Salute!

It will be a slightly different New Year's Eve this year. I'll be spending it recovering from surgery.

As I prepare to lose an organ -- one that's been with me for years, one that was highly valued but underutilized -- I am reflecting on moving into the rest of my life without it. Will I miss it?

I'm banking on 'no'. At my age, I really have no use for a uterus. It did not produce children, will not now produce children and would only be there for the downside now -- all the things that can go wrong with an aging organ.

Still, I'd like to offer a salute to my uterus -- it's been good to me up until these last few years. I could still keep it -- it's my choice, although the doctor recommends removing it. It's just that I simply can't find a good reason to preserve it. Even after removal of the tumor, there can still be issues that hamper my life -- another fibroid, continued bleeding, etc.. So with nothing but downside ahead of me, I've elected to have it removed. Oh, I'll still have my ovaries and all, which is the really important part at this point....but now, I'll never have to suffer through another menstrual cycle again. I'd really like to find a way to be sentimental about that, but I just can't. Thinking about that makes we want to celebrate. I never want to see a maxi pad again as long as I live. I will feel no tug at my heartstrings (or abdomen) as I bypass the feminine protection aisle at the grocery store. None at all.

So as I leave my uterus in 2009 and move into 2010 without it, I don't really have any regrets. I don't regret not using it to have children (I'm still not really a kid person and have probably saved some child a load of childhood misery). Up until recently, it was pretty good to me period after period after period. So I must say 'thanks' to my uterus and give it a big salute as I go off into the wild blue yonder without it. Cheers!

Merry Christmas from the Passenger Seat

Merry Christmas all!

What was seemingly going to be an unspecial Christmas has turned out to be anything but. All things came together to make it a wonderful holiday.

We had planned to spend a tropical Christmas in Florida, but my medical issue kept me close to the doctor in Dallas, waiting on my surgery date. We weren't looking forward to being here but as it turned out, we were in the right place at the right time.

Why? Magic! Brought to us by Mother Nature. We had a white Christmas, something we would have missed if we'd gone to Florida. It snowed all day yesterday, and this morning, there's a beautiful clear blue sky with the sun glistening on the white frosting on the ground. This is so unusual for us. What a sight!

And because of the freak snowstorm, lots of people were stranded and kept from their original travel plans. Today, we are welcoming guests for Christmas dinner that wouldn't normally be here with us today.

So sometimes the best things that happen to you are unplanned. It's nice to sit back in the passenger seat and just enjoy the ride.

Merry Christmas all!

Modern & Morally Centered

We live in interesting political times. Both of the major U.S. political parties are working hard to 'size up' the electorate in the post-Obama election period. The latest identified voting group? 'Whole Foods Republicans (& Independents)'. Apparently, existence of this group is news to someone. I find that humorous, because I am a member of this group, and I have been out here voting for a while now.

We seem to have them perplexed. They can't imagine that a progressive lifestyle can fit with conservatism....(say it ain't so)....but this is what they are finding in many of us out here. We are college educated, live in urban areas in modern spaces, walk more places than we drive, and like to shop at Whole Foods Market (that bastion of liberal granola heads). We enjoy diversity, would never tell a racial or homophobic joke, and have friends and colleagues from a spectrum of backgrounds.

And we vote conservatively.

WHAT?

Yep, it's true. We rely on logic (not emotion) and were raised with solid conservative values. Many of us, despite our 'modern and trendy' lifestyle, actually go to church (oh my!) and enjoy a level of spirituality as we live 'progressively'. Imagine that!

We are independent-minded, believe in free markets and limited government, love God and country, respect our military....all the while buying our tofu, gluten-free goods and organic dairy products at the local Whole Foods Market. And we may have ridden there on our bicycles. Puzzling, isn't it?

Another shocker? Most of us like Sarah Palin. A lot. Can you believe it?

I laugh at all the kerfuffle over this 'new group' because there are a ton of us out here, and we've been here for a very long time. They just didn't see us, and they couldn't imagine such an animal. That combination couldn't possibly exist! Yet it does, and in droves. A high percentage of the people I know would fall into this category. We're educated, we're modern, we're progressive and we've retained our moral bearings. Not a bad combination if you ask me.

Nice to finally get the spotlight. And about time.