My mother was a Marine sergeant and served at Pearl Harbor. Those of you who know my writing, or know me, know she died several years ago and was honored with a full-military funeral. Women who served are working to raise money with quilt sales and bake sales to turn a pitiful wreck of a crumbling wall into a permanent memorial at Arlington National Cemetary. These women who served in World War II are dying now, one by one.

Soon, as with all of that generation, they’ll only be memories. How sad to see the material reminders of the service go down.

Here’s the story of the women who are hoping new generations of women, and men, will pick up the slack and allow women to be remembered for their contribution. Today’s military women, as the story points out, serve in combat, while our military mothers couldn’t as much. But the generations that came before us did what they could, gladly, and as volunteers to pave the way for todays’ women to serve the way they wish to.

The msnbc article says,

“Most of them are in wheelchairs and they are ill. All of their hair is white, and I look and I think, who knows how long we’ve got left. We just want to do our best while we’re here,” said Lorraine Dieterle, 84, a World War II veteran stationed in New York as a photographer for the Coast Guard who volunteers at the memorial.”

In 1997 when the current memorial was dedicated, a 100 year-old retired soldier named Freida Mae Hardin spoke to the crowd of 40,000 onlookers. I expect she’s gone now, but what she wanted was clear. If you have any way of getting involved or of helping, please do it.

More:

On rape in the military

For families, war is about fear

Resources for military women and military families

This morning, anyone caring to tune in could be subjected to Sarah Palin and Oprah Winfrey at the same time. Sarah is hawking her new book because it will make her a ton of money. Oprah is hawking anything she thinks will support her flagging viewership - and right now that something is probably Sarah Palin.

You can’t turn to any medium right now and not get Sarah and Oprah, Oprah and Sarah. Sara in short shorts on the cover of Newsweek. There’s presidential material. Oprah, thank goodness, not in shorts. Don’t kid yourself. Sarah is not presidential material, nor is she interested in being president of anything. She’d probably quit in mid term. She is interested in a couple of million bucks that will come from the sale of this book. Why will the book sell? Ya got me.

But it will. In a time when Pulitzer Prize-winning writers are unemployed and long-respected publication go toes up, this gunk will sell so Sarah Palin and her co-writer(s) pd their bank accounts. Perhaps it’s just another indication that the demand for quality writing is giving way to junk content. Perhaps just salacious curiosity. Ms. Palin, like her never-quite-made-it son-in-law, trashes lots of people in her book. Readers like seeing people trashed.

As for Oprah - she’s just getting really scary. She books anyone who is controversial, difficult to look at, tragic, or slimy. Then she either grills them or hugs them, depending on what her handlers tell her will make for a better audience reaction.

I used to like Oprah for her sort of rogue, er, maverick, positioning. Now, she’s just stale. Sarah? I’m embarrassed for her each time she opens her mouth. I can do without both of them - and I did, choosing reruns of Jerry Seinfeld over Oprah’s show this morning. What was it Letterman said? Something about the Mayan prediction of the end of the world in 2012 being linked to any possibility that Sarah could be president. Whew. Could you tolerate the simpering and giggling for four years? What a thought. Bring on the Mayans.

Do yourself a favor and find a way to volunteer for an organization you like. It’s good for the soul - yours, and theirs. It’s non-fattening, and has no free radicals. Well, some of us from the 60s might be considered freed radicals, and a lot of us volunteer. Spend an hour this week volunteering - read how volunteering changed life for our guest writer, Jennifer A. Lee from Volunteer Gear, Inc..

In my younger days, a creamy, dark, sweet substance found its way into my not so chubby tummy (again, I was younger) when the days were dark. Dipped in peanut butter, the day became even brighter.

As I have aged, my body has changed, my metabolism has slowed and my worries have become more real and chocolate can’t seem to solve all of life’s problems any longer. The most unexpected

replacement for my favorite sweet has emerged - volunteering.

