playing dragon ball at 84

My Twitter friend, Cathrine from Canada, has had a tough time this year. Bush economics did her no good. A change in the administration didn’t help much either, as lots of boomers are finding. Perhaps Obama will pull the fat out of the fire, but it may be too late for boomers.

Like so many, Cathrine lost her job. She felt she had no options. When you go to file for unemployment and you realize your 50-something birthday looms evilly around the corner, you feel — fear. My husband went through the same thing.

Cathrine will tell you how dark it got for her. She considered solutions that wouldn’t have solved a single thing. She found solutions that brought her out of the dark and into the light and gave her enormous hope. A new path. Read about it on Cathrine’s blog.

Cathrine says she found faith, and her own strong spirit. She gives credit for those findings to a number of things. But, me, I see something obvious that brought Cathrine up and out. Inspiration from others. Reference the photos above.

At 84 years-old, a lot of people lie down and pull an afghan over their knees. One of the ladies pictured above didn’t. She raced Dragon Boats, whatever that is, and was winning championships at 84. You can find her in the picture, world’s oldest Dragon Boat racer, 3rd in 2nd Row .

The photo was sent to Cathrine by another Twitter friend - known as ColorMeRed -whose Twitter profile is vibrant with lush, red lips, exuberance and outreaching energy. The 84 year-old Dragon Ball champ is ColorMeRed’s mom. No surprise there - the energy is hereditary.

You can find new spirit in Cathrine, nurtutred by determined women. When we reach out for help when we’re troubled, and other women take our hands, magic can happen. Cathrine reached out - a friend sent this photograph to her and told the story of an 84 year old athlete.

There followed a determination, a power and a strength that didn’t get into Cathrine by accident. It got there by connections to strong women. Networking. Empowering. My grandmother gave me similar gifts. I haven’t, in some ways, had such a stellar year myself.

On the other hand - I am still getting work from a lot of publications; Dan is working and his surgery was successful. I am near my grandkids and they are all healthy. My two PTSD’d kids are slowly, slowly growing less fearful, more successful.

The gifts we women give each other when we give ourselves the gift of fortitude travel the length of generations. We may never see it. We may never know it happened. But it’s magic. And our daughters reap the benefits.

Be well, and prosper.

Cathrine Twitters as @CathrineFeehely
I Twitter as @mkpelland
Red Twitters as @ColorMeRed
What do you think? Have you had a great experience nurtured by other women? Tell us.

Please visit this site and read the entire post. It’s one of the most valuable things I’ve read in a while. Thanks. Pass it on.

In this lifetime.

In Chicago, there’s a unique school building global citizens and teaching children to be stewards of Earth. Megan Ellis, not yet 30,

She just returned from the Arctic Circle where she worked on a scientific expedition while her school kids watched, first-hand, via technology. They used Skype for teleconferencing - the kids could talk to Ms. Ellis anytime she wasn’t in the field. They used satellite links and blogs. It was very real. It was terribly exciting and spurred kids to ask a million questions while they contemplated how they could get where she had gone.

It isn’t a mystery, though teachers have access to some programs that defray costs. But anyone, says Ellis, can sign up for expeditions via or apply through the Churchill Northern Studies Center in Canada - they organize learning vacations.

About the trip itself, Ellis says they had a bit of a heatwave, only about 20 below zero, actual temperature F. In the very dry and still air, she said, being outside was enjoyable, not painfully cold. The Boreal forest, the Tundra were gorgeous.

She fell in love with it and began thinking, “How am I going to go back there? It will be sad if climate changes make terrible changes there. ”

The basis of the research Ellis participated in was to create a benchmark set of data to measure future climate change. Professor and principal investigator Peter Kerschaw and PhD student Steven Mamet (both University of Alberta) were research leaders in the program. Mamet was measuring tree changes.

You can read more about Megan Ellis and her adventures in the Arctic as well as her plans to take her class virtually to Tanzania soon. It’s easy to stay cozy at home and live life safely. But women who will make needed changes on our planet, are, like Megan Ellis, willing to step outside comfort and examine places never dreamed of as she grew up in small town Oklahoma.

