LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Many cats are tail talkers. If those tails start to twitch and wag, watch out for fangs and claws, warns cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy.
If you try to pet a cat when its tail is wagging and get bitten, "You had it coming," says Galaxy, who helps solve behavior problems, both human and feline, on his Animal Planet TV show, "My Cat From Hell."
When a cat's angry enough to wag its tail or the fur on its back stands up, its ears flatten and eyes dilate, the owner needs to figure out what's wrong, he says.
Galaxy figures cats and owners equally share the blame for relationships gone wrong, but when it comes to changing behavior, cats are the easier students ? by a wide margin.
His house call kit is a guitar case loaded with cat toys and treats. But there's no magic wand in the box, he says. It takes time and hard work. "You get what you give."
Galaxy, 46, has an usual job ? and he's an unusual guy. He's 6-foot-5, bald, wears specs and ear hoops, sports a long goatee, prefers bowling shirts and sneakers, has tattoo "sleeves" and has started tats on his legs so that he'll one day have a "full suit."
He plays the guitar, has a degree in acting and has been addicted to drugs, alcohol and food. He's also written an autobiography, "Cat Daddy."
Galaxy was working at an animal shelter in Colorado more than 15 years ago when a man walked in with a cat in a cardboard box. The cat, named Benny, had been hit by a car and was "unbondable," the man said. Benny and Galaxy spent the next 13 years bonding and developing what Galaxy calls "cat mojo."
He had a practice with a holistic vet before moving to Los Angeles in 2007 and opening a private consulting firm. He was at a pet adoption fair when he met the friend of a friend who introduced him to reality TV producer Adam Greener ("Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition"). "My Cat From Hell" began airing in spring 2011. In each episode, viewers witness owners struggling to find domestic harmony with their cats.
Emilie Bandy and Mike Petriello are fans of Galaxy's show. For seven months, they tried to turn their New York City apartment into a peaceful place for their cats, Olive and Pepper, but Olive attacked Pepper every chance she got. They went to the vet, gave Olive doses of Prozac, searched for answers online and in bookstores, slept in separate rooms so they could each care for one cat, and put planning for their September wedding on hold.
"We were genuinely afraid for the cats' lives if we left them together," Bandy said.
When they learned Galaxy was filming season three of "My Cat From Hell" in Manhattan, they made a video and submitted it. Their problem with Olive and Pepper became the summer's first episode. In it, Galaxy:
? Gives Olive a food dish with a middle bump so she has to eat around it, ensuring that Pepper finishes and leaves first.
? Shows the couple how to build trees and platforms where Pepper can escape if Olive starts to attack. "Build a vertical world," Galaxy says.
? Tells them to stop running every time Olive whines, scratches or throws a temper tantrum. "Don't positively reinforce bad behavior," he says.
It's been three months since the last catfight. Bandy and Petriello are back in the same bedroom, wedding planning is again in full swing, and the couple spends hours each day playing with both cats in the same room.
The cats may never be fast friends, but they are coexisting ? and Pepper's confidence is growing.
Karen "Doc" Halligan of Los Angeles calls Galaxy "fabulous," but acknowledges that he's playing to a tough crowd.
"People do not understand the need to train cats and that they need socialization just as much as dogs. Since they have not been domesticated that long, people just think they are independent and don't need it," says the veterinarian, author, TV consultant and director of veterinary services for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Los Angeles.
Besides the show and his consulting work, Galaxy sells his own line of essence oils and is a board member for Stray Cat Alliance and FixNation in Los Angeles and Neighborhood Cats in New York.
Early on, there were a handful of cases that stumped him, but Galaxy believed then that psychotropic drugs were inappropriate for pets. He's changed his mind.
"Why not use holistic, homeopathic measures? Why not use empathic measures? Why not use traditional Western measures? Why not use acupuncture and Prozac on the same cat?" he asked.
Cats have an attention span of about 3 seconds, so Galaxy believes punishment is pointless. "Count to 10, clean up, forgive and move on," he says. Air in a motion-detecting can is great for disciplining cats the instant they misbehave, he says.
Despite cats' short attention span, there is nothing wrong with their memory, he says. Most cats can be taught almost anything, he says, but he doesn't believe a cat should be taught to walk on a leash or jump through hoops just to satisfy an owner. Most cats will feel the same way, he says, but some will enjoy the lessons and the activities.
Galaxy's tattoos include 15 cats (Benny will be on his leg) but he also has three real ones, along with a blind dog.
Does he think cats will one day become doglike and gather in parks, take obedience classes, share play dates and go surfing?
"I totally hope not," he says. "I love cats for who they are. I want everyone to embrace what I call the raw cat."
It is often expounded which a particular person ought to be constantly taking care of the personal growth of them selves up until the time they perish. Nobody should ever relax on the laurels and assume that this is the best they can be. In case you are seeking enlightenment for ways to start a very little self improvement of your, then, read on.
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When you are deemed medically overweight, look at creating the effort to lose weight by a satisfactory and healthful indicates. The smallest weight loss has the power to help you sense self-confident and much more comfy in your body, inspired to carry on producing improvement, and motivated to go by through fully with your healthier new schedule.
Determine that main goal in your daily life ? something that you work at daily, or something that you prefer to work towards on a daily basis. Identifying your life goal is the easiest method to move through lifestyle on a quest, with intention, and also the concentration to achieve the stuff you want in your life.
Take time to do something yourself, every day. Taking time, even less than fifteen minutes, to complete one thing you prefer is capable of doing wonders for the disposition, view and inspiration. Make use of this time and energy to chill out and re-heart on your own, and concentration upon you. All things considered, you are the most important man or woman in your daily life.
One of the most crucial tips to self improvement is to process selflessness. Through taking a little while out from everyday to assist a person or perhaps demonstrate to them that you simply attention, you will start to see the accurate personal inside you. Make tiny sacrifices to start the journey of personal growth.
Boosting our lives is definitely a question of committing the time and energy into our self improvement. The ideas provided over significantly help in the direction of beginning us on our way. All we have to do is definitely consider that 1st step, to start creating the adjustments we have decided, need to be produced.
I had never heard of a pierogie board, but my neighbour's wife, who is of Ukrainian descent, asked me last year if I could make one. She showed me a picture, and I slowly got started on it. You wouldn't think it would take that long, but with work, other projects, winter, health issues and necessities for SWMBO, as well as my inexperience with rabbett joints, I wrapped it up today, finished it with mineral oil, and took it over to her. She was over the Moon about it. Thinks it's wonderful. Her husband says that I got more hugs and kisses from her than he'd had all week. Anyway, next time I have to make a rabbett joint, it will go quickly. I have a feeling some of her relatives are going to ask me for one.
The board is a birch panel that I purchased ready made. The cleats at the end, which keep the board against the counter, are cherry.Glued together, no hardware.
Lessons learned: use a good router bit, not a cheap one; think really hard about the reason the joint isn't fitting, it may not be what you assume is wrong; relax, you can do it over if it doesn't come out right the first time.
The one-ton Curiosity Mars rover is designed arrive on Mars using a supersonic parachute and a first-of-its-kind 'sky crane,' in what experts are calling a risky maneuver.
