TIGERS The Exhibition: Tracking a Legend

So, before all the drama due to my mom's hospitalization, Theo, my niece Sibelle and my Dad and I all went down to South Street Seaport.  I hadn't been there in years, and Theo had never been there before. 

Located there at Pier 17, TIGERS The Exhibition: Tracking a Legend was a great way to celebrate my Dad's 60th birthday. 

The great thing about this exhibit is that it reaches those experiencing it in more than just a visual manner; the hands-on components of the exhibit are extremely inviting to children of all ages:

(Notice the older child in the black jacket looking on wishing he could get in on the action.  Notice how the younger children ignore him; kids can be so cruel.)

  

Besides being hands-on, TIGERS The Exhibition: Tracking a Legend is also "smells-on" as well; throughout the exhibit there are little stations where you can track the Tigers through scent.

Whoo-weee!  Those "Slide 'n Sniff" stations are potent, so sniff lightly.  I took a big ol' whiff, even after my niece told me how potent they were, and realized I don't listen to directions well.  Either that or a few doses of my allergy medicine has given me a brand new nose.

The 'Talk Like A Tiger' area was fun too. I didn't know that tigers actually communicate with each other verbally. In this section, after hearing a specific sound made either by a tiger, a tigress or a tiger cub (each sound specifiying a different meaning), you got to record yourself mimicking the sound and then they compare the two and let you know if you did a good job.  I didn't do so bad, if I do say so myself.

Another great component of the exhibit was the climbing wall.  The main point to this area is to teach team-building skills, but seeing as my back isn't in any shape to go climbing and there was no way on earth my Dad was going to go climbing, my niece was on her own.  She had a blast though!

My favorite part of the exhibit was the short film at the end, which is an excerpt of the full-length documentary made by Carol Amore, which created a sense of sympathy and concern for these amazing creatures.  The fact that there were once 40,000 tigers in the Indian jungle, and now there are less than 3,000 made me so very sad.  Exhibits like these are one way to galvanize people into making a difference and keeping tigers and other endangered animals from disappearing altogether.

This exhibit will run from now until January 15, 2011, so for those of you who do not live in New York City but plan on taking a trip here before mid-January 2011, make sure you visit it.  It is great for kids 3 and up (although Theo enjoyed it and he's only 2 and a half).  The older the child the more they will get out of its conservation significance, but even the youngest child will enjoy the hands-on (and smells-on) fun.  Go to http://www.tigersnyc.com/ for more information, or http://www.ticketmaster.com/ \ 800-745-3000 for tickets.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day 2010 will mean even more than any other Mother's Day. This May 9th will remind me that I am lucky to have a mother who is alive and well. These last few days have been really scary, and I'm truly grateful that my mom is still here. I'm always so concerned with my dad's health that it never occurred to me that my mom's life could be in danger in the blink of an eye. But of course it can - all of our lives can. We need to appreciate those special people in our lives while they are still here.
This Mother's Day, even if maybe you haven't had the best relationship with your mom for whatever reasons, make sure to connect with her and thank her for giving you life, and for doing the best she could while raising you. If you are one of the people who have unfortunately lost their mothers, please spend Mother's Day feeling fortunate in knowing that you were loved, so very loved - and blessed to have personally known the special love that can only come from a Mother.

My Mom Is In The Hospital

My mom went in to the hospital on Friday afternoon due to severe headaches and nausea. After a day of several tests they found two bleeds in her brain late on Saturday - tiny and located on the very top surface of the brain, the "best" place to have bleeds if you're going to have them. After a slightly invasive procedure yesterday it was determined that because they were neither aneurysms nor fistulas that they were not in need of treatment nor was there anything that could be done for/about them. She's still there, even though they had hoped she could be discharged by this evening.
I'm really, really exhausted. On so many levels.

Quick Beautifying Tips For Mamas On The Go

One of my best friends in the whole world, Meghan, is a makeup artist and a beauty blogger at Glitter Glam NYC (along with many other fabulous things), and after a conversation we had recently she said she would gladly help moms like me who are a) makeup-applicating challenged and, b) time challenged.  When you aren't makeup savvy and you don't have more than five minutes to get it together before your kid(s) start pulling at you, looking glamorous can start to seem like nothing more than a dream.  Luckily for you, I have a best friend who is not only a makeup artist, but a NYC Fashion Week, Italian Vogue, Fran Liebowitz-caliber makeup artist!

For her tips on what you can do in just FOUR minutes to make yourself look NYC fabulous, check out her latest post: http://glitterglamnyc.blogspot.com/2010/04/ready-set-get-gorgeous-in-4-minutes-or.html.  If you try out her tips and you love them (which I'm sure you will), be sure to leave her a comment - and tell her that her BFF Issa sent you.  Xoxo!

