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When I was 3 years old my parents moved from Dallas, TX to Tulsa, OK. My mom called it Tulsa, Texas for at least 10 or 15 years because she missed Texas.
I grew up in Oklahoma. I have very few memories of living in Texas and I'm not even sure if the ones I do have are from actually living there or just going back to visit.
I grew up in Tulsa. When I graduated from high school I left Tulsa for Norman and the University of Oklahoma where I because a Sooner, born and bred. I was still living in Norman on May 3, 1999 when another devastating tornado tore through.
After college I drifted around the Oklahoma City area. I lived in Oklahoma City, Midwest City, Edmond, and Moore.
I have spent my entire life in the Tornado Corridor that Popular Mechanics named one of the 8 most dangerous places to live, right alongside Haiti and the African Lake of Death.
On May 2, 2002 I was living in Oklahoma City. That tornado came so close I could hear it from my closet. In proper Oklahoman fasion, I was outside on the front porch shooting video when it touched down about a half mile away and the power flashes started.
That's what Oklahomans do. We take cover when we need to, but jump right back up and keep going.
There is a viral video going around of a woman finding her dog in the rubble of her home. (For those of you who don't speak Okie, a stool is a toilet.) The reporter from CBS asked her if she had even started to understand what happened here. Her response was, "I know exactly what happened here!"
And we do. We start from very young with tornado drills in school. Go into the hallway by the lockers, kneel down in a little ball, and put your hands over your head. All in a line just like that.
We know more about weather than the average person. In college, I helped a lot of people in their introductory Meterology classes who had come from out of state to study at the number one meterology school in the country. And I wasn't even taking that class! We know inflows and wall clouds, and updrafts. We know the names of every county and every small town. We even know what the air smells like if a storm is coming that may produce a tornado.
My kids know that when I say there is a storm coming, leave your shoes on, it means it's time to watch the weatherman.
But it's not just about tornados. It's also about people who move in from out of state and make fun of us when we say we aren't going out to drive in 3 inches of snow. Until they realize it's 1/2 an inch of snow over 2 1/2 inches of ice.
It's about the Oklahoma City Bombing, the Trail of Tears, the Land Run. Oklahoma has a rich history, and it's not all pretty.
Every spring people from all over the country flock to Oklahoma to chase storms because they are drawn by the beauty and power of nature.
And what they find is that a tornado can only feel at home in Oklahoma because that same beauty and power is found in her people.
Nothing proves this more than the tradegy in Moore. My old town. My old home destroyed.
Over the past two days I have had a lot of people checking to make sure I am safe. And I am. My family is safe. But my heart is broken.
I work for a company that owns several small town newspapers as their social media specialist for Oklahoma. I spent Sunday night and Monday night on social media reporting the storms. Reporting the devastation.
I managed to hold it together and do my job.
Until Tuesday morning. When I dropped the boys off at school. I was flooded with thoughts of those children at Plaza Towers Elementary. I was taken back to May 3, 1999 when a friend of mine and I jumped in a car and drove the 5 miles to Moore to find our friends. Make sure they were ok. Because we had no cell service. No phone service. No internet. No tv.
And I hurt. I hurt for all those people who lost everything. I hurt because I never want to drop my boys off at school and never bring them home again. I hurt because I don't understand why these things happen and I would hurt even if I did. I hurt because in the midst of all the tradegy, a woman who finds her dog can say God answered all her prayers.
When people ask me where I'm from, in the past I have always answered truthfully, but disdainfully. I'm from Oklahoma. No, it's not cool like NYC or hip like LA or cultured like Chicago or Boston or Seattle. No I don't like country music. No I don't drive a truck and no I don't live in a teepee or a log cabin. No, I don't have a horse. No, I'm not a Republican.
What the past two days have taught me is that I am proud to live here. I am proud that I live in a state where people are friendly. I am proud to live in a state that has everything from farmland to oil to museums from plains to forrests, from creeks to rivers.
I am proud to come from a state that can pull together, hurt together, rebuild together.
I am proud to be an Oklahoman.
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I have been contacted by several people asking me how they can help Oklahoma after tonight's storms.
Shawnee, OK was hit last night killing two people.
Moore, OK was hit tonight. Plaza Towers Elementary school is currently conducting a search and recovery mission for 24 missing children in kindergarten through 3rd grade. 37 are confirmed dead and that numer is expected to rise. *The death toll is now up to 51 with many children among the dead. More storms are headed their way tonight.
This may be the most devastating tornado ever.
STORM to 80888 for The Salvation Army USA.
REDCROSS to 90999 for Redcross
FOOD to 32333 for Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma.
Each text is for $10 charged to your phone bill.
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If you've been here a few months you know that Big Brother was having some bullying problems at school. He was being teased and pushed and called a nerd.