By Alicia Chang,?AP Science Writer / July 30, 2012
Artist?s concept depicts the NASA Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, a nuclear-powered mobile robot for investigating the Red Planet?s past or present ability to sustain microbial life.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
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It's the U.S. space agency's most ambitious and expensive?Mars?mission yet ? and it begins with the red planet arrival Sunday of the smartest interplanetary rover ever built.
Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition
This 11-minute animation depicts key events of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission, which will launch in late 2011 and land a rover, Curiosity, on Mars in August 2012.
It won't be easy. The complicated touchdown NASA designed for the Curiosity rover is so risky it's been described as "seven minutes of terror" ? the time it takes to go from 13,000 mph (20,920 kph) to a complete stop.
Scientists and engineers will be waiting anxiously as the spacecraft plunges through?Mars' thin atmosphere and, in a new twist, attempts to slowly lower the rover to the bottom of a crater with cables.
Scientists on Earth won't know for 14 minutes whether Curiosity?lands?safely as radio signals from?Mars?travel to Earth.
If it succeeds, a video camera aboard the rover will have captured the most dramatic minutes for the first filming of a?landing on another planet.
"It would be a major technological step forward if it works. It's a big gamble," said American University space policy analyst Howard McCurdy.
The future direction of?Mars?exploration is hanging on the outcome of this $2.5 billion science project to determine whether the environment was once suitable for microbes to live. Previous missions have found ice and signs that water once flowed. Curiosity will drill into rocks and soil in search of carbon and other elements.
Named for the Roman god of war,?Mars?is an unforgiving planet with a hostile history of swallowing man-made spacecraft. It's tough to fly there and even tougher to touch down. More than half of humanity's attempts to?land?on?Mars?have ended in disaster. Only the U.S. has tasted success.
"You've done everything that you can think of to ensure mission success, but?Mars?can still throw you a curve," said former NASA?Mars?czar Scott Hubbard, who now teaches at Stanford University.
The Mini Cooper-sized spacecraft traveled eight and a half months to reach?Mars. In a sort of celestial acrobatics, Curiosity will twist, turn and perform other maneuvers throughout the seven-minute thrill ride to the surface.
Why is NASA attempting such a daredevil move? It had little choice. Earlier spacecraft dropped to the Martian surface like a rock, swaddled in airbags, and bounced to a stop. Such was the case with the much smaller and lighter rovers Spirit and Opportunity in 2004.
At nearly a ton, Curiosity is too heavy, so engineers had to come up with a new way to?land. Friction from the thin atmosphere isn't enough to slow down the spacecraft without some help.
During its fiery plunge, Curiosity brakes by executing a series of S-curves ? similar to how the space shuttle re-entered Earth's atmosphere. At 900 mph (1,450 kph), it unfurls its huge parachute. It then sheds the heat shield that took the brunt of the atmospheric friction and switches on its ground-sensing radar.
Curiosity then jettisons the parachute and fires up its rocket-powered backpack to slow it down until it hovers. Cables unspool from the backpack and slowly lower the rover ? at less than 2 mph (3.2 kph). The cables keep the rocket engines from getting too close and kicking up dust.
Once the rover senses touchdown, the cords are cut.
Even if the intricate choreography goes according to script, a freak dust storm, sudden gust of wind or other problem can?marthe?landing.
"The degree of difficulty is above a 10," said Adam Steltzner, an engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the mission.
The rover's?landing?target is Gale Crater near the Martian equator. Scientists know Gale was once waterlogged. Images from space reveal mineral signatures of clays and sulfate salts, which form in the presence of water, in older layers near the bottom of the mountain.
During its two-year exploration, the plutonium-powered Curiosity will climb the lower mountain flanks to probe the deposits. As sophisticated as the rover is, it cannot search for life. Instead, it carries a toolbox including a power drill, rock-zapping laser and mobile chemistry lab to sniff for organic compounds, considered the chemical building blocks of life. It also has cameras to take panoramic photos.
Humans have been mesmerized by?Mars?since the 19th century when American astronomer Percival Lowell, peering through a telescope, theorized that intelligent beings carved what looked like irrigation canals. Scientists now think that if life existed onMars?? a big if ? it would be in the form of microbes.
Curiosity will explore whether the crater ever had the right environment for microorganisms to take hold.
Later Stone Age got earlier start in South Africa than thoughtPublic release date: 30-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Paola Villa villap@colorado.edu 303-492-4513 University of Colorado at Boulder
Study led by CU-Boulder pushes back onset date of South Africa's Later Stone Age by more than 20,000 years
The Later Stone Age emerged in South Africa more than 20,000 years earlier than previously believed -- about the same time humans were migrating from Africa to the European continent, says a new international study led by the University of Colorado Boulder.
The study shows the onset of the Later Stone Age in South Africa likely began some 44,000 to 42,000 years ago, said Paola Villa, a curator at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History and lead study author. The new dates are based on the use of precisely calibrated radiocarbon dates linked to organic artifacts found at Border Cave in the Lebombo Mountains on the border of South Africa and Swaziland containing evidence of hominid occupation going back 200,000 years.
The Later Stone Age is synonymous to many archaeologists with the Upper Paleolithic Period, when modern humans moved from Africa into Europe roughly 45,000 years ago and spread rapidly, displacing and eventually driving Neanderthals to extinction. The timing of the technological innovations and changes in the Later Stone Age in South Africa are comparable to that of the Upper Paleolithic, said Villa.
"Our research proves that the Later Stone Age emerged in South Africa far earlier than has been believed and occurred at about the same time as the arrival of modern humans in Europe," said Villa. "But differences in technology and culture between the two areas are very strong, showing the people of the two regions chose very different paths to the evolution of technology and society."
A paper on the subject was published July 30 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Co-authors included Sylvain Soriano of the Center National de la Recherche Scientifique, or CNRS, at the University of Paris; Tsenka Tsanova of the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Leipzig, Germany; Ilaria Degano, Jeannette Lucejko and Maria Perla Colombini of the University of Pisa in Italy; Thomas Highham of the University of Oxford in England; Francesco d'Errico of the CNRS at the University of Bordeaux in France; Lucinda Blackwell of the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa; and Peter Beaumont of the McGregor Museum in South Africa.
A companion paper published in PNAS and led by d'Errico reports on organic materials found at Border Cave dating to the Later Stone Age, an indication that the San hunter-gatherer culture first thought to have begun about 20,000 years ago in the region probably emerged as early as 44,000 years ago, said Villa.
Organic artifact assemblages at Border Cave dating to the Later Stone Age included ostrich eggshell beads, thin bone arrowhead points, wooden digging sticks, a gummy substance called pitch that was used to haft, or attach, bone and stone blades to shafts and a lump of beeswax likely used for hafting. The assemblage also included worked tusks of members of the pig family, which likely were used to plane wood, and notched bones that may have been used for counting.
A wooden digging stick from Border Cave dated to about 40,000 years ago was found in association with bored but broken stones likely used to weight such sticks. The sticks and stone weights are similar to digging implements used by women of the prehistoric San hunter-gatherer culture in the region to unearth bulbs and termite larvae, a practice that continued into historic times, said Villa. "These digging sticks from Border Cave are the oldest artifacts of this kind known from South Africa or anywhere else in Africa."