My life over the last several years has been difficult at best. From launching a business to raising three kids to marital struggles, financial problems and ultimately a divorce and a business closing, many days, weeks and even months left me in a state of panic.

I was in the midst of all of my struggles when I volunteered to serve with the Meals on Wheels committee at my church. Meals on Wheels, also known as Golden Diners, is a program run by the Salvation Army. Volunteers deliver hot and cold meals to local area seniors on a daily basis. In my area, local churches sign up for delivery every 4 months. The churches have a coordinator that assigns days of service to the volunteers. Typically two people are assigned a route. In some cases they ride together and in other cases, they split the route.

On my days of service, Cody (my one year old Old English Sheep Dog) and I head to the Senior Center. Occasionally one or more of my three kids partakes in the excursion. The Senior Center packs the food and provides the delivery list. Cody and I map out our route and begin our drive.

Each delivery is a little different. Some folks are bed ridden and a care taker accepts the meals. In other homes, it is a widower welcoming the company you provide for the day. One lady welcomed me into her home so I could chat with her husband sitting in the family room chair. One gentleman needed the company of our visit, but never would accept it. For some folks, the volunteer may be the only person they see all week.

After delivering the route a few times, you become attached to these people, people you spend a very short time of your life with but the care and concern you have for them is real. You worry about them if they are not listed on the route or if they are not home when you stop.

I began this journey of service to do just that, serve others. What I found is that those I was serving were actually serving me. I gained a greater sense of peace with each delivery. My day became brighter. My stress diminished and some of my problems did not seem as important. I look forward to my delivery months.

Volunteering is good for the mind body and soul. Serving others can be accomplished in so many ways from chairing the committee that raises money for a cause to coaching a child’s sports team to volunteering at the local food pantry to buying the food that stocks the shelves at the food pantry. Knowing that you made a difference in someone’s life is the greatest reward. The fact that it took me 42 years and many days at the gym to replace the comfort of chocolate was a lesson well worth learning.

Jennifer is the operations director for Volunteer Gear, Inc. a unique new company that encourages volunteers to share their stories, comment and encourage others to own their cause. Founded on the premise of giving people an outlet for their volunteer spirit, Volunteer Gear launched its website and t-shirt product line promoting volunteerism and encouraging people to support own their cause.

The United States National Women’s Hall of Fame is a delightful place to get virtually lost for an afternoon. I tripped over this site today as I was browsing the Web and I couldn’t tear myself away. You don’t have to leave your comfy chair, or go out in the rain. Just click on the alphabetical links and read about women who have impacted our lives.

• I read about how Lucille Ball was not only a comedian, but a true entrepreneur and the first woman head of a major studio.
• I learned that Mary McLeod Bethune was an African-American teacher who, with only $1.50, began a school to help educate other young African-American women. Maybe she wasn’t as flamboyant as Oprah, but she did her part.
• Leontine Kelly was the first female Methodist bishop. Awesome power for us.
• Ida Tarbell’s expose of the Standard Oil Trust in the 1904 publication, The History of the Standard Oil Company prompted the federal government to prosecute and break up Standard Oil for anti-trust violations. She became an icon of journalism.

The articles are very short - teasers, really, with nuggets of susinct information in them. They are often linked to larger pieces, and can inspire you to browse. Learn about women. Read a few of these to the children you care about, girls or boys.

You might become inspired to write a brief or two in your social media spaces about the women who have inspured your life.

Take a moment to check out my guest post at HealMyPTSD.com for PTSD and Invisible Illness Awareness Week. I was invited to do a guest column because two of my family members are dealing with PTSD. It’s really tough to cope with an illness or condition that is invisible. There are physical symptoms, but often, people chalk those up to some other cause. HealMyPTSD is a valuable website by people who have knowledge and great concern.

While we’re at it, let’s visit some of my favorite posts over the years of compiling WomenDayByDay and Ontext:

A guest post from Thistle Farm, where women work to fix the hugely challenging problems in their lives. This one is terrific.

Women who read us honor their military loved ones for Memorial Day.

Proof that Jesus was a woman, and other funny stuff.

