scattered

 Today doesn't seem to be a good day for concentration. I want to write a cogent post but can't wrap my head around a topic. I want to develop this blog but can't concentrate long enough to learn how to develop the look and navigation. 

My mind is elsewhere. Every single elsewhere. I'm thinking about my mom and her health and healthcare through the journey of dementia. I'm thinking of my husband and how we can improve our relationship and communication. I'm thinking of the monarch caterpillars on my single, lonely milkweed plant in the backyard and how to see them safely through pupa and emerging as a beautiful butterfly. I'm thinking of my elderly dogs and how to keep them as healthy and pain-free as possible. I'm thinking of the house and laundry that needs done. I'm thinking of my half-hearted job search and, at 50, what I want to be when I grow up.

I started this blog as a personal journal of sorts, one that I could share with the world if and when I chose to. One week in and I'm glad that so far no random stranger has stumbled across any of these posts. Maybe I should create separate pages, maybe I should just let everything be stream of consciousness, maybe I should delete the whole thing and start over when I feel motivated.

Oh, wait, motivation comes from doing, not the other way around. 

Well, I am writing, even if it isn't high literature. I'm doing, keeping my promise to myself that I would write something at least once a week and whenever the mood strikes. 

On that note, I'm going to take a short walk and check out some of my other plants.

Thoughts on perinatal hospice

 I just read an opinion article written by a physician. He discusses pregnancies with identified congenital anomalies not compatible with life and that current standard of care is to offer abortion (where currently allowed by law). His position is that women carrying fetuses with identified anomalies be offered peri-natal hospice care and carry the pregnancy to term. I agree whole-heartedly that this should be an option offered to the woman and her partner if appropriate. I am pro-choice, not pro-abortion. Some, maybe many, women would make the choice to carry to term or at least to natural delivery. Perinatal hospice could provide physical, mental, and spiritual interventions to assist with a natural transition after delivery from a baby's life to their death. Many parents would find a great deal of comfort and peace with this approach. Not every parent would feel the same though. What about those women for whom living and waiting through a pregnancy that will ultimately end in a dead child would be devastating? Perhaps we, the healthcare establishment, could offer post-abortion elective hospice grief care and counselling. What if, and I'm just throwing this out there, we offered a full range of options, termination without hospice after-care, termination with hospice after-care, no termination without hospice after-care, no termination with hospice after-care. Here's the thing, women are capable of deciding what is best for them and their pregnancies under whatever circumstances they live. 

My concern and rage over the Dobbs decision has less to do with abortion access and far more to do with government intrusion into the life of a population they do not know and do not care about as demonstrated by the decades-long record of cutting social service benefits while continuously raising the budget for the military-industrial complex. At the rate we are going in 20 years we will have an abundance of prison inmates and/or cannon fodder, not the elevation of society envisioned by the religious right.

Circling back to the opinion piece I read today, I think the good doctor has a good idea and I hope it comes from a place of caring. I think perinatal hospice is a fantastic intervention that should be added to the standard of care. I do not think it should be the only option.

Day One

 I’ve had ideas on creating a blog of some sort for a while. Life kept getting in the way. Now that I created this spot I have to figure out what to do with it. Honestly, I have no idea. I was inspired to finally do this when I made a Linkedin post about my recent job resignation and the months of unemployment. My brother liked the post and called me to make sure I was okay and to tell me he wished I had gone into writing of some kind. I’ve always had ideas for novels, even started some basic plot outlines but, again, life gets in the way. 

After talking to my brother I realized I still want to write but maybe not novels. Right now I want to write opinion pieces on current events, books, videos and anything that captures my attention. I also want to write my experiences of the last few months and reflections on the past.

Maybe, if I’m lucky, my musings will reveal an underlying theme. Maybe someone will be interested in my thoughts. If not, I will still enjoy the journey,