The new PNAS study led by Villa also indicates big changes were occurring in hunting technology during the Later Stone Age at Border Cave, said Villa. They included a shift from spears hafted with stone points -- the main hunting weapon in the Middle Stone Age -- to the likely use of the bow and arrow, a technology that included very thin bone points that probably were tipped with poison, she said.
"The very thin bone points from the Later Stone Age at Border Cave are good evidence for bow and arrow use," said Villa. "The work by d'Errico and colleagues shows that the points are very similar in width and thickness to the bone points produced by San culture that occupied the region in prehistoric times, whose people were known to use bows and arrows with poison-tipped bone points as a way to bring down medium and large-sized herbivores."
Chemical analyses showed the poison used with such bone points was most likely ricinoleic acid, which can be derived from the seeds of castor oil plants and which has been identified as being used in South Africa at least 24,000 years ago. "Such bone points could have penetrated thick hides, but the lack of 'knock-down' power means the use of poison probably was a requirement for successful kills," said Villa.
The lump of beeswax from Border Cave also dating to about 40,000 years ago -- the oldest known beeswax used by humans ever discovered -- was wrapped in plant fibers that may have been similar to fibers used to make the strings for hunting bows, said Villa.
While stone tools continued to be manufactured in the Later Stone Age at Border Cave, stone spear points from the Middle Stone Age gave way to tiny, thin flakes known as microliths that were probably hafted on shafts, much like the bone points, with pitch made from the bark of a common type of coniferous tree found in the region.
While a 2011 study co-authored by Villa and Wil Roebroeks of Leiden University in the Netherlands showed that Neanderthals mastered the manufacture of pitch in Europe 200,000 years ago, it was not a particularly simple task since the process involved burning peeled bark in the absence of air, said Villa. The Later Stone Age inhabitants of South Africa probably dug holes into the ground and inserted bark peels, then lit them on fire and covered the holes tightly with stones. "This is the first time pitch-making is demonstrated in South Africa," said Villa.
The Upper Paleolithic Period in Europe that corresponds to the Later Stone Age in South Africa also spurred complex new technologies that helped humans survive and thrive in much different environments. Artifacts from the Upper Paleolithic included spear-throwers, bone needles with eyelets for sewing furs, bone fishing hooks, bone flutes and even ivory figurines carved from mammoth tusks.
Villa said that a fundamental rearrangement of human behavior that had its beginnings 50,000-60,000 years ago in Africa and spread to Europe -- an idea first proposed by Stanford University archaeologist Richard Klein -- appears quite plausible.
###
Research at Border Cave was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Paleontological National Trust in South Africa, the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environment at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa and the French National Centre for Scientific Research Laboratory at the University of Bordeaux.
Editors: Contents embargoed until 3 p.m. EDT on Monday, July 30. A photo of Border Cave in South Africa is available at http://photography.colorado.edu/netpub/server.np?find&site=news&catalog=catalog&template=detail.np&field=itemid&op=matches&value=5717.
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Later Stone Age got earlier start in South Africa than thoughtPublic release date: 30-Jul-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Paola Villa villap@colorado.edu 303-492-4513 University of Colorado at Boulder
Study led by CU-Boulder pushes back onset date of South Africa's Later Stone Age by more than 20,000 years
The Later Stone Age emerged in South Africa more than 20,000 years earlier than previously believed -- about the same time humans were migrating from Africa to the European continent, says a new international study led by the University of Colorado Boulder.
The study shows the onset of the Later Stone Age in South Africa likely began some 44,000 to 42,000 years ago, said Paola Villa, a curator at the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History and lead study author. The new dates are based on the use of precisely calibrated radiocarbon dates linked to organic artifacts found at Border Cave in the Lebombo Mountains on the border of South Africa and Swaziland containing evidence of hominid occupation going back 200,000 years.
The Later Stone Age is synonymous to many archaeologists with the Upper Paleolithic Period, when modern humans moved from Africa into Europe roughly 45,000 years ago and spread rapidly, displacing and eventually driving Neanderthals to extinction. The timing of the technological innovations and changes in the Later Stone Age in South Africa are comparable to that of the Upper Paleolithic, said Villa.
"Our research proves that the Later Stone Age emerged in South Africa far earlier than has been believed and occurred at about the same time as the arrival of modern humans in Europe," said Villa. "But differences in technology and culture between the two areas are very strong, showing the people of the two regions chose very different paths to the evolution of technology and society."
A paper on the subject was published July 30 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Co-authors included Sylvain Soriano of the Center National de la Recherche Scientifique, or CNRS, at the University of Paris; Tsenka Tsanova of the Max Planck Institute of Evolutionary Biology in Leipzig, Germany; Ilaria Degano, Jeannette Lucejko and Maria Perla Colombini of the University of Pisa in Italy; Thomas Highham of the University of Oxford in England; Francesco d'Errico of the CNRS at the University of Bordeaux in France; Lucinda Blackwell of the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa; and Peter Beaumont of the McGregor Museum in South Africa.
A companion paper published in PNAS and led by d'Errico reports on organic materials found at Border Cave dating to the Later Stone Age, an indication that the San hunter-gatherer culture first thought to have begun about 20,000 years ago in the region probably emerged as early as 44,000 years ago, said Villa.
Organic artifact assemblages at Border Cave dating to the Later Stone Age included ostrich eggshell beads, thin bone arrowhead points, wooden digging sticks, a gummy substance called pitch that was used to haft, or attach, bone and stone blades to shafts and a lump of beeswax likely used for hafting. The assemblage also included worked tusks of members of the pig family, which likely were used to plane wood, and notched bones that may have been used for counting.
A wooden digging stick from Border Cave dated to about 40,000 years ago was found in association with bored but broken stones likely used to weight such sticks. The sticks and stone weights are similar to digging implements used by women of the prehistoric San hunter-gatherer culture in the region to unearth bulbs and termite larvae, a practice that continued into historic times, said Villa. "These digging sticks from Border Cave are the oldest artifacts of this kind known from South Africa or anywhere else in Africa."
The new PNAS study led by Villa also indicates big changes were occurring in hunting technology during the Later Stone Age at Border Cave, said Villa. They included a shift from spears hafted with stone points -- the main hunting weapon in the Middle Stone Age -- to the likely use of the bow and arrow, a technology that included very thin bone points that probably were tipped with poison, she said.
"The very thin bone points from the Later Stone Age at Border Cave are good evidence for bow and arrow use," said Villa. "The work by d'Errico and colleagues shows that the points are very similar in width and thickness to the bone points produced by San culture that occupied the region in prehistoric times, whose people were known to use bows and arrows with poison-tipped bone points as a way to bring down medium and large-sized herbivores."
Chemical analyses showed the poison used with such bone points was most likely ricinoleic acid, which can be derived from the seeds of castor oil plants and which has been identified as being used in South Africa at least 24,000 years ago. "Such bone points could have penetrated thick hides, but the lack of 'knock-down' power means the use of poison probably was a requirement for successful kills," said Villa.
The lump of beeswax from Border Cave also dating to about 40,000 years ago -- the oldest known beeswax used by humans ever discovered -- was wrapped in plant fibers that may have been similar to fibers used to make the strings for hunting bows, said Villa.