Because he likes to read.
So we got an emergency transfer to another school then packed up and moved so my kids could stay at the new school. New apartment. New teachers. New neighbors. Lots of adjustment. And we only moved a couple of miles!
We have been at the new place now for 2 1/2 months and at the new school for 3 months. Yesterday was the 2nd grade awards assembly.
Big Brother got the class award for Rockin' Reader.
Because he likes to read.
And his classmates clapped and celebrated his love of reading as he got the award.
In every struggle, every battle, when you are wandering in that place of wondering if you did the right thing, if you overreacted, if it's over and if you are still struggling, there comes that moment where you realize it was all worth it.
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Everywhere you look these days someone is talking about beauty and someone else is also there talking about all of our misconceptions about beauty.
Take for example this video Dove put out. I think that almost all women have some body dismorphia. We see flaws that aren't really there.
We probably all think this way because there are so many mixed messages we are given every day.
In one breath this beautiful OKC Thunder cheerleader is called chunky. She is a size 4. In her response to the blogger who criticized her appearance and put up a poll about it, who by the is a woman, Kelsey Williams stressed that women go through a lot every day in regards to their appearance. Read her full response here.
So if you are slightly larger than a supermodel, you are criticized. I fully support that this side of the coin gives every woman and every little girl a completely wrong idea of what is healthy and normal.
On the other side of that coin we tell much much larger women to just accept themselves the way they are. They are beautiful in their large bodies.
Society basically says if you are a size 2, you are good. If you are slightly larger you will be severely critized. If you are obese, you should just accept it.
Telling fat people it is ok to stay fat is wrong.
And yes, I'm going to start using the word fat in this post. A lot.
I believe that women come in all shapes and sizes. One shape, one size, is not better than another. You don't need to be a size 4, or a size 6, or even a size 12 to be beautiful.
If you are healthy.
With epidemic obesity in America it is time to start calling fat fat. It is time to say you need to see the working side of a treadmill. You should probably hit a Zumba class. Maybe shoving another Twinkie in your mouth as a chaser to that bag of Doritos is a really bad idea.
When we get so politically correct that we try to tiptoe around and try not to hurt anybody's feelings, we are letting all of those people down.
If someone I loved got cancer, I wouldn't say, "That's ok. Just accept yourself as you are. You and your cancer are beautiful."
I would tell them to fight. To get treatment. To eradicate the cancer that is KILLING them.
But if I have a friend that is fat, I can't do the same thing. I can't say you need to work hard to eradicate the FAT that is KILLING you.
If you look at the leading causes of death you see exactly what I am talking about. Four of the top 10 are directly related to obesity including number one.
- Heart disease: 597,689
- Cancer: 574,743
- Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 138,080
- Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 129,476
- Accidents (unintentional injuries): 120,859
- Alzheimer's disease: 83,494
- Diabetes: 69,071
- Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 50,476
- Influenza and Pneumonia: 50,097
- Intentional self-harm (suicide): 38,364
Source: Center for Disease Control: Leading Causes of Death
When you tell an obese person that it's ok to be obese, that they are beautiful that way and don't need to try to lose weight, you are basically telling a smoker it's ok to keep smoking. That they smell great. It's ok for diabetics to stop using insulin. Their comas make them beautiful. It's ok for someone to commit suicide. In death they look so peaceful.
It's time to start calling fat fat and as a society it is time to start treating fat like what it is. Unhealthy. Undesirable. Diseased. Deadly.
I'm not advocating that you start going up to random people and calling them fat. But it would be a good idea to invite unhealthy people to participate in healthy activities. Encourage them to make healthy choices. Educate people on how to choose healthy food and how to get into shape.
We have to make the change as a society to advocate healthy and not just everyone is beautiful.
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Ingredients
One and one-half cups Shawnee Mills All-Purpose Flour
One tablespoon Daddy Hinkle's Original Onion and Garlic Dry Seasoning
One-half teaspoon paprika
Twelve oz. Choc Original 1919
Four Chef's Requested Foods Santa Fe Brand Chicken Breasts
Instructions:
Preheat oil in deep fryer to 400 degrees. In a medium bowl, mix together dry ingredients and then add Choc beer. Dip Santa Fe Chicken breasts into batter. Shake off excess batter and deep fry 12-15 minutes or until fully cooked. For a dipping sauce with extra kick, use ranch salad dressing with a couple drops of hot sauce.
You can find these recipes and more on the MIO website, www.miocoalition.com, or download the free MIO iPhone app to find recipes, restaurants and more by visiting http://www.miocoalition.com/mioapp/.
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My kids have three weeks of school left and that means we are on a new precipice. And the final time I will be there. Kindergarden.
