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“Change your life today. Don't gamble on the future, act now, without delay.”

Simone de Beauvoir said this.  I don't know when or under which circumstances.  I think it pertains as much today as it did when originally spoken.

I try to change my beliefs for they become my actions.  My actions, in turn, become my character.  Ultimately, my character becomes my heart.

Today I made a few simple changes in my beliefs which I will take to heart. 

However, there is one belief that I shall continue to have.  The belief that every thing happens for a reason. Every thing.  Not just good things.  Not just bad things--and thus giving folks something to help explain them--every single thing, regardless of its descriptor, happens for a reason.

The cool part is not knowing why.  Let life happen.

Make a change, if you wish.

Embrace the bad things because, in the end, it's all for a reason.

What I think is the coolest part would be looking back and seeing how all the pieces fit together. 

Maybe this post was posted to encourage you to make a change. 

If you did, please share your change.  If you didn't, please share why not. 

Act now.  Without delay.

Day Two of Blogging

I believe that one reason I was hesitant to blog was that it required time--a valuable commodity in my life--and thought.  Did I mention I try to be grammatically correct in my postings?  In other words, this blogging thing was going to be work.  It would require me to "have a life" and the one I have isn't full of social events, drama, and controversy.  Not at all. 

I also didn't want to share things "with the world" that should remain private because of the involvement of others. Dilemma--yes, drama--no.

But I've found that I do have things about which to blog.  Some are relevant to the life of Simone.  Do you think it's rather presumptuous of me to call her by her first name?  Granted, we've never met, so the possibility of a formal introduction no longer exists.  Since she's dead, I'd like to think she's not offended.  Actually, I don't think she'd give a flip, regardless of her current "status".

And that's where I am today. 

Blogging

The idea of blogging had been relatively foreign to me until a recent class at North Georgia College & State University. So, mustering my courage, I ventured into the world of blogging and began a somewhat tentative voyage. I wasn't part of the whole MySpace thing, nor did I have a great deal of computer skills, so I figured I would blog as I was so inclined.

Clearly it was not going to be a daily thing, let alone weekly. Being unfamiliar and not overly enthusiastic, my blog was going to be require minimal effort. I justified my pitiful attempts as the blog was a low priority.

So how did the blog come about?

The title came to be as a result of an award I'd won: Simone deBeauvoir Award for excellence in Femininst Theory and Practice at North Georgia College & State University. I HAD NO IDEA as to who Simone was and what she did with regard to feminist theory. The irony of being raised by a mother who believed that a woman was nothing without a man didn't escape me.

Then came the issue of actually writing/blogging. Generally speaking I figured there might be a few similarities between Ms. deBeauvoir and me, besides the obvious same gender.

This blog is now an assignment and I'm told ideally I will post at least three times a week. So much for a gradual entry into the blogging world.

I'd like to think that Simone would be proud as I trudge forward into unfamiliar territory and perhaps one day there will be an award in my name for blogging :-)

Thank you, Anna Jarvis

I had been taught that President Woodrow Wilson "invented" Mother's Day in appreciation of his mother and subsequently all mothers.

Apparently, he did not; Anna Reeves Jarvis did. Jarvis, the mother of thirteen children--only four lived to adulthood-- started the idea as a way to improve the infant mortality rate in West Virginia.

Ten years later, it becomes Mothers' Friendship Day.

In 1870, Julia Ward Howe suggests "Mother's Peace Day" with the idea that mother's should protect their sons and that war is preventable.

1873 sees the first "Mother's Day".

Anna Reeves Jarvis died on the second Sunday in May 1905 and her daughter, Anna Jarvis, organizes a memorial service for her mother in 1907. It becomes an official holiday in West Virginia in 1910.

President Wilson had made it an official holiday in 1914 and Canada joined in a year later.

Jarvis conceived the idea of "Mother's Day" for each individual family to honor their mother; it wasn't until 1915 that the idea "blossomed" and the cost of flowers--specifically white carnations, the flower used in the original gatherings in West Virginia-- skyrocketed. Card and candy industries cash in on the idea as well.

In 1922, Jarvis encouraged boycotts against florists who raise prices and then she threatens to sue NY Mother's Day Committee over its large celebration.

In 1934 the Post Office presents a commemorative stamp: of Whistler's mother!

Anna Jarvis then takes on Eleanor Roosevelt, who she accuses of using Mother's Day to benefit charities.

Jarvis died in 1948, penniless, in an asylum. She never had any children. At this time, 40 countries through out the world celebrated Mother's Day.

She never made a penny from the holiday.

Ironically, it is reported that the Florist's Exchange paid for her care.

Retailers report it as the second highest gift giving day of the year behind Christmas.

In honor of Anna Jarvis, I will send white carnations. I hope you do as well.

Thank you Anna Reeves Jarvis and Anna Jarvis for all you did.