While stone tools continued to be manufactured in the Later Stone Age at Border Cave, stone spear points from the Middle Stone Age gave way to tiny, thin flakes known as microliths that were probably hafted on shafts, much like the bone points, with pitch made from the bark of a common type of coniferous tree found in the region.
While a 2011 study co-authored by Villa and Wil Roebroeks of Leiden University in the Netherlands showed that Neanderthals mastered the manufacture of pitch in Europe 200,000 years ago, it was not a particularly simple task since the process involved burning peeled bark in the absence of air, said Villa. The Later Stone Age inhabitants of South Africa probably dug holes into the ground and inserted bark peels, then lit them on fire and covered the holes tightly with stones. "This is the first time pitch-making is demonstrated in South Africa," said Villa.
The Upper Paleolithic Period in Europe that corresponds to the Later Stone Age in South Africa also spurred complex new technologies that helped humans survive and thrive in much different environments. Artifacts from the Upper Paleolithic included spear-throwers, bone needles with eyelets for sewing furs, bone fishing hooks, bone flutes and even ivory figurines carved from mammoth tusks.
Villa said that a fundamental rearrangement of human behavior that had its beginnings 50,000-60,000 years ago in Africa and spread to Europe -- an idea first proposed by Stanford University archaeologist Richard Klein -- appears quite plausible.
###
Research at Border Cave was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Paleontological National Trust in South Africa, the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environment at the University of Witwatersrand in South Africa and the French National Centre for Scientific Research Laboratory at the University of Bordeaux.
Editors: Contents embargoed until 3 p.m. EDT on Monday, July 30. A photo of Border Cave in South Africa is available at http://photography.colorado.edu/netpub/server.np?find&site=news&catalog=catalog&template=detail.np&field=itemid&op=matches&value=5717.
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?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
July 29th, 2012. The day our boys were meant to enter into our life. Baby showers over, nursery ready, take home outfits picked out, our hospital bag ready. We were suppose to go in, have two beautiful baby boys, family surrounded crying of joy and happiness, smiles filling the room!
A dream...a happy day!!
Instead, three and half months ago, we went to the hospital. No baby showers yet. The nursery walls covered with 5 different shades of blue painted in lines waiting for a decision. Two cribs sat, a changing table and 2 swings, but still the room sat incomplete. No outfits picked out. No hospital bag packed. Two babies were born, family surrounded us happy and smiling but with fear and thoughts racing through our minds... "too early...it's too early." Tears, mourning, and heartbreak followed, balanced with hope, continued fear and fight!!
We fight everyday along side Blake, knowing how quickly life changes, how quickly you can lose something or in our case SOMEONE you love. One second everything is fine, and the next you are saying your last goodbye. How quickly your life can be flipped upside down!
Today is a hard day. Here is a list of the feelings we have gone through today.
Do you know how bi-polar we feel!?! We are called strong, and inspirational.... but we are just two parents SO in love with their children!
We had a celebration today. A "birth" day party. Grandparents joined in on the festivities, as did the nurses. We had a banner, a birthday outfit, and treats! We were minus one guest- but his presence was felt all day!!
Conor James Hargis, our baby "B", Blake's twin baby brother, our angel, you are so missed our hearts aches, we long to know your smile, your smell, how we wish you were here to celebrate your "birth" day too!! We long for your beautiful perfect face, your tiny fingers and toes, we wish we could kiss you, hold you, and love on you everyday!! We miss you, we thank you for watching over us, and we love you so much!!
Our Fighter, our lil' miracle, Blake Alan Hargis, we have never been so proud, so in awe of someone, but you son are truly the most inspirational, most perfect, little boy! You have captured the hearts of so many, and you have stolen ours! Until you and your brother were born we never knew that love like this existed!
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
The chairman of the London Olympics, Sebastian Coe, insisted on Sunday that most venues were full of spectators as organisers faced a growing storm over blocks of empty seats at several venues.
Local organisers LOCOG and the International Olympic Committee said they were urgently investigating why there were rows and rows of unoccupied seats at venues including Wimbledon for the tennis and the Aquatics Centre, while British police were reportedly probing an alleged black-market scandal.
As organisers were overwhelmed with demand for Olympics tickets when they went on sale and thousands of people were left disappointed, the sight of unoccupied seats has sparked anger in Britain.
Coe said unoccupied seats at some venues were due to accredited officials still working out which events to attend and planning their timetable, but he said he had visited four events on Saturday which were full to capacity.
"Let us put this in perspective. Those venues are stuffed to the gunnels. The public are in there," Coe told journalists.
"There are tens of thousands of people at this moment within the accredited 'family' that are trying to figure out what their day looks like, where they are going to be asked to go to, frankly working out how you divide your time.
"Certainly this is not going to be an issue through the Games.
"This is not unfamiliar in the preliminary rounds."
Coe said however that local organisers LOCOG were urgently seeking ways of filling any empty seats. He said soldiers involved in the security operation were given spare seats at gymnastics events on Sunday morning.
Students and teachers from east London were also allocated seats at some unfilled venues.
A source told AFP the local organisers were "extremely frustrated" by the empty seats, and were working flat-out to find a solution.
Many fans pointed out that gaps were visible at the Aquatics Centre, normally packed to the rafters for the early swimming action.
In contrast, huge crowds lined the streets of London, where tickets were not required, to watch Team GB compete in the cycling road race.
Britain's culture minister Jeremy Hunt admitted the empty seats were "very disappointing" and suggested they could be offered to members of the public.
He added: "I was at the Beijing Games, in 2008, and one of the lessons that we took away from that, is that full stadia create the best atmosphere, it's best for the athletes, it's more fun for the spectators, it's been an absolute priority.
"LOCOG are doing a full investigation into what happened. I think it was accredited seats that belonged to sponsors, but if they're not going to turn up, we want those tickets to be available for members of the public, because that creates the best atmosphere.
"We are looking at this very urgently at the moment."
One angry punter at the Olympic Park blamed corporate ticket-holders for failing to take up their seats.
"It's not fair. There's thousands of people who would have got into that swimming pool to watch the races this morning and couldn't get in," he told BBC TV.
"They've (now) panicked about the political situation of the stadium being empty. We couldn't even get in but people were coming out saying how the stadium was half-empty.
"There were thousands of people stood outside wishing to go in."
Meanwhile, the Sunday Times newspaper reported that British police were investigating the alleged black-market sale of Olympic tickets by three official ticket agents covering the Games.
The newspaper said it had secretly filmed Olympic officials and agents offering to sell thousands of tickets for up to 10 times their face value.
Detectives from Operation Podium, set up by the force to tackle Games-related ticket fraud, launched the inquiry last week after studying more than 20 hours of recordings provided by the newspaper, the report said.
They will seek to question officials from the national Olympic committees of China, Serbia and Lithuania, it added.
Contacted by AFP, police refused to confirm that they were investigating the claims.
One of the most embarrassing sights was at Wimbledon, where the match between British hopeful Anne Keothavong and former world number one Caroline Wozniacki was played to a half-empty Centre Court on Saturday.
"Very surprised at amount of empty seats on Wimbledon Centre Court, especially as I applied for some! It can't be more than 50 percent full," wrote frustrated fan Alex Dover on Twitter.
