Apparently I missed an important fact last night – Motion to proceed to consideration of measure was withdrawn in Senate. (consideration: CR S7554) Click on S7544 to read the text of the proceedings as they played out yesterday afternoon on the Senate floor.
At this point in time, I am not sure what this means for The MOTHER’S Act. I am disappointed in the situation and sincerely hope that this will not dampen the drive for this bill that has been building for so long now.
One of my volunteer positions is with the iVillage PPD board. (shameless plug, I know, I know!)
For quite some time now, there has been a woman posting there who has truly been struggling and I have been doing my best to be there for her and direct her towards help. Tonight she posted the following and it touched me – made my heart soar. We cannot fix anyone but ourselves but we can reach out and touch the lives of others – even when we feel that we are not and have let them down. Please don’t ever forget that –
Here’s her post:
Lauren, you are a sweetheart and this board is lucky to have you!!! It sounds as if you have helped many, many people overcome their bouts with ppd and you are truly a blessing to them and to anyone whose life you have touched.
Here is the story… it is of an urn.
Edward Fischer writes in Notre Dame Magazine (February, 1983), that a leper in Fiji followed the leading of his twisted hands. He became an internationally known artist. “My sickness I see as a gift of God leading me to my life’s work,” he said. “If it had not been for my sickness, none of these things would have happened.”
As a young girl, Jessamyn West had tuberculosis. She was so sick that she was sent away to die. During that time she developed her skill as a writer and authored numerous novels in her lifetime.
That great author Flannery O’Connor suffered numerous ailments — lupus struck her at 25 and she walked only with the aid of crutches for the final fourteen years of her life. She noted, however, that this illness narrowed her activities in such a way that she had time for the real work of her life, which was writing.
Some people succeed in spite of handicaps. Others succeed because of them. The truth is… our problems help to make us what we are. Those who suffer often learn the value of compassion. Those who struggle often learn perseverance. And those who fall down often teach others how to rise again. Our troubles can shape us in ways a care-free existence cannot.
A story is told of an Eastern village which, through the centuries, was known for its exquisitely beautiful pottery. Especially striking were its urns; high as tables, wide as chairs, they were admired around the globe for their strong form and delicate beauty.Legend has it that when each urn was apparently finished, there was one final step. The artist broke it — and then put it back together with gold filigree.
An ordinary urn was then transformed into a priceless work of art. What seemed finished wasn’t… until it was broken.
So it is with people! Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, they can be either discarded or healed. But when mended by a hand of infinite patience and love, the finished product will be a work of exquisite beauty — a life which could only reach its completeness after it was broken.
If you feel broken remember… you are a work of art! And you may not actually be complete until the pieces are reassembled and bonded with a golden filigree of love.
As most of you are aware, The MOTHER’S Act is now included in S. 3297, the Advancing of America’s Priorities Act. This Act was discussed on the floor of the Senate today with a vote taken regarding a motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to consider S. 3297. Basically, this would put a time limit on the consideration of a bill or other matter to avoid a fillibuster. If invoked, cloture limits discussion of a particular matter to only 30 additional hours, however, in order to be invoked, three-fifths of the full Senate or 60 total votes must be cast in favor of this. Cloture failed to pass just shy of the 60 votes needed – 52 were in favor, 40 were not, and 8 (including our two presidential candidates) did not vote.
The Senate will reconvene in the morning at 9am EST to further discuss S. 3297. You can watch live on CSpan 2. (Believe it or not, my daughters actually watched this with me this afternoon for more than 15 minutes! That seemed to be the tolerance level at which they started whining and fussing for me to turn on Diego. I managed to squeeze in another 5 minutes though)
The 40 Senators who voted Nay are listed below. If any of these Senators are yours, please email them, call them, let them know that they cannot let the MOTHER’S Act be held up any longer – we need this bill!
Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bennett (R-UT)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Collins (R-ME)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Domenici (R-NM)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Wicker (R-MS)
645a – wake up, Chris leaves for work.
646a – restroom
650a – take dogs outside
7a- back inside to fix Cameron’s bottle, realize Charlotte needs to be cleaned up b/c of poopy
705a – finish cleaning charlotte up, warm up Cameron’s bottle, go to get Cameron.
706a – Cameron is soaked in pee and full diaper includes poopy.
707 – rush Cameron to bathroom with Alli opening doors so I don’t have to touch the pee pee.
730 – finished with Cameron’s bath, new diaper, feeding him his bottle in living room as the girls watch The Upside Down Show. (TUDS)
745a – Cameron finishes his bottle and spits up. Fun. He’s particularly fussy this morning – who wouldn’t be after waking up soaked through in pee?
8a – TUDS finishes and we move to Cameron’s room. Run to get fresh sheets, make his bed, lay him down. He’s still crying but we go to fix breakfast. The girls are swarming now, I think they wanted to climb up me or something.
830a – finally get to sit down to eat breakfast. Kashi’s Mountain Medly Granola is YUM.
9a -Finished with breakfast, girls play with play-doh and I clean up the kitchen, get laundry going, dishes started, trash bagged up.
930a – sitting down to watch Monsters, Inc. as I work on the computer.
Was supposed to walk this morning but given the unexpected turn of events, did not get a chance to do so – and now it’s nearly 80 degrees here. Planning on doing some Pilates once everyone is down for nap to make up for not walking.
Right now, I’m just grateful for the calm.
Just a warning that the following may be a bit rough for those of you who are still in the throes of PPD.
On July 25, 1946, in Monroe, GA, a tragedy occured. Two couples were ripped from their vehicles by a group of unmasked white men, attacked, killed, and lynched. This incident is known as the Moore’s Ford lynching and apparently for the past three years in Walton County, GA, at the location of this horrific event, there has been a staged re-enactment which is sponsored by the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials. One of the women was seven months pregnant when she was brutally murdered and this year they gave her unborn baby a name – Justice.
The re-enactment is a “call for justice” for the case as it is still unsolved despite intense investigation and discovery of a potential lead just this past year. The publicity surrounding this event has caused additional leads to crop up and I sincerely hope they catch the guilty parties.
However, I do not agree at all with how they are commemorating the event. Is it necessary to recreate such a horrid crime? Why not do this with all crimes? Where would it stop? I understand the need to remember and to pay homage to the tragedy but is this the proper manner in which to do so? As I read this story in my local paper last night, I could only shake and hold back with mighty strength my anger and utter disbelief that this had occurred not so far away from where I now live. It certainly struck a chord and continues to do so. My heart goes out to their families and perhaps this is a way for them to seek closure – who am I to judge in what manner they choose to do so? And judging I am not doing – I am merely voicing my opinion that this is a very unusual manner in which to pay homage to the demise of these two couples. Let them rest in peace. Release the information, hold a poetry reading or a choral concert – don’t re-enact the crime. Attract the bees with the honey!