Reclaiming Birth: Voices Against Medicalization

Reclaiming Birth: Voices Against Medicalization

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The Myth that the hospital is necessary and helps a woman give birth is a fabrication. But, (almost) everyone believes it. It is profitable for the hospiital and reassures the woman that she is in good hands. Doctors, hospitals, and even nurses have used fear to perpetuate this and attain “compliance”. This idea has infiltrated our society from top to bottom. There is a deep fear among women about their ability to give birth to their babies. “Help! Someone help…

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The Importance of Embracing Traditional Family Roles

The Importance of Embracing Traditional Family Roles

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The wonder of the “NOT Working Woman.” A new friend recently emailed me, saying, “I don’t work. We can meet whenever you like.” That is a rare statement these days. It is such a relief to meet someone who does NOT work… I know that sounds weird.  Lately, however, I have been thinking about the harm done to women by the “work culture” and the idea that they MUST have a career. It has been hard on families, hardest of…

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The Decline of Manners: Are We Losing Politeness?

The Decline of Manners: Are We Losing Politeness?

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Manners seem to be a thing of the past: Who remembers Emily Post? She was once the arbiter of all things “polite.” Now, most people would not recognize the name. Someone who was once so well-known and familiar has nearly disappeared from polite conversation. Of course, the other thing that has disappeared is polite conversation. People no longer know how to have a conversation. They text or perhaps FaceTime. Due to constant screen viewing, young people are growing up with…

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Help! I Am Drowning in Photos

Help! I Am Drowning in Photos

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For two years, I have been trying to get organized. Help!!! Is the constant refrain in my brain. I know it is beyond my powers to do this alone. Prayer helps because: Actually, I got help. A miracle occurred, and someone told me about a family who might have a member who could help me as an assistant.So we got together; I interviewed this young person and almost immediately determined that she was one of the few people in the…

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Are You Healthy?

Are You Healthy?

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Are you healthy? Do you go to doctors regularly? Did you get the covid shot? Do you know anything about the health statistics in the United States of America? The statistics are abysmal. We need to do something about it. I wish a man like Elon Musk could revamp our medical system in the USA. It is a mess. It is a system that treats symptoms and never cures anything. What are the most common diseases, do you know? We…

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Have You Driven A Tesla?

Have You Driven A Tesla?

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It happened organically. My 11-year-old grandson and I had been shopping for Legos when we drove past the brand-new Tesla Dealership at Stonefield in Charlottesville, VA. It is in the same shopping center and shares the same parking lot as Trader Joe’s, where I often shop for groceries. A very familiar place to me, except for this new store. They only opened up last Friday, eight days before this. 

So seeing the Tesla cars outside of this storefront was new…

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Allergy Season

Allergy Season

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Spring brings on allergy season. Some people sneeze their way through these months untilJune. Some people suffer terribly.There are many over-the-counter or prescription remedies. I prefer a homeopathic melt-under-the-tongue tablet from Boiron called Allergy Relief.It has zero side effects, no prescription needed, and I order it from Amazon.  Many years ago, I realized that every year I got a cold at the same time, almost to the day. This was an annual nuisance of having fits of sneezing and a…

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Engagement Parties are Fun!

Engagement Parties are Fun!

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The day before Easter, we had a beautiful engagement party at my house for my granddaughter, Isabelle, and her fiancé, Grayson.  About 75 guests gathered for drinks and charcuterie, pizzas, and dancing from 5:00 p.m., on into the evening. A tent over the back terrace doubled the space for entertaining. A disc jockey situated at one end of the terrace provided cheerful, danceable music; no rap, thank goodness!  Inside the house, the gleaming wood surface of the dining room table…

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Birthing Babies, Do You Know How?

Birthing Babies, Do You Know How?

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Childbirth is magical. The power of it, the mystical quality, along with the raw animal instinct, is never forgotten. My births taught me more than anything else ever has about my body and my ability to do whatever I needed to. Try to keep birth out of the hospital, where they take control of you and your body. Women know how to give birth to a baby instinctively. But it has almost been “trained out of us” by a constant…

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Be a Trad Wife; it is a lot of fun.

Be a Trad Wife; it is a lot of fun.

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All I ever wanted was to get married and have children. Somehow, this idea has become discredited. Why? Is this a conspiracy? How did the thing that has been the most important in the survival of the human race become “unfashionable”? Where would the world be without the family unit? No one ever told me when I was young that there was anything I could not do as a woman. When speaking with my father about my opportunities, I mentioned…

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Rethinking Vaccine Schedules: What Parents Should Know

Rethinking Vaccine Schedules: What Parents Should Know

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My entire family is vaxxed according to the rules of the time we were born. I have fewer than my children. They have fewer than their children ( my grandchildren). Have you ever questioned the large number of immunizations the pediatrician assumes you will allow him to give your child? Aren’t you curious to discover why there are so many more on the schedule? Do you know what diseases they are likely to be exposed to? All this information is…

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Spring is Here, Are You?

Spring is Here, Are You?

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Spring explodes early this year, with flowering trees and pops with color from the many types of spring bulbs. The daffodils and narcissus expand the size of their groups yearly; while the sun adjusts itself in the heavens at a different angle, the sky appears bluer than last month. All around me, people exclaim, “This is my favorite time of year!” New beginnings seem reasonable. Hope is in the air, and it is warm outside. Today was extraordinary. The blossoms…

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Winnie, My Wonder Horse

Winnie, My Wonder Horse

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“There is nothing better for the inside of a man than the outside of a horse.” This quote variously attributed to Henry Ward Beecher, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Lord Palmerston, and even Winston Churchill. My father bought me a pony when I was two and a half. When I was nine, he bought me a large pony and I began riding out through the countryside with other children my age and a bit older. We had no hard hats and no…

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Our Mighty Oak Tree is Fallen

Our Mighty Oak Tree is Fallen

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Underoak is no more. The Oak Tree fell over last Friday. There was not much left of it. We cut all the branches off of it years ago, even before my mother died, so this final fall was just the last small step in its demise. I grew up under that tree. My parents bought the house in 1941. It was named “Underoak” because of the tree. My father was from Texas, and trees meant a lot to him. When…

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A Relaxing Birthday Retreat at Jefferson Baths

A Relaxing Birthday Retreat at Jefferson Baths

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My daughter decided to celebrate her birthday on February 24th by taking a group of nine women to Bath County to enjoy the Jefferson Baths at Warm Springs and then to The Homestead for lunch.  What fun we had! Six of us met at a parking lot for a local club here in Charlottesville and got into a large Jeep belonging to one of my granddaughters. She was our chauffeur down to  Warm Springs and beyond. It was relaxing to…

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