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Football is the UK's most popular sport with millions of people playing the game each year. In the last decade or so football has become highly commericalised with huge sums of money being invested in the game. The Premiership for example attracts billions of pounds worth of investment each year. With such investment comes great opportunity as the demand for facilities, players and training staff grows.
In recent years the demand for skilled football coaches has been growing. These talented individuals can help change the fortunes of a team and provide management with a great deal of support and encouragement. Despite such talents these people are often hard to come by and is why you are seeing many clubs turn to retired players for coaching positions. As a result now could be the time to think about training for a career as a coach. A career in this area presents great opportunities and could be just the thing you were looking for. In this article we will share insider knowledge of what life is like as a coach and what you need to become one.
Who Would Suit a Coaching Career?
The most obvious choice would be people who have a real passion but in reality there is a lot more to football coaching these days. Science forms a big part of the game these days as clubs monitor exactly how their players bodies react to certain environments and scenarios. Time is also given to what they eat and a solid understanding of how the body works is required. This is only really applicable to people looking to coach at the top clubs but is a real consideration. If however you are looking to coach young children then a different set of skills are required.
Football coaching careers are undoubtedly difficult to get into and as a result it is good to get into from a young age. Doing this means you can get your badges early and presents opportunities for you to travel abroad to train kids from other countries. If you like to travel and enjoy the outdoors then a football coaching career could be for you but what skills do you need?
What Skills do you need to become a Football Coach?
The first thing you will need to do is take your FA coaching badges. In most cases you will need to take level 1 and 2 and will provide you with the basics of football coaching. Although every budding coach should take these it will only provide the basics and the real skill comes from experience and self learning. Outside of qualifications coaches also need to have the right skills to help develop a player's fitness, technical skills and team working ability. As a result most coaches are outgoing, confident and particular in their approach. As mentioned earlier you could also go abroad to help develop your skills. America is a popular destination for this.
Opportunities
Before embarking on a football coaching career you need to take the time to understand what level you want to train at. This could be for professionals or for school kids. Some people take the teaching assistants route where they can provide classroom support on set subjects while coaching kids football for P.E. The rewards from professional, Premiership standard coaching is much higher than that of kids coaching but the level of focus is much more intense. This is why the top coaches are often in their 30's.
Coaching can also provide a route into management which is an attractive prospect for many. Travel is also an option and the skills learnt from football coaching can be taken into a range of different jobs. The role in itself presents many opportunities and can make a great career choice.
If you are thinking about a career as a football coach then you can expect to earn anywhere between ?24,000 to ?250,000. Coaches are constantly being testing and demands are high. It is essentially a results driven business and is not for everyone.
As we are fast developing in terms of technology as well as other fields of science, our language too is getting more and more specific. You must have now noticed new terminology such as ?health science?. Do you know what this means? Well this is not a new field of science but one that has been there for long.
The term health sciences can refer to many things. Man?s health has several aspects including emotional, psychological as well as physical. Each of these has separate science streams which again comprise of sub streams and divisions when it comes to specific aspect of the human health. Health means well being. The overall wellbeing of an individual is the sum total of his physical, emotional and psychological health together with the attitude.
Take the word science. What does it mean to you? Science denotes a scientific approach to the study of the particular subject where in the principles elucidated can be tested and verified. So when we talk of health sciences, we are referring to the systematic pursuit of laws relating as well as scientific enquiry into the health of man.
Health sciences refers to the general field encompassing several and overall health of the body including its nutritional as well as fitness and functional aspects. This of course is very useful to have a holistic approach to the functioning of the body with the specialist?s opinion coming in as and when required.
Health science has innumerable branches if you start referring to it. Some of them can be dietics, physiotherapy, occupational health, audiology, speech therapy and many more.
It is not only the medical community that is concentrating on the body health and issues. Several other branches have come up and are being practiced as a part of holistic health clinics. Even corporates are seen embracing health and safety issues and employing professionals from health sciences too.
If you work up and get a PhD in Health Sciences, you can be very successful in the career be it in the hospital segment or in the private clinics and centers. You can even join a corporate and be a part of the global initiatives.
Once you have picked up and have a grasp over the subject, you can keep doing more and more research to understand the ground realities of people in different environments and come out with solutions to address health issues.
Your future employment might start in the health science careers or you can try applying in the FBI jobs.
Exactly what is self improvement but your capability to get pleasure from daily life? Every ability or skill that you just build, improves your lifestyle. Initially, comes the excitement of learning to play the piano or taking part in the position of goalie at soccer. But over the years, this deepens. Your ability gets to be a crucial part from the concept of existence. Here are some ideas that will help you build your abilities.
Self improvement indicates spiritual development to numerous. But if this is your path, make sure to don?t neglect bodily effectively-simply being, for doing it provides the base where you create. Being a fantastic ascetic saint employed to explain to his readers: ?Come up with a close friend from the physique it can help you on your way.?
Forget the stating ?nobody is perfect? if you are seeking to attain greater personal development. The right version individuals is what you need to strive for daily. Try and minimize the faults you make each and every day and attempt and be the better edition of oneself that one could.
Frustration and hostility can drag us lower and effect not simply our moods but that relating to all those around to us. By developing coping techniques that channel thoughts of stress into far more positive actions, we can use bad stress to enhance our scenarios. Venting aggravation in healthy workout, by way of example, will not likely only enhance our disposition but our health and wellness.
A way of reaching a great feeling of personal development is thru figuring out and correcting you guidelines. How you will act depends upon by your concepts. Bearing this in mind, awful rules bring out poor attitudes. Provided you can improve on the best rules that you have, the greater your attitude may become.
A sense of guilt is a big barrier to self advancement due to adverse effect it offers on self esteem. Emotions of shame typically suggest that one has acted towards one?s principles. Individual beliefs are policies one decides, normally in youth, about how a single should live. A sense of guilt signifies that you has, basically, broken one?s own computer code of ethics.
Make sure to carry out a positive view on lifestyle. It is really an easy task to say I can not do that or give full attention to things that there is no need. As an alternative, if you capture oneself considering adverse, make on your own think of the optimistic that will go in addition to that imagined. Being optimistic will assist you to understand your successes and maintain you working on other people.
As was reviewed in the beginning on this write-up, seeking personal development is really a healthy and beneficial endeavor. So that you can flourish in attaining personal development there are several essential bits of advice that anybody should adhere to. Use this article?s guidance and acquire one step ahead in reaching your self support desired goals.
On Thursday Barack Obama Issued a racist Executive Order. The Order titled, White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans sets forth a new policy for a group of people that is pretty vast is just taken at face value. After all, this could also refer to many whites because Africa is a continent, not a nation. However, the people in view here are those with dark skin, not Caucasians.
Here?s Obama?s policy:
Over the course of America?s history, African American men and women have strengthened our Nation, including by leading reforms, overcoming obstacles, and breaking down barriers. In the less than 60 years since the Brown v. Board of Education decision put America on a path toward equal educational opportunity, America?s educational system has undergone a remarkable transformation, and many African American children who attended the substandard segregated schools of the 1950s have grown up to see their children attend integrated elementary and secondary schools, colleges, and universities.
