Conference 2013

It's a bit more difficult to pay attention to the Conference talks with THIS GIRL around...

April Fool's - Adventures in Diaper Changing

Today's shoe-shopping adventure, and maybe the world's way of playing an April Fool's prank on me:
Lana managed to pull off one of her shoes last weekend, somewhere between the Target checkout line and home. I'm pretty sure it's good and lost in the parking lot. So today we ventured out to Payless Shoes to buy NEW shoes. She's changed half a shoe size anyway. (In case you're wondering, Payless does not carry size 4.5 toddler shoes.)
We walk in the store and the tired salesperson measures Lana's feet. Meanwhile, I smell that oh-so-familiar smell of "Quick, get me to a changing table!" (Payless does not have one of those, either.)
The tired salesperson kindly let me use their employees only bathroom in the back. No changing table and pretty shoddy looking all around. Fortunately, there are supplies on shelves inside, so I craftily used some wipe-down disposable towel for a changing pad on the floor. (I'd left my huge diaper bag at home, thinking this would be a quick trip. No such thing when you have a toddler.)
THEN I discover there is NO DIAPER in my diaper bag. Not one. They all got used yesterday. And this is not a simple diaper change--it's a messy, get-all-over-your-hands-and-baby-hands-and-anything-nearby kind of diaper. I can't just wipe and temporarily reuse the diaper she's wearing; it has to go. AND I only have two wipes. Nowhere near enough. AND she's leaked out of her diaper onto her clothes. AND I am also out of plastic bags to contain her stinky diaper before disposing of it in the employees' one and only bathroom trash can.
Perfect.
I improvised. I'll spare you the details.
Then we bought shoes. How could I NOT buy shoes after disabusing their bathroom so?
Dear Payless, please don't ban me and my baby from your store. We'll probably visit again soon, since my daughter has a habit of pulling off and tossing around her shoes.

"The Child Who Was Never Born"

Someone else wrote these words, but I'd say it the same way.

The Child who was Never Born

While trawling around net, I stumbled upon a photograph, of what for me could possibly be the most poignant and beautiful piece of sculpture I’ve ever seen.

Commissioned by sculptor Martin Hudáčeka and situated in Slovenia, it is called The Child Who Was Never Born. Although the statue is technically about abortion, it depicts the sadness and regret of the mother and the love and forgiveness from the unborn child. For me personally when I first saw it and saw its name, I immediately thought, this is for all of us women who have lost their babies.

Art is meant to be interpreted by the individual looking at it, so for me this is a genuine reaching out, reaching into the grieving hearts of mothers and letting them know, everything will be ok, there is a little person watching over us, a little person who loves us as much as we love them.

Here is the beautiful statue. I hope it touches you the way it did me.