Wear Red on February 6th to fight heart disease. You CAN make a difference.

Next Friday, February 6th, I want to encourage all women, men, and children to Go Red For Women by celebrating National Go Red Day. Ask the majority of women (or men) out there what the number one killer of women is, and my guess is that you'll hear "cancer". They'd be wrong.

This is a subject near and dear to my heart - no pun intended. I am very closely involved with the non-medical side of the heart, and work towards training as many people as possible in CPR. For the first time in my life, I work a job (which is more than a job to me) where my actions have the ability to help save someone's life, even if it's in an indirect way. I have heard stories from my co-workers, from random customers on the telephone, and from volunteers - stories about how my organization has made a difference, even if the stories don't always have a happy ending. I tend to remember the positive stories more than the losses, but I don't forget those. Because even those losses make a difference.

I remember the day we received a note from the grieving parents not three weeks after their young son's death. It was the first time that I was brought to tears by a letter - their son was only a little older than mine, and I couldn't even fathom the type of devastation they were feeling. Even in their desperate, terrible grief, they wanted their son to be remembered and sent us a donation in his name. I still remember his name. And I still remember the selflessness of his parents. Even though I never met any of them, I will never, ever forget them.

Then there's Alex. Alex is a gentleman on the board of directors in my old office. He was the first heart transplant recipient in the area, and he taught me more than I can ever put into words. No matter how bad my day had gone, the moment he showed up for a meeting, I had a smile on my face. He is an exuberant, amazing, and inspiring man who always replied to my "How are you?" with "I'm blessed. So blessed.", and I have no doubt that he meant it every single time. I'm not an incredibly religious person, but Alex made me want to trust in God more and more every time I met him.

I love what I do. I love what my organization does. And I love the fact that one day, even my tiny little role in what we do may allow a mother to spend another twenty years with her children, or a child to achieve the wonderful dreams that his parents have for him. Even when I'm paper-pushing, I'm making a difference in someone's life, even if I may never meet them or even know that I've made that difference.

So, I urge everyone to wear red on February 6th to show your support in the fight against heart disease. Someday, when a family member is still around because of the amazing research and work done to eradicate heart disease from the world, you'll be glad you did.

So this is the first post...better make it a good one.

If you know me, you know I'm married to Gus, who drives me nuts sometimes, but I love the guy. I have a 2 1/2 year old son named Bennett who is perfect, wonderful, maddening, adorable, crazy, and beautiful. We have two cats, Oscar and Emmy. Oscar believes he is Henry VIII reincarnated, as he believes everyone should cater to his every whim, while Emmy is treated like a princess (although she's afraid of everything, including dust).

We live in Virginia, having relocated from Ohio about six months ago for my job (at a major non-profit - I absolutely love my job). We're trying to sell our house in Ohio, and with the housing market tanked, we're now trying to rent the house. We have a few leads, so hopefully, it will have residents very shortly. At the moment, we're bunking with my parents while we scope out houses to rent. We're looking forward to being in our own place again, and my domestic goddess instincts have been busy planning a new look for our new place.

So, that's enough background info. Let's talk about my kid. My friends will tell you that I don't talk about him nearly enough. (Yes, that was sarcasm.) This morning was my day to get up with him. Gus and I alternate weekend mornings, and while Sunday isn't my favorite morning to get up early, it's enjoyable most of the time.

This morning, Ben woke up around 7, which is a major improvement over yesterday's 6:20 AM (which luckily, fell to Gus to field). We came downstairs, and he sacked out on the couch for about a half hour during the Wiggles. He's getting over mono (yeah, two-year-olds can get mono. I had no idea, either.), so while he's watching a bit too much TV lately, it gets him to rest. With him passed out on the couch, I took about ten minutes and fell asleep in the recliner, doing my best imitation of Gus at 10 PM on any given night. It was peaceful and gave me that quick boost I needed for the rest of the morning. After a breakfast of cinnamon toast and applesauce, Ben and I hung out, sang our ABCs, and drew pictures of the cats. He indulged me in my favorite Sunday morning pasttime - reading the sales flyers and scoping out coupons.

Today was one of those days where I didn't mind waking up at 7 AM. Even one snuggle is worth every second of lost sleep.