational parts of the website. I entered my name, email address, etc. Then it was time for the style profile.
Date of Birth
Height
Weight
Bra Size
BRA SIZE????
This is where you should hear the sound of a record player needle scratching to a stop on your favorite vinyl album.
There is no place to select, "I have no boobs".
There is also no place to enter, "I have tissue expanders that feel like cement blocks. I'm pretty sure they are size 34FF."
If by chance I could wear a bra, if I wanted to wear a bra, I can't even guess at it's size. I have rolls and creases, bulges and scars in places they shouldn't be, making wearing a bra impossible until after my next surgery.
So there you go. The next time you get to fill in the little box that says, "Bra size" you can count your blessings. Someday, when its a bit more removed, I may post a picture of what my chest looked like at various stages of the reconstruction process. Now THAT would be awareness!
Tell me, are you AWARE of Down syndrome? If you're reading here, I'm sure that you are. Enough of awareness, what we need is acceptance. Your acceptance tip for today is this: Accept that when you say, "I just hope it's healthy" that having Down syndrome doesn't make a baby unhealthy. It makes them just one chromosome different than you.
Now lets talk about breast cancer awareness. Do you know it exists? I'm pretty sure you have to be living under a rock if you don't. I see all the "secret" memes go around social media, "I like to hang mine on the back of a chair." which is supposed to somehow raise your knowledge about breast cancer. How does wearing a pink ribbon on my lapel increase your knowledge? It doesn't. So I am going to go out on a huge limb here and talk to you about the realities of breast cancer. Here is my real life breast cancer experience from today:
I was by myself (gasp!) in a new, local sandwich shop; a bit on the upscale side because I was giving myself a little treat. There were a lot of local moms there, all dressed in their labels and high price tags. I wanted to stick out my tongue and say, "You know in ten years you're going to be sorry you wore those shoes." and then kind of wanted to hide in my Gloria Vanderbilt stretch denim jeans and a top that suddenly felt like a gunny sack. It was in that moment that I decided I might like to give Stitch Fix a try.
I sat down at my computer and scrolled over the informational parts of the website. I entered my name, email address, etc. Then it was time for the style profile.
Date of Birth
Height
Weight
Bra Size
BRA SIZE????
This is where you should hear the sound of a record player needle scratching to a stop on your favorite vinyl album.
There is no place to select, "I have no boobs".
There is also no place to enter, "I have tissue expanders that feel like cement blocks. I'm pretty sure they are size 34FF."
If by chance I could wear a bra, if I wanted to wear a bra, I can't even guess at it's size. I have rolls and creases, bulges and scars in places they shouldn't be, making wearing a bra impossible until after my next surgery.
So there you go. The next time you get to fill in the little box that says, "Bra size" you can count your blessings. Someday, when its a bit more removed, I may post a picture of what my chest looked like at various stages of the reconstruction process. Now THAT would be awareness!