However, substantial obstacles to equal educational opportunity still remain in America?s educational system. African Americans lack equal access to highly effective teachers and principals, safe schools, and challenging college-preparatory classes, and they disproportionately experience school discipline and referrals to special education. African American student achievement not only lags behind that of their domestic peers by an average of two grade levels, but also behind students in almost every other developed nation. Over a third of African American students do not graduate from high school on time with a regular high school diploma, and only four percent of African American high school graduates interested in college are college-ready across a range of subjects. An even greater number of African American males do not graduate with a regular high school diploma, and African American males also experience disparate rates of incarceration.
Significantly improving the educational outcomes of African Americans will provide substantial benefits for our country by, among other things, increasing college completion rates, productivity, employment rates, and the number of African American teachers. Enhanced educational outcomes lead to more productive careers, improved economic opportunity, and greater social well-being for all Americans. Complementing the role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in preparing generations of African American students for successful careers, and the work of my Administration?s separate White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, this new Initiative?s focus on improving all the sequential levels of education will produce a more effective educational continuum for all African American students.
To reach the ambitious education goals we have set for our Nation, as well as to ensure equality of access and opportunity for all, we must provide the support that will enable African American students to improve their level of educational achievement through rigorous and well-rounded academic and support services that will prepare them for college, a career, and a lifetime of learning.
So we are going to do something different for black children than for whites? Hmmmm, I?m thinking there needs to be a new organization called the NAAWP (National Association for the Advancement of White People). I?m sure that would get the movers and shakers in our nation talking. Why is it that there can be special treatment for a particular ethnic group and it not be considered racist, but if I wanted to form the ?National Society of Whities? it would be?
The EO?s mission states:
(1) The Initiative will help to restore the United States to its role as the global leader in education; strengthen the Nation by improving educational outcomes for African Americans of all ages; and help ensure that African Americans receive a complete and competitive education that prepares them for college, a satisfying career, and productive citizenship.
(2) The Initiative will complement and reinforce the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Initiative established by Executive Order 13532 of February 26, 2010, and together, they both will support enhanced educational outcomes for African Americans at every level of the American education system, including early childhood education; elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education; career and technical education; and adult education.
(3) To help expand educational opportunities, improve educational outcomes, and deliver a complete and competitive education for all African Americans.
All of this is not about ?restoring the United States to its role as the global leader in education.? It is about preferential treatment based on color of skin and even worse it?s at the federal level. The federal government has to be the worst place to think about setting policy for education. Because of the federal government?s intervention in education America now lags behind Russia and Finland in literacy. We also fall well behind many countries in math and science.
By the way, lots of nice new shiny official titles will be given out and lots of bureaucratic committees and such will be formed. I assume Barack Obama will also claim that this creates jobs for which he?ll pat himself on the back. This is a serious demonstration of racism in the White House and yes I?m calling the President of the United States a racist. I?m sure Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and the Congressional Black Caucus will be 1005 behind this special treatment of an ethnic group.
Editor?s note: I am not racist. I used the NAAWP and the National Society of Whities in jest.
As gorgeous as huge, expensive monitors are, most situations just don't call for the inches or wallet-dents associated with today's luxury screens. With this in mind, and barely a breath after outing its $299, 27-inch LED offering, ViewSonic is back with two budget displays from the VA12 series. First up is the VA2212m-LED, which rocks a 1080p widescreen, 21.5-inch panel, 10,000,000:1 contrast Ratio, DVI and VGA inputs, as well as a pair of 2W integrated speakers. Its little brother the VA1912m-LED shares most of the same genes, but with an 18.5-inch, 1,366 x 768 resolution screen. Running with ViewSonic's eco-friendly theme, both mercury-free LED monitors also boast the eco-mode feature for low power consumption and a longer life. If either of the new displays are grabbing your attention, you'll be able to pick up the $149 VA2212m-LED imminently, with the $125 VA1912m-LED hitting North American retailers in mid-August.
AAA??Jul. 27, 2012?4:21 PM ET UN treaty keeps idea alive of reversing ivory ban Associated Press??Associated Press
FILE In this Dec. 29, 2011 photo, a sixteen day old baby elephant enjoys sun at an elephant breeding centre in Sauraha in Chitwan, about 170 kilometers (106 miles) south of Katmandu, Nepal. The 175-nation U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, known as CITES, is based in Geneva and regulates nearly 35,000 species of animals and plants. Experts rank wildlife smuggling among the top aims of criminal networks, along with drugs and human trafficking. CITES says wildlife crime remains poorly studied but it says international estimates of the scale of illegal wildlife trade range from between $16 billion and $27 billion a year. Tiger parts, elephant ivory, rhino horn and exotic birds and reptiles are among the most trafficked items. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
FILE In this Dec. 29, 2011 photo, a sixteen day old baby elephant enjoys sun at an elephant breeding centre in Sauraha in Chitwan, about 170 kilometers (106 miles) south of Katmandu, Nepal. The 175-nation U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, known as CITES, is based in Geneva and regulates nearly 35,000 species of animals and plants. Experts rank wildlife smuggling among the top aims of criminal networks, along with drugs and human trafficking. CITES says wildlife crime remains poorly studied but it says international estimates of the scale of illegal wildlife trade range from between $16 billion and $27 billion a year. Tiger parts, elephant ivory, rhino horn and exotic birds and reptiles are among the most trafficked items. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
FILE- in this Aug.1, 2010 file photo, a greater one horned rhino eats water plants from a river in Janakauli community forest bordering Chitwan National Park, about 70 kilometers (44 miles) southwest of Katmandu, Nepal. The 175-nation U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, known as CITES, is based in Geneva and regulates nearly 35,000 species of animals and plants. Experts rank wildlife smuggling among the top aims of criminal networks, along with drugs and human trafficking. CITES says wildlife crime remains poorly studied but it says international estimates of the scale of illegal wildlife trade range from between $16 billion and $27 billion a year. Tiger parts, elephant ivory, rhino horn and exotic birds and reptiles are among the most trafficked items. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe, File)
FILE - In this Feb. 18, 2000 photo, a Red Panda, one of three new arrivals at the Sacramento Zoo, munches on fresh bamboo leaves in Sacramento, Calif. The Claire Mower Red Panda Forest is the zoo's newest habitat. The Red Pandas, found in Nepal, Burma, Tibet, and south-central China, are not related to the more commonly known black-and-white pandas of China, but rather to raccoons. The 175-nation U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, known as CITES, is based in Geneva and regulates nearly 35,000 species of animals and plants. Experts rank wildlife smuggling among the top aims of criminal networks, along with drugs and human trafficking. CITES says wildlife crime remains poorly studied but it says international estimates of the scale of illegal wildlife trade range from between $16 billion and $27 billion a year. Tiger parts, elephant ivory, rhino horn and exotic birds and reptiles are among the most trafficked items. (AP Photo/Sacramento Bee, Jay Mather)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2008 file photo a silverback mountain gorilla is seen in the Virunga National Park, near the Ugandan border in eastern Congo, The 175-nation U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, known as CITES, is based in Geneva and regulates nearly 35,000 species of animals and plants. Experts rank wildlife smuggling among the top aims of criminal networks, along with drugs and human trafficking. CITES says wildlife crime remains poorly studied but it says international estimates of the scale of illegal wildlife trade range from between $16 billion and $27 billion a year. Tiger parts, elephant ivory, rhino horn and exotic birds and reptiles are among the most trafficked items. (AP Photo / Jerome Delay, File)
FILE - In this April 18, 2007 file photo provided by Florida Museum of Natural History, a new genus of frogmouth bird, seen at top right, shown in Gainesville, Fla., was found in the Solomon Islands by Florida Museum of Natural History ornithologists Andrew Kratter and David Steadman. The 175-nation U.N. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, known as CITES, is based in Geneva and regulates nearly 35,000 species of animals and plants. Experts rank wildlife smuggling among the top aims of criminal networks, along with drugs and human trafficking. CITES says wildlife crime remains poorly studied but it says international estimates of the scale of illegal wildlife trade range from between $16 billion and $27 billion a year. Tiger parts, elephant ivory, rhino horn and exotic birds and reptiles are among the most trafficked items. (AP Photo/Florida Museum of Natural History, Jeff Gage)
GENEVA (AP) ? Delegates overseeing a 175-nation endangered species treaty adopted measures Friday intended to curb smuggling of elephant ivory and rhino horn, including a new plan to eventually allow ivory to be legally traded again in global markets.
