WELLNESS

When I was a kid, I couldn’t go to sleep unless I completed a very specific set of nightly routines. I was inexplicably terrified of water dripping from the bathroom tap, so I worked at tightening the faucet until I was sure I was safe. The bathroom light switch had to be flicked on and off exactly 10 times. Each item on my shelves and desk needed to be perfectly aligned and I felt compelled to yell, “Goodnight Ma!”, from my bed at least a dozen times.

I was diagnosed with a BRCA2 gene mutation (breast and ovarian cancer gene) in December 2008. My lifetime risk of developing breast cancer was 87%, my risk of ovarian cancer; 45%. Now, I ask you, if you knew your chance of winning the lotto was 87%, how often would you buy a ticket? Or if the pilot on your flight told you that you had an 87% chance of crashing, would you board?

That’s how I felt. No cancer, but stuck between a rock and a hard place. This disease had already claimed so many of my family members; I couldn’t let it get me too. Finding out I had this mutated gene gave me no choice but to take control and deal cancer a pre-emptive strike! I was going to do my best to prevent it as scary as it might be. I wanted to live a long life and be there for my children, my husband and myself.

Happy Monday, girls! We’re back in the groove today. The kids finally went back to school after last week’s Jewish holidays, and I went back to the gym (five pounds heavier due to endless chopped liver, brisket and gefilte fish).

You might recall we had one of my favorite guest bloggers on this site, Janet Tarasofsky. Her post titled 525,600 Minutes to Single Motherhood began like this:

Single mothers are created in all different ways– some through divorce, some by choice and some by pure chance. I struggle to decide exactly which category I fall into… perhaps you can help me to decide?

I have always prided myself on being a strong, independent, courageous woman. It was the way I was raised. Or rather, it is the direct result of practically raising myself, with parents who were too busy “surviving,” to really pay attention. Either way, my two sisters and I only know from hard work and trudging along, and have all as a result, ended up fairly well off because of it.

Sunday is Mother’s Day- a day to celebrate and honor mothers everywhere. Today is not your typical WomenOnTheFence.com Mother’s Day blog post. No, today, I decided to spotlight Portage, a substance abuse rehabilitation facility with a special Mother-Child program, helping mothers and children with addiction. I wanted desperately to give some of these nameless women who have fallen through the cracks, a voice for Mother’s Day.

I have to give credit my father, for it was his idea to do a mother’s day segment on these women. My dad is on the board Portage, one of Canada’s leading substance abuse rehabilitation facilities with locations across the country, and he told me about all the trailblazing work they are doing in the arena of addiction. Unique to Portage, they have en entirely separate Mother-Child facility where substance addicted mothers can live with their babies, and where newborns who are born drug-addicted can safely undergo drug withdrawal and not have to be separated from their mother. I walked the halls and saw these mothers and their children, and heard their stories. I was nervous going in, but so eager to hear the stories and showcase Portage’s work in this arena. I was only hoping I would do a good enough job to do their organization justice. I sat down with the facilitators who run Portage and asked them about what makes them so successful at what they do.

So I’ve been thinking a lot about my health lately as I approach 40 and notice huge changes in my body. I was the girl you didn’t like– the girl who ate whatever she wanted and the food just didn’t stick. Well, those days are over and I have officially landed on planet earth to join the rest of the world. It’s sobering, to say the least. Now, all of a sudden, no matter WHAT I eat, healthy food included, it ALL sticks. But I’m going down with a fight, yo.

Yesterday, I decided to spring for the $35 bucks that I was too cheap to do before. I’ve been dying to get Miss “Conscious Uncoupling” herself, Gwyneth Paltrow’s latest cookbook, It’s All Good. I’ve heard wonderful things about it, and I am really trying to be even more mindful when it comes to health than ever before. All jokes aside, I have always been a mindful, healthy eater. My mom raised me on organic food and whole grains decades ago, before people even talked about it. But now, I’m really tuning in.

These days it’s rare to meet someone who doesn’t use Facebook. In ten years flat (Facebook was only born in 2004) it has become a normal part of most people’s lives. 665 million daily, to be exact, which translates into more than one in every thirteen people on our planet.

Last week, Maria Shriver had a very interesting segment on TODAY. It was called, “The ‘Mommy Juice’ Trend: How Do You Know When You Have a Problem?”

Oh my goodness, the truth is, I wasn’t planning on blogging today, but after seeing this, I had to share. Today is International Day of Happiness, and watching this made me, well… HAPPY! And I know it will make you happy too.
Watch this cover of Pharrell’s hit HAPPY, sung by the Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences choir. Let’s just hope these kids are the future of Detroit. I’m in love.