The monkey bars won!

On Friday my phone rang, the dreaded call from the nurses office at school. 

Our third day into kindergarten and it was 5-year-old vs monkey bars. The monkey bars won. 

We took her as swiftly as we could to the ER and found out that she had broken her elbow and would require surgery and two pins, which earned her an overnight at the hospital! If this wasn't bad enough, the poor kid turned six two days later, and we had to cancel her party with her friends for the following day! 

There is NOTHING worse than seeing your child in any sort of pain, but to have her undergo such a dramatic injury, I wish I could have traded with her. As a parent we try our best to keep our kids safe, but we cannot protect them all of the time. 

She handled the situation so wonderfully. She was far braver than I ever would have been. In fact, she didn't shed a single tear once we left school. Even after hearing the news about her party, receiving several X-rays, exams and an IV. Wow! 

So while this wasn't exactly how I had planned on kicking off the new school year, one very positive thing has come from this. When something bad strikes, we realized how blessed we are to have the people we do around us. The outpouring of support and love certainly helped this momma feel better, but also helped ease our daughter's pain too. 

There is no way to prepare for something like this, but I will say that we felt like we were in great hands with all of the professionals at Gundersen Health System. The nurses even threw her a birthday party in the hospital, complete with a wrapped gift and a cupcake with a candle! 

So now that she is rockin' her hot pink and purple cast, we are back into the swing of things at school. She is handling the cast and change of doing things left-handed so wonderfully. Although we didn't begin exactly as planned, our school year is now well under way and moving forward nicely. 

 We are just hoping the only monkeys we encounter from now on are at the zoo.

Steppin' Out in Pink

Are you in the mood to kick some butt? Really stick it to something and give it a swift kick? 

Well you can get a chance to do just that this upcoming Saturday, September 7th. The thing you can put a boot, shoe, or whatever to is called cancer. The big ugly C and it's going to take a bit of a beating this Saturday for the Steppin' Out in Pink event at Gundersen Health System. 

This is an annual fundraiser to show your support for those who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and to raise money for research. I have a good friend who was diagnosed just this July, another last year. How many of us can name someone close who has had to deal with this menacing disease? It's time to dig out your best pink, put your walking shoes on and go support these courageous women as they undertake the battle of their lives. My husband and I took our kids last year and it was a very festive event, one the entire family can enjoy. If you can't make it to the actual event or participate in the walk, donations are greatly appreciated. Teams are formed and you can sponsor a group walking on behalf of someone's mother, wife, sister or best friend. And how rewarding does it feel to kick some serious butt, especially when the one in particular is cancer's backside?

For more information on this fantastic event please visit Steppin' Out in Pink.

Balancing the seven dimensions of wellness

I know I've written before about the value of friendship and how crucial good people in our lives are. It can encompass all of the seven dimensions of wellness of Balance Your Seven..

When we have good folks that populate our circle we are more enriched and blossom. 

I recently took a walk with one of these people who have helped to enrich my life. We had a great chat, and then I grew sad. I have recently begun to realize how many of these people from my past I have lost contact with. For one reason or another I have let many important friendships drift away to the point I no longer know anything about those people any longer. This fact saddens me. 

Why does this happen? In my case it is partly a result of several moves in recent years, and children who occupy the majority of my time. But this is really no excuse. I have decided to be a bit more proactive and reach out to those who I've drifted from. I know several of us have changed, and maybe people come into our lives for only a short time and for a certain reason. This helps shape who we are as individuals. 

I was with a girlfriend recently who I only see maybe once a year. I realized that I don't know her as well as I thought I did, and the side to her that I recently saw was not my favorite. She is at a stressful period in her life and this highlighted a very forceful, negative part of her personality. Maybe it's a good thing we don't live next door to one another and only get together briefly. I told my walking companion this and she too has experienced a similar "falling out" of many friends. I guess this is a lesson in holding those you hold dear very close. We must not take for granted our relationships, but as I've found it might be better that certain people live several states away!

Please visit balanceyour7.com to see how we can enrich these areas in our lives.