Gratitude is Womenzwerk

Cliche it may be, but today's about gratitudes. Here are mine:

• I'm grateful that I'm not having the big dinner at my house today. I bought a veggie tray at the grocery store and have never been more grateful for my sister-in-law!

• I'm grateful for my Teacher and the opportunity to learn and be. I'm grateful for my students and the students yet to come.
  

• I'm grateful for a fresh start and a new beginning, finally starting my life's work at 51.

• I'm grateful that this isn't last year. Enough said.

• I'm grateful for having my purse stolen last month, for having it returned in the way that it was and the timing that it was and for the lessons I learned along the way.

• I'm grateful that Detroit is still on the map with enough energy to support our Lions on yet another Thanksgiving Day. Like the Lions...we Michiganders are survivors.
• I'm grateful for my wonderful network of family, friends and colleagues who showed me the grace of connectedness this year.
• I'm grateful that my family is safe and sound this holiday. Even if they are a little out there, I'm glad everyone's OK including Buckeye, in the hospital this holiday but recovering.
  
• I'm grateful that women everywhere have once again made it possible for us to celebrate this day.
• I'm grateful that it's not a white Thanksgiving.
  
• And I'm grateful for sweat pants and jammies at the end of a long day, month or year.

I hope that gratitude is becoming a daily habit as part of our centering and becoming. Happy Thanksgiving!
Is daily gratitude part of your morning or evening routine?

Now health is Womenzwerk?

Just how much can we take on when it comes to health care?

This has been a very interesting week for women and health. We find out that everything we thought about mammograms and pap smears isn't true. And we have our greatest fears confirmed about the loyalty of our spouses if we ever do get seriously ill ( http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/11/seriously-ill-women-face-higher-risk-of-partner-abandonment-compared-to-men.html) .

It's all a little much. So let's see if I get this right. Throughout my lifetime now I need to keep track of a complex series of recommendations regarding appropriate "female" tests. I need to determine if I'm "at risk" which puts me in a different category than other women. I need to decide when and how often I feel I really need medical tests and if I'm not getting tested, how often I really need to see my physician at all. In a way, it's liberating, it puts health care in my hands and frees me of any need to see a physician if I feel fine. After all, the Universe knows that action follows thought. If the fear of getting life threatening illness drives us to the doctor once a year, that ultimately could bring it on based on the laws of nature. I guess I'm good with all of that other than the vast choices and options this adds to our already full brains, hearts and lives. The sheer responsibility of putting our health in our own hands (which, frankly, it's always been) may be the tipping point in already stressed out, overloaded lives. Never mind that we will also be advising our girlfriends, sisters, mothers and daughters as they ask for help with their choices. We're in this together.

But when we combine this with the documentation of what we've always known about male spouses, it all seems like just too much coincidence for one week. What is the universe trying to tell us? In case you didn't hit the link above, the news about spouses is that they simply do abandon their sick wives at a significantly high rate (20.8%) and that makes men six times more likely to abandon their life-threatened partners than women. So adding this up then, we can conclude that we are not just making decisions regarding our health but also decisions regarding the very stability of our family now. PLEASE...we know women hold up the world, but this is getting crazy.

It was an interesting health news week for sure. If all this is becoming overwhelming to you, you are not alone. The only thing left to do is surrender it all to the Universe and live our lives. Hopefully healthfully and with longevity and with spouses at our sides!

So, what do you think....is Womenzwerk getting overwhelming? How are you coping?