The plan for allowing ivory to be traded legally for the first time in more than two decades will be fine-tuned and presented again in October, then considered for final approval next March in Bangkok. It was among the most hotly debated items at a weeklong meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known as CITES, that ended Friday.
Some 300 delegates in Geneva agreed by consensus to a series of measures and sanctions on trade in endangered species. The ivory plan envisions a resumption in trading only from existing stocks gathered from elephants that have died as a result of natural causes.
A global ban on ivory trading took effect in 1989 to curb elephant poaching in Africa, but in the past decade the problem grew again with rising Asian demand for ivory chopsticks, statues and jewelry.
The long-running global debate over elephants has focused on the benefits of raising revenue from legal ivory sales that could be used to pay for conservation measures and ways of protecting local communities that live in close proximity to large and sometimes dangerous animals.
Proponents also have argued that legalizing the trade could dampen prices and, therefore, demand for ivory on the black market, but some conservation groups have said they remain skeptical that it will work and that in fact sales could only increase poaching. No culling or poaching would be authorized under the plan.
Much of the focus was on how to strengthen enforcement while also dampening consumer demand. Delegates agreed that effected nations must do more to control their markets and combat international ivory smuggling.
"You may say that there has been a sort of polarization here (over ivory) ? will you ban it totally, or will you allow something and if you allow something, you may also encourage smuggling," said Oystein Storkersen, the head of nature management in Norway who chairs one of CITES' main committees, told reporters. "As long as there is strong demand in the consumer countries, we probably will see people willing to risk going for ivory in the source countries."
Delegates also agreed to require that Vietnam, one of the biggest consumers of rhino horn, report back by September on how it is cracking down and to verify that rhino hunting trophies are taken for non-commercial reasons.
In parts of Asia, such as Vietnam, rhino horn can fetch the equivalent of U.S. street values for cocaine. It is crushed and consumed by people who believe it can cure diseases including cancer, fever and even hangovers, but doctors generally dispute that.
Delegates suspended trade in five reptiles ? the African chameleon in Niger, Fea's chameleon in Equatorial Guinea, the girdled lizard in Mozambique, and the yellow-headed temple turtle and orange-headed temple turtle in Laos ? and one African tree, teak, in Ivory Coast.
Delegates also decided to monitor crocodiles in Colombia, birds from the Solomon Islands, and a dozen other captive-breeding and ranching operations around the world.
But they agreed to lift previous suspensions and allow sustainable trade to resume for African teak and cherry in Congo, and for African grey parrots in Cameroon.
Associated PressNews Topics: Business, General news, Wildlife poaching and smuggling, Treaties, Environment, Environment and nature, Wildlife, Animal poaching and smuggling, Crime, International agreements, International relations, Government and politics, Living things, Mammals, Environmental concerns, Animals, Elephants, Rhinoceros, Reptiles, Lizards, Turtles
??When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses?? ~Neal A. Maxwell
Yesterday I had a lengthy conversation with a sweet lady I love dearly. Like me, she is a mother of many, and like all of us have from time to time, she was having a difficult time emotionally.
She pleaded with me to know what the meaning of motherhood IS. What is the point? Why do our children, our homes, our husbands NEED us? Do they really? Are we doing them any good? Are mothers actually necessary???
Her questions caught me off guard, mostly because I feel so passionately about the subject, and also because there was so much I wanted to say. In a moment, in that instant, how could I convey all that I feel and know about the divinity of motherhood?
After an afternoon, evening, and night of pondering and rolling her questions over in my mind, I feel I can now better share my heart and convictions on the subject.
More than Bearing Children
?"Women for the most part see their greatest fulfillment, their greatest happiness in home and family. God planted within women something divine that expresses itself in quiet strength, in refinement, in peace, in goodness, in virtue, in truth, in love. And all of these remarkable qualities find their truest and most satisfying expression in motherhood."
"Said Thomas Wolfe: 'There is no spectacle on earth more appealing than that of a beautiful women in the act of cooking dinner for someone she loves.' Or, to which I might add, cuddling a baby, or leading a child in prayer, or counseling a strong young son or daughter, or comforting a tired companion." ~Gordon B. Hinckley
My friend has reached the end of her baby-bearing years. Like so many other mothers of large families-- me included-- she is feeling that giving children life is a huge part of her purpose as a mother. And now that is all over. She is not having more babies, and she is left wondering what there is to motherhood beyond that.
But motherhood is more than bearing children. While the sacrifices we make to bring children into the world are sacred and humbling, the days beyond are where the true journey of courage and sanctification live.?
When we wake up every morning to face a new day as Mother, we know we will be confronting messes, arguments, projects, crying, hungry mouths, and dirty faces. To many, this work has been labeled as menial, full of drudgery and unimportant. But it is the stuff of life! I know there are times when it feels overwhelming, even impossible to go on, but this process of serving in the most humble way is where the divinity of motherhood is created and refined-- day in, day out. Over and over again.
Elder James E. Faust reinforced this truth beautifully when he said:
"Do not be deceived in your quest to find happiness and an identity of your own. Entreating voices may tell you that what you have seen your mothers and grandmothers do is old-fashioned, unchallenging, boring, and drudgery. It may have been old-fashioned and perhaps routine; at times it was drudgery. But your mothers and grandmothers have sung a song that expressed the highest love and the noblest of womanly feelings. They have been our nurturers and our teachers. They have sanctified the work, transforming drudgery into the noblest enterprises."
"Homemaking is whatever you make of it. Every day brings satisfaction along with some work which may be frustrating, routine, and unchallenging. But it is the same in the law office, the dispensary, the laboratory, or the store. There is, however, no more important job than homemaking. As C. S. Lewis said, 'A housewife?s work ? is the one for which all others exist.'"
Did you hear what he is saying here? Housework, homemaking-- whatever you want to call it-- is inextricably connected to the divine purpose of motherhood.?
This statement may shock some, and anger others. We live in a world that has turned serving our families in our homes into the lowest of the low, the untouchable, the most wretched work anyone must do.