Top 10 Pregnancy Fears (and Why You Probably Shouldn't Worry)

TheBump.com just posted a great article about the top 10 pregnancy fears most women go through while expecting and the reasons why you shouldn't bother entertaining those fears.  The great thing about this article?  It not only brings real fears to the table admitted to by real moms, but TheBump.com addresses those fears and sheds light on how likely they really are.  Also?  They have some great mom bloggers talking about what their fears were while pregnant.  And, uhhhm, ahem, I'm one of the bloggers in the article.  :-)  Check the article out here!

Good News, Crappy News and Crappier News

My cyst pain had come back and I was scared I would finally have to go ahead with the hysterectomy that's been looming ahead as a possible outcome of a 16 year battle with aggressive ovarian and uterine cysts.  Good news?  My recent sonogram shows that the cysts have shrunk and I am not in need of treatment at this time.  Yay!!!

Crappy news?  There isn't anything I can do about the pain, it will probably last for the rest of my life, and I should probably steer clear of strong pain killers - so Motrin is all I can take, which won't always take away all of the pain.  Boooo!!!

Crappier news?  My back went out again.  I am going to the doctor's again in the next few days but they are saying that it "sounds like" a pinched sciatic nerve.  The pain is almost more than I can bear.  BOOOOOO!!!

Good thing I'm a tough ol' broad.

Read My Essay In See Mom Run!

You can read my humorous essay about being a harried mom (which mom isn't, right?), and the interesting position Theo put me in during an important telephone interview for my Your Single Parenting site in the book See Mom Run!  It's a hilarious book chock-filled with essays from mom bloggers from all over the country.  You can click on the link to the left and get it now - you'll be gald you did!

Hey Universe, Gimme A Break!

My poor Theo inherited Seasonal Allergies from me, so we've spent the past week in abject misery. And a week before that my back went out and I spent a few days bedridden - with a 2 year old. Then there was that rollercoaster ride of the emotional fallout in dealing with Theo's father two weeks ago. Oh, yeah, and a couple weeks before that there was that little trip to the hospital.

ENOUGH!

I'm done, Universe. Thanks for helping me to remember how resilient I am. I GET IT. Enough. I'm ready for some good times, good luck, and good energy to come my way in abundance, so thank you, very, very much for delivering.

Living Without Resentment

I am re-reading Dr. Wayne Dyer's analysis of the Tao Te Ching, "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life", and it is very powerful stuff. I suggest going out and getting a copy, as it provides much needed clarity and peace. The 79th verse of the Tao Te Ching, on living without resentment, is extremely relevant to me now, and may be to you as well, so I will share it with you here:

"After a bitter quarrel, some resentment remains.
What can one do about it?
Being content with what you have is always best in the end.

Someone must risk returning injury with kindness,
or hostility will never turn to goodwill.
So the wise always give without expecting gratitude.

One with true virtue
always seeks a way to give.
One who lacks true virtue
always seeks a way to get.
To the giver comes the fullness of life;
to the taker, just an empty hand."

Dr. Dyer goes on to fully analyze and explain these 2,500 year old words so that they are easier to apply to our daily lives, but here's a snippet of it that may help: Silently reciting, "Where there is injury, let me bring pardon", will help you become a giver of forgiveness (to them and to you as well). Bring love to hate, light to darkness, and pardon to injury. Doing this daily will help overcome one's ego and its demands, and help us to know "the fullness of life"!

Recovering From A Bad Moment

Yesterday Theo's father and I had a bad couple of minutes when he came to get Theo for a long overdue visitation. I feel horrible because it happened in front of Theo, something I hoped would never transpire. I got some great support from fellow single moms, especially from one who shares my Faith, and I'd like to share what I learned from these wonderful women by sharing an email I just sent to a friend summarizing the lessons I was painfully reminded of through this ordeal. This is the email I sent her:

So, as a Buddhist, you'd think I'd be able to keep it together when Theo's father is being difficult and employ detachment. Unfortunately, I'm a Taurus and a Mother, so I get pretty ferocious when he messes with what I think is best for my kid. Here are things that I already knew, but needed reminding of yesterday (and may need repeated reminding of over the next 19 yrs):

- When he's being difficult, it's usually all a show of male pride and flexing in that he's a "parent" too. Removing yourself from anger allows you to see how under-developed his ability to be fully conscious is and to try (hard part coming up...) to have compassion for where he's at in his psychological and spiritual development.
-State your piece with no emotion, then document any transgressions and keep records in case necessary for future (court, etc.).
-Be as fully detached from outcomes as possible and trust that even pain and adversity will make your child a more enlightened person.
-If your child is present, always choose the "high road", even if it means going against what you believe (so damn hard for me. Was always taught to fight for what I believe in). Your ability to retain self-respect by employing grace instead of force will ensure your child's sense of security and lessen your own need for anger and/or retribution. If the issue needs to be further handled, do so at a later time when your child is not present.
- Loss of control is scary, but you cannot control the actions of others, ever. Surrendering the need to control the situation (any situation), will go a long way to giving you peace of mind and removing his ability to rattle you.

Sometimes you will fail, as I did yesterday. But in failure there are these great seeds of insight. I know that I will never, EVER, allow myself to resort to force over grace in front of my child again. Painful lesson, but a lesson well-learned.