Back in 2010 I wrote about how my role as a mom would change when Big Brother started kindergarden.
I was right. It was like from the moment he starteds kindergarden he started this march forward of needing me less and less. Big Brother is finishing up 2nd grade and headed to 3rd. He can pretty much read anything he wants and I'm pretty sure he is better at math than I am. He loves science and art and thinks he looks more mature with holes in the knees of his pants. He refuses to wear jeans. They scratch.
Now it's Little Brother's turn. He will graduate from pre-k in three weeks and start that march of learning that he doesn't need his mom quite so much anymore. I can't tell if it's easier or harder this time. Last time was the first time, but this is the last time.
The last first day of kindergarden.
The last time I will help one of my children learn to read and write.
But not the last time my boys will make me emotional about how fast they are growing up.
And although they need me less, there are new moments we can share. Like catching Big Brother reading a story to Little Brother in a fort they made in their bedroom.
Like piling on my bed and watching The Princess Bride, because they get it now.
Like knowing that even though they need me less, both of my boys still want me to hug them, kiss them, and snuggle with them. All. The. TIme. I'm not sure it gets any better than the ferocious love of a little boy for his mom.
A flashback to August 2010.
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I've been on a major reading kick lately. Most likely because I've been sick and haven't felt like doing much else.
After reading Hemingway's Girl which you HAVE to read I knew I had to read this book as well. Plus Erika Robuck's new book Call Me Zelda won't be out until May 7th.
The Paris Wife goes a bit further back in time than Hemingway's Girl and focuses on Hemingway's first wife, Hadley. The relationship between Hadley and Ernest is well documented. Hemingway's final book is about their marriage and love.
What I loved about this book is really seeing the characters come to life. McLain's dialouge is natural and easy.
The book is also full of other famous people such as Gertrude Stein, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and Ezra Pound.
I love reading about the 20's and especially 20's Paris. However, this was quite the different viewpoint because we get to see the world, and the artists in that world, through Hadley's eyes. We get to travel with her as she falls in love with Ernest and helps him to grow into the Hemingway whose writing we love. We watch as she remains traditional and struggles with her role as a wife and woman. We watch as Pauline enters the picture, and if you are a Hemingway fan, you know who Pauline is.
We feel Hadley's pain and loss.
This is a book you truly don't want to miss.
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This is a cancer book.
And not just any cancer book, a book about cancer and teenagers and love.
A book about the unfairness that exists in life.
And the beauty.
Hazel is the main character of this story and if you read other reviews, yes, she is overly wise for being only 16 years old. A lot of the reviews I read took issue with that. But this book never promises to be a complete depiction of reality. If oyu can suspend your disbelief that a 16 year old girl can understand the world beyond her years, even cancer ridden make you wiser years, then you will really enjoy this book.
I scarfed in down in two days and I have no time to read!
If you let yourself be swept away you will swoon over one legged Agustus and revile the author they so adore who refuses to be any kind of nice.
You will cry.
You will probably get mad.
You will cry some more.
You will want to fall in love. Or stay in love.
Beyond a beautiful love story unencumbered by reality, John Greene says some great things about literature in general. Namely about what happens to the characters in a novel once the novel has ended.
I highly recommend this story, but only if you need a good cry.
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I almost didn't want to read this book, but it sat on my bookshelf staring me in the face, daring me to take a chance. I'm sure many people felt that way after loving Harry Potter so much. Writers just don't make the switch from youth to adult fiction very well.
The Casual Vacancy takes place in a small town in England called Pagford. And most of the novel revolves around how they are going to fill the empty seat on the Parish Council left when Barry Fairbrother dies at the outset of the story.
It took me a while to warm up to the novel. In fact, it caught me off guard. I can't exactly tell you when or why, but I started to care.
What J.K. Rowling does, and does better than most, is develop characters. They aren't just characters after a while. They become real. You love them. You hate them. But they are multidimensional. Her dialogue is effortless.
I was surprised to find many of the same themes from Harry Potter right in the center of 100% muggle Pagford. Pagford is responsible for an area called The Fields. The Fields is where all of the poor people live. Pagford wants to get rid of it's responsibility for The Fields and the addiction clinic that helps many of the residents. It's the full blood versus half-blood argument. We sure they are here, but they aren't really like us so they don't really belong here.
Characters in the novel struggle with guilt and secrets and desires. They are trying to find their voice in a place that seems to be run by just a few. Some are trying to upend the establishment while others are fighting to keep it the way it is. Basically, take away the magic and replace it with politics and real life.
When you have characters like Krystal Wheedon, Fats, and Andrew to love, to care for, to sympathize with, it is easy to get caught up in the story.
Don't get scared away by the politics though. Politics is a character in itself in this story. It is one element and not the main character either.
If you give this novel a chance, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
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