A Night to Remember

I was blessed to enjoy a lovely day for my 45th birthday party. I covered the tables with lavender cloths and yellow folded napkins. I placed a flower bulb wrapped in tuille and tied with a matching bow as a favor above each napkin. The florist created lavish floral arrangements in purple and yellow for each table. The weather was flawless, warm, but not hot, and very little wind. The garden was in full bloom and the harpist was positioned in one corner. Her melodious tunes greeted guest as they arrived. There were lanterns and tiki torches and luminaries to give light to the evenings festivities. The buffet line was set up under the carraige port. We served beef brisket, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, greens (mustard, collard, and turnip) and dinner rolls. For dessert there was peach cobbler and yellow cake. There was an area in the back of the garden under an archway where I read my poetry to an attentive audience. A gift of sorts to my Dear Readers, one of my poems:


The Old Folks Usta Say

God, I still miss her
The way she used to preface her verbiage
With the phrase " you know, the old folks usta say"

As if that confirmed the veracity of the matter
Old folks too long dead to be disputed
Neither can they be confirmed by fact
- that odd propensity of the living

She could always conjure up the borrowed wisdom
Of omnipotent knowing
Gifted by the 'old folks' as witnesses
To the vast folly of humanity

Now settled comfortably
She takes her rightful place among them
And whispers in my ear
The priceless gift
Of an opportune quote

I'm Gonna Party Like It's My Birthday...

Cause it is! Yes, its my 45th birthday and I feel fabulous! It started with a call from my mother- she calls me every year at the time I was born! When she called this time I was snuggling my own baby- what a blessing. I can't imagine my life without this little guy. Later I had a 90 minute massage, then a great workout. My husband (and baby) took me to lunch at Garozzo's one of my favorite Italian eateries. I had a few hours in the office working then a nice dinner at home with my family. It has been a lovely, sunny hot then rainy day. My annual birthday celebration will be Saturday. I've planned a garden party at the home of friends who have a great garden. My mother is catering the dinner, and I've hired a harpist to perform. We'll cap the evening the way all my birthday parties end, with a reading of my poetry. In lieu of gifts guests can donate to one of my favorite non-profits that I volunteer for. The theme of my party is "Bloom Where You Are Planted" and each guest will recieve a flower bulb to plant as a favor.

MANA from Heaven

Great news! My proposal has been accepted and I will be presenting at this year's MANA conference (Midwife Alliance of North America) in Clearwater Florida on October 20th. If any of you Dear Readers will be there, please come up and say hello. It would be a real treat to meet some of you in person. My presentation is titled, "A Response to ACOG: A Labor and Delivery Nurse's Choice for Homebirth" Now to start creating that powerpoint...

If White Folks Sneeze, Black Folks Already Have The Cold

I attended a facinating talk the other night. A local retired dentist, Brian Palmer has set about the last 20 years to devote himself to researching the tie between breastfeeding and oral health. I have heard him present before, but this time his message seemed more refined and succinct. It was really exciting to listen to him explain the relationship between breastfeeding and SIDs, breastfeeding and sleep apnea, breastfeeding and speech impairment, breastfeeding and bed wetting, breastfeeding and ADHD, even breastfeeding and beauty (!) I couldn't help but get excited. This information should be known, and bless his heart, he's working to get it out there. Dr Palmer is a pioneer, and I feel so fortunate to have him right here in my own back yard. What was most impressed upon me, once again, is that issues that impact our culture as a whole, can really have exponential impact on the black community. Black women need to breastfeed. Its as simple as that. We have so much more at stake. Our folks suffer in disproportionate amounts from the above-mentioned maladies (more SIDs, more ADHD, more speech impediments, more asthma and sleep apnea) and therefore need the intervention of breastfeeding more. Why aren't healthcare providers saying this to women of color? Why aren't researchers saying it to healthcare providers? Well I'm going to say it. African-American woman need to choose breastfeeding (and low tech birth, but thats another essay) to impact long standing chronic conditions that impair the health and vitality of our children. (We also need to change other habits, but thats another blog also.) Black women need to be strongly encouraged to breastfeed and told exactly why. How about a government funded campaign for that?

And Now, A Word From Our Sponsors

Anonymous said...
So, what's the goal for women here? (please note this is not a sarcastic tone at all and a genuine question) I am a woman and birther, and have been heavily "OB'd." Rare hospital births? Saving OB's and hospital births for only critical cases and everyone using midwives? Educating women to make better choices? Getting medical professionals to listen to women and actually give them true informed consent and reducing unneccesary intervention? I'm just asking...to see.

Dear Anon,
I'm so glad you asked this question. It forced me into several days of hard thinking about how I would summerize my philosophy. MAJOR DISCLAIMER: I only speak for myself. These are not the thoughts of any movement or group but simply my own. This is also a reveal of my (only thinly veiled) identity. For those who want to know "what the goal for women is" according to 'moi' follow this link to my business website at www.perinatalresourcellc.com and all will be known.