I think Tolkien, who I believe was a Christian, had a quite nice way of putting things and I found this poem in "The Fellowship of the Ring" (Part 1 of the LOTR trilogy):

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost;
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.


In other news, my boy went to the dentist today and very much enjoyed the new toothbrush and the "Cars" sticker that he got. Mom didn't enjoy the news that he will likely be a candidate for braces at around 11-12 years old because of the shape of his lower jaw. But no cavities!!

I tried to find more raspberries at Food Lion but they were all crappy-looking. So I guess we'll have to bite the bullet and buy our fruits at least at the Teeter.

If the word "breast" or "breastfeeding" bothers you, stop here. Otherwise, keep reading. There was a segment on Good Morning America on public breastfeeding, whether people like it or not. As an OB nurse and a 15-month breastfeeder I have to weigh in.

1) There are definite advantages to breastfeeding, too many to name in one paragraph. So why aren't we encouraging more women to do it? I realize that there are mothers who can't at all or who can't breastfeed exclusively, but shouldn't we encourage those who can to do it? We encourage people to stop smoking, don't we? Why wouldn't we as a nation and a society do as much as possible to encourage other healthy habits?

2) Women can pose nearly naked in Cosmo or Hot Rod and unfortunately not too many people get in an uproar, but let a lady in public start nursing her child and she gets all kinds of nasty looks, if not comments. How hypocritical is that?

3) This country does not do nearly enough to promote it, beginning with 12 week maternity leaves for those who are fortunate enough to even get that. Most of the rest of the developed world gets at least 6 months, which is the length of time that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding...meaning nothing else, no juice, no cereal, nothing.

4) Most moms who would nurse in public do it discreetly, at least the ones I know. But don't even think about suggesting that we go in the bathroom to do it. You don't eat your lunch in there (at least I hope not) and neither will our kids.

5) Even though I firmly believe in breastfeeding, I don't make nasty comments when I see you buy or feed your child formula because I know you've probably made your choice based on what works for you. So please don't criticize me for discreetly nursing my child in public, ok?

6) Breastfeeding saved my tail (and my sanity probably) when my boy was 7 weeks old and we took the train to see Yaya and the train got stuck on the tracks behind another disabled train. We were delayed for quite a while. Can you imagine the most non-triumphant (channeling Bill & Ted) scenario had we run out of formula??

Just had to vent.