(photo Josh Anderson/The City Paper, Nashville)

Mother’s Day is coming. Here’s a gift to mothers, from mothers. Thistle Farms is a non-profit business run by women survivors of violence, domestic violence, prostitution, and abuse. Thistle Farms has asked women bloggers to review a lovely little book. They published it to benefit women survivors and women recovering from the effects and devastation of abuse and violence. (buy the book at Amazon or contact Thistle Farm)

I liked the warmth and reality of the little book. It’s a softcover, small format that fits nicely on a bedside table for an evening reverie before bed. The book, called Find Your Way Back Home, is a perfect way to pause for a moment in respect and empathy for our troubled sisters.

Find Your Way Back Home gives 20/20 insight into the psyche of women who have lived lives of terror. What I saw is, they are just like me. They think like me and crave the same things I seek - peace, self-esteem, a successful path.

It’s a humbling little read, reminding us of what make women the same rather than exaggerating those things that make us different. Listen to this in your heart:

The change, for me, was to love my thoughts, and even my memories. I remember the day I went to church and my grandmother sent me with her blessing, saying, “You must praise the Lord.” I am loving that memory. I am praising the little pink dress and white shoes I wore that Sunday. I am praising how big the church doors were and how small I was. The memory may not seem important, but it is enough to change me.”

Can you not feel that moment? Didn’t you have one just like it? We empower ourselves, and each other, by recognizing and holding dear the small moments in out lives that shift our paths. That’s what this book gives focus to those tiny moments.

I’ve dealt with violence against women I love - as those who follow me know. I have worked with shelters for women in three states, as a grant writer and publicist. I haven’t seen a program like this one, ever.

Magdalene is a two-year residential community founded in Nashville Tennessee in 1997 for women with a history of prostitution and drug addiction. Magdalene was founded not just to help a sub-culture of women, but to help change the culture itself. We stand in solidarity with women who are recovering from sexual abuse, violence, and life on the streets, and who have paid dearly for a culture that buys and sells women like commodities.

At no cost, we offer women a safe, disciplined, and compassionate community for two years, paid for by the gifts we receive from individuals and private grants. Magdalene stands as a witness to the truth that in the end, love is more powerful than all the forces that drive women to the streets.

The most powerful gift women can receive is a map to independence. My heart felt thanks go out to Magdalene and Thistle Farms for mapping a way.. I’m going to find a way to become their advocate and to be an outreach for them. I hope you’ll join me.

Thistle Farms sells products hand-made by the women they benefit, with proceeds going back into Thistle Farms and their residential program called, Magdalene.

Buy their products. Thistle Farms says, into every product goes the belief that freedom starts with healing and love can change lives. The book can also be found by title at Amazon.com or any bookstore.

Thanks to everyone who visited WomenDaybyDay.com and left a comment about Miley Cyrus - Hannah Montana. We have our three contest winners:

Emily’s Gammy

Kaye

Kathy

I’ll contact these lucky Hannah Montana book winners and send the books right out. Stay tuned, there will be more contests to win! Click Hannah to buy the book from Amazon.

This is a month celebrating the struggle to take back the power women had at the beginning of the world. Once, when people were just learning to be people and technology was camp fires, stone tools and using animal parts for survival, the human race figured out they needed a higher power.

The feminine aspect of God was the first personna that we recognized and worshipped. Through eons, women were respected, revered and cared for as valuable members of every nation and then something happened.

Women became second class, almost slaves. Disrespected and often abused. We have struggled long and hard to erase the negativity and repossess our collective and personal power.

We have made progress. We aren’t finished. Our daughters will finish the metamorphasis for us. There will be equal rights across the board. Someday.

Take some time out while we celebrate our history, and read a bit about women. Herstory. Refresh your memory. Think of all our sisters that came before us and will come after us.

Money is tight. Spring birthdays, graduations, first communions are coming and you need to figure out gifts for children. Maybe part of that gift could be a mind and heart full of memories. A little effort builds memories to last your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews a lifetime.

What lasted longer for you in your childhood