Second, on Mother's Day, I told the story of my mother - her passion for cardmaking, how she started our church card ministry and that I "miss her like crazy". Thank you to all of you who have left such kind and caring comments. But there was more to the story that I just didn't want to tell on Mother's Day.
Today is actually the anniversary of my mother's death. She died of a heart attack. What we did not know at the time is how different a woman's heart attack symptoms can be from a man's. My mom actually had her heart attack on Mother's Day. The only symptom was extremely severe back pain, so extreme that my South Dakota farm-stock, never-ever-see-a-doctor-when-you-can-just-tough-it-out mother was actually going to go to a doctor the next day. But she woke up the next day feeling fine so never sought medical care. My mom always overdid things and her back pain could have been related to carrying some heavy boxes the day before, so we didn't think a thing of it. And that's what I want to say today. Take a moment and read this article on heart attack symptoms in women. The article says, "Even though heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, women often chalk up the symptoms to less life-threatening conditions like acid reflux, the flu or normal aging." This article just briefly mentions back pain but we also don't know what else my mom was feeling - she just wasn't one to talk about her aches and pains. Don't ignore symptoms, but also remember the key word is "extreme" so you don't have to worry every single day. If you have any concerns, also check out Go Red for Women for risk factors, heart healthy foods, lifestyle changes and other actions you can take to increase awareness of and fight against heart disease in women.
And...one last reason....almost a year ago now I asked for advice as to how you were all using your cards. Due to a very negative situation, my family chose to leave our church home of sixteen years, which sadly, also meant leaving the church cardmaking ministry. Your advice poured in but it's taken me this long to move on from the emotions of the situation and, in the meantime, I have created two very large boxes of cards without a home.
So many of you mentioned Operation Write Home. What an amazing group!! Their mission is:
Supporting our nation's armed forces by sending blank handmade greeting cards to write home on, as well as "AnyHero" cards of gratitude to encourage them.OWH recently sent their 2 millionth card! They created a video commemorating the moment - I dare you to watch this without a box of kleenex nearby.
They are a well-organized group that has the process down perfectly. There are rules, but they all make sense - for example, would you have guessed that a single fleck of glitter that drops from a greeting card onto a soldier's uniform could be picked up by night-vision goggle and be dangerous - so NO glitter on the cards!! I already have my OWH stamp for the back of my card. And I have a large quantity of envelopes coming that OWH gets us at a discount. There's also a huge Memorial weekend blog hop that you can check out here. The OWH blogs are full of challenges and care sketches and thank you's from soldiers.
I'm joining in - and this "Miss You Like Crazy" card is my first official card!!
I know...too many words today and too few cards...thanks for sticking with me!
- Stamps: Verve Hope Blooms
- Paper: Papertrey Ink Kraft and Sweet Blush, My Mind's Eye the sweetest thing Lavender 6x6 pad
- Ink: Versamark
- Accessories: My Mind's Eye the sweetest thing Lavender Wood & Chip buttons, Zing white embossing powder, crochet thread
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