"Homemaking skills are becoming a lost art. I worry about this. When we lose the homemakers in a society, we create an emotional homelessness much like street homelessness, with similar problems of despair, drugs, immorality, and lack of self-worth. In a publication called The Family in America, Bryce Christensen writes that the number of homeless people on the street 'does not begin to reveal the scope of homelessness in America. For since when did the word home signify merely physical shelter, or homelessness merely the lack of such shelter? ? Home [signifies] not only shelter, but also emotional commitment, security, and belonging. Home has connoted not just a necessary roof and warm radiator, but a place sanctified by the abiding ties of wedlock, parenthood, and family obligation; a place demanding sacrifice and devotion, but promising loving care and warm acceptance.'" ~Susan W. Tanner
There are voices all around us, shrilly insisting that the menial work of home and family are the least important work a woman can do.But with all the conviction I have within me, I declare and testify that the work of motherhood is the highest, noblest, most important and crucial work that can ever be done, any time, any where.There is no mission higher, no calling greater, no ambition more noble than that of a mother who sacrifices and serves her family, day in, day out.?
No one?anywhere?needs us more than our children and husbands do! As Elder Richard G. Scott stated:
"The vital importance of teaching truth in the home is fundamental. The Church is important, but it is in the home where parents provide the required understanding and direction for children.?It is truly said that the most important callings in time and eternity are those of father and mother.?In time we will be released from all other assignments we receive but not from that of father and mother."
So what do we do when we're feeling worthless, depressed, overwhelmed, and defeated? As President Gordon B. Hinckley's father once told Him, "Forget yourself and go to work." One of the best cures I have found in my own life is to pull myself up and do some routine, menial work. The idea of drudgery is the intimidating thing! But when we get up and go to work to help someone else, we come away revitalized, renewed-- even full of purpose and energy.
But there is a caution to be given with this answer: it's also all in the attitude. The Savior never indulged in feelings of martyrdom, and neither should we! When we begrudgingly do housework,we are not serving our family. We are serving our own selfish needs to justify our anger and get everyone to feel sorry for us. But it does not work to make us feel better, nor for our family to appreciate us! Our efforts should be selfLESS, not selfish in nature. We only turn the cure to our unhappiness to poison when we work with an embittered heart.
If the idea of cleaning or working on housework makes you want to crumple up into a ball, and it's just something you can't make yourself do in that moment, then gather up your little ones into your lap and read them a small book. Or call a friend, a sister, or an aunt or your mother. Work on a project that you've been procrastinating. Go on a date with your husband. Most of all, PRAY for help, strength and renewal to do the ONE THING that the Lord would have you do in that moment of despair. Just DON'T give up!
Mothers Are Divinely Called
"Motherhood is not what was left over after our Father blessed His sons with priesthood ordination. It was the most ennobling endowment He could give His daughters, a sacred trust that gave women an unparalleled role in helping His children keep their second estate. As President J. Reuben Clark Jr. declared, motherhood is 'as divinely called, as eternally important in its place as the Priesthood itself.'" ~Sheri L. Dew?
Our children, no matter the age, learn from their parents what adults, mothers, fathers, and families do and should be. We don't simply teach our children how to successfully become adults by what we say, but the more powerful lesson comes from what we DO. Their eyes are always watching, their ears are always listening. The impact of how we live?says far more than any lecture or lesson ever could.
"Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother's image is the first that stamps itself on the unwritten page of the young child's mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security, her kiss, the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that there is love in the world."?~David O. McKay??
Our daughters need mothers so that they can know how to be wives, homemakers, and mothers someday. Our sons need mothers in order to learn how to honor, protect, and love women. And most of all, children need mothers to lead them to Christ. With our selfless love and devotion to home and family, we are showing our children how Christ loves and serves all of us.?
?We can give our children education, lessons, athletics, the arts, and material possessions, but if we do not give them faith in Christ, we have given little." ~Kevin W. Pearson
What we do every day is written into the hearts, souls and minds of our children. This is a daunting realization for any mother! I don't know any woman who is perfect, however. But when we have the conviction in our hearts that our efforts are supported and sanctified by God, we can begin to see the importance of our work as mothers. The Lord will NOT leave us alone in this noblest of causes! He sent us our children so that we could lead them back to Him.
?Every mother should endeavor to be a true artist. I do not mean by this that every woman should be a painter, sculptor, musician, poet, or writer, but the artist who will write on the table of childish innocence thoughts she will not blush to see read in the light of eternity and printed amid the archives of heaven, that the young may learn to wear them as amulets around their hearts and throw them as bulwarks around their lives, and that in the hour of temptation and trial the voices from home may linger around their paths as angels of guidance, around their steps, and be incentives to deeds of high and holy worth.? ~Francis E. W. Harper?
Serving As Christ Served?
The Savior never put himself above others. He lead with love, always thinking of others before He thought of His own needs or desires. He washed the feet of His apostles, left His mourning to teach a crowd of thousands, relieved and blessed the fishermen who had been working all night without a catch.?
Even as He hung on the cross, dying, fulfilling the ultimate moment of His divine mission on earth, He was concerned about the welfare of His mother. Indeed, He even took a moment as He hung in agony to plead with God for the forgiveness of the soldiers who had lifted Him on the cross.
The selfless work we do in our homes is a blessed opportunity to serve as Christ Himself served. There will never be fanfare, applause, monetary compensation, awards, or accolades for the work we perform in our homes. But the true rewards of motherhood lie in the hearts of our children, grandchild, and posterity for eternity. Every diaper we change, every mess we clean, every late night talk we participate in is recorded for all of heaven to see. And as we serve, we become closer to God, refined and sanctified by His work.
"And verily I say unto thee that thou shalt lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better." ~D&C 25:10?(the Lord is speaking to Emma Smith)?
As mothers, we are partners with God in bringing His children unto Him. There is no greater mission, no greater call, nothing more noble. And as mothers, we have more influence among the children in our own homes than we can have among anyone else. The impact of a mother in the home is immense, even though it may appear insignificant to the world. But to God and His plan for His children, it is an important key to His mission and purpose to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man."
??God has implanted deep in the souls of parents the truth that they cannot with impunity shirk the responsibility to protect childhood and youth. There seems to be a growing tendency to shift this responsibility from the home to outside influences, such as the school and the church. Important as these outward influences are, they never can take the place of the influence of the mother and the father.? ~David O. McKay
No one else can do the work that God has called us to do in our own homes, among our own families. Our divine mission as mothers must stand as the highest of our purposes and priorities. It is the most important mission ANY woman can fulfill, and any others pale in comparison and impact. If there are ANY other missions, purposes, careers, or hobbies that are pulling us away from the divine work of motherhood, we need to put them in their proper places in our lives
I testify this is true, in the name of our perfect example, Jesus Christ. Amen.
"God bless you, mothers. When all the victories and defeats of men's efforts are tallied, when the dust of life's battles begins to settle, when all for which we labor so hard in this world of conquest fades before our eyes, you will be there, you must be there, as the strength for a new generation, the ever-improving onward movement of the race." ~Gordon B. Hinckley
For more reading on this important topic, please see the links below:
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Public release date: 30-Jul-2012
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