The courts are failing to help battered women.

22 ways to earn aliving at home - work at home

Basing marriage on positive thinking

Dr. Phil and the drunken teenage girls

Half dozen good ways for women to enter the blogsphere

Light therapy for pregnant women

There. That’s a little journey through the last few years of Women Day By Day. It’s rewarding to spend time digging up great information for my readers and empowering women to manage some of the things we face everyday. I’ve really loved finding guest writers to do a post here and there this year. Let me know if you know someone with something important, funny, or entertaining to tell us. Write me — maryan at ontext.com

Thistle Farm, a manufacturing subsidiary of Magdalene, the awesome residential program for women, is one of my favorite women organizations. Magdalene provides a do-over for women who have encountered serious problems and Thistle Farm provides a unique work environment where women manufacture quality personal care products for women.Terry Mitchell and Caitlin Bradley of Thistle Farm give us insight into working in a hen house - figuratively.

Estrogen on the job - working in an all-women environment

By Terry Mitchell with Caitlin Bradley

Terry sits in a circle of her co-workers, listening to two women discuss the production schedule for the day. She is relocated to a tennis-match-style discussion watching opinions bounce back and forth around her as she turns her head left to right. “Sometimes everybody wants to be the boss instead of the employee,” Terry explains. “Too many captains on the boat!”

Terry is in the unique position of working at a company that is run and staffed by women only. Thistle Farms is a non-profit business operated by the women of Magdalene, a two-year residential community for women with a history of prostitution and drug addiction. By hand, the women create natural bath and body products that are as kind to the environment as they are to the body. All proceeds support the program.

Terry finds that working with women allows for more laughter throughout the workday. “We can all relate to each other and more importantly, for the most part, we all enjoy each other.” With a relaxed boss (often seen entertaining by dancing to hip hop), Terry boasts that Thistle Farms has a comfortable work environment. In rare high stress situations, laughter proves to be helpful.

You might think working with all women means not having to think about what you wear to work. However, Terry puts her best effort into getting ready each day, regardless of who’s there. “I’m not trying to impress anyone, but I want to feel proud of how I look.” This is a central theme as we manufacture our bath and body products at Thistle Farms. We all make each product with the belief that love heals, and it is, therefore, critical to care for yourself.

Of course, there are some downfalls to working around a bunch of estrogen. Stereotypically or not, when a few women are on the same cycle, stress and mood swings can be high. But women working together have the unique opportunity to actually talk about their emotions. Women here can say what they’re feeling, rather than hide it. We try not to rely on the “excuse of PMS.”

Talking about personal feelings is not only accepted, it’s encouraged at Thistle Farms. Terry enjoys putting herself out there as a safe haven for co-workers to express their personal problems, “I’m a shoulder or an ear when they need it.” Terry says this open spirit of conversation can lead to complaining. but that’s something she can accept.

Terry has worked with Thistle Farms for almost five years. Always surrounded by other women, with everyone feeling and processing their own stuff and own emotions, she has learned a valuable life lesson: “People can create their own confusion, but I don’t let anything bother me. I just give it up to God and let it be.”

Women keep each other afloat (Photo by Oddsock)

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Doing some housekeeping today, I dove way back into the contents of Women Day By Day and found some articles our newer readers may have overlooked. Here, then, are some of the best web articles for women from Women Day By Day.

Sexy Stories for a Hot Summer Beach Read

Women in need find recovery and independence

Low Cost Activity Books for Young Children and Moms

Pro-Life Thinking: Understanding the Basics

Pro-Choice: The Basic Issues

Aging Tissue Can Be a Risk Factor for Breast Cancer

Lose Weight or Lose Yourself - Truths About Dieting

Resources for Military Women, Women Veterans and Families

Women-Fix Your Own PC? Windows Ailing? Tips from Computer Guru

Our site for writers and freelancers

Take a look at some of these and then dip into our archives. Tell me what you think - add your comments or contact me about doing a guest blog! I want to engage with you.