I was recently struck with the flu and am just now recovering. I was surfing the net and researching chronic medical problems I've dealt with for most of my life and I came across something really mind blowing!
Perhaps playing with the mercury from broken thermometers as a child was not the best idea ever. I remember my mom breaking a couple of thermometers over a mirror and letting me play with it for hours. It was a blast! It's an incredible substance, the way it separates, then sort of "rolls" back together to become one little puddle again. If you squish your finger down in the middle of the puddle, you can make it separate into hundreds of tiny beads that almost look like crystal sand, but you can push it all together again! It tasted metallic. I was warned by my mom that she could not play with it because it would immediately bind with her wedding ring and ruin it.
As I read the myriad of symptoms caused by mercury poisoning, it read like my medical file! It causes damage to the central nervous system (mine's a mess), kidneys ( I've had borderline renal failure more than a few times), liver damage (I was an inch away from the liver donor list for a while there), damage to the endocrine system (what endocrine system?), cognitive and memory disorders...I can't remember what I was talking about...oh yeah, Skin problems (got that), reproductive damage (I've had around 20 miscarriages and still-births-no, I'm not kidding), damage to intestines (I've had most of mine removed), stomach disruptions (I enjoy ulcers), and DNA alteration. Don't know if that's any relation to an Anti-nuclear antibody disease I have but it sounds possible.
I'm a product of the 60's when people were largely uninformed of the hazards related to mercury. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED playing with it! I consider it a happy (potentially lethal) childhood memory. But there may be others out there that enjoyed the same type of carefree mercury play that I did. If so, I'd advise anyone that did to consider getting themselves tested for mercury toxicity.
Whether you played with mercury like I did, or not, we all survived somehow, as miraculous as it seems!
We also went without helmets on our bikes, shoes on our feet, seat belts and car seats in the car and yes, we even wore hats to school!
Considering the cautions we find it necessary to take with the youth of today, it's amazing we lived through the carefree days of our childhood!!
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I spent several years teaching a private Parent Education class to hundreds of people. Often, parents were court ordered to take the series of classes I taught for various reasons. The course was a series of 10 two hour classes. I had classes for young starry eyed parents dedicated to raising the "perfect child" and other classes full of parents of wayward teenagers, throwing their hands up in despair!
There isn't a topic we didn't cover or a question I haven't been asked, I'm sure. Try me! Believe me, I've heard it ALL!
Besides the Parent Ed classes, I've been a fulltime mom for 29 years, (9 of those as a single parent), not only to my own kids but also to their friends, whether it was just to hang out or they needed a place to stay for a while. I have an open door policy in my home. I like everyone to feel at home!
There isn't a topic we didn't cover or a question I haven't been asked, I'm sure. Try me! Believe me, I've heard it ALL!
Besides the Parent Ed classes, I've been a fulltime mom for 29 years, (9 of those as a single parent), not only to my own kids but also to their friends, whether it was just to hang out or they needed a place to stay for a while. I have an open door policy in my home. I like everyone to feel at home!
What does Xstie know about parenting?
As the mother of 5 children, currently ages 15 through 29, and one son-in-law, with two beautiful granchildren (a boy and a girl), I have been through the fires of parenting a time or two.
I have exprienced all of the challenges that come with infertility as well as high risk pregnancy. Unfortunately, I lost several babies to miscarriage and stillbirth. Getting my children here was a series of sacrifices that I will never regret. They were all worth every second!
My own children (while of course perfect in every way) have been known to challenge me a time...or two.
For all of these experiences I am grateful! No, really I am! I think they have made me a better mom, a better instructor and hopefully, a wiser person! I know they have definitely taught me to have a sense of humor!
If I impart no other advice to anyone on this site, I would want to remind parents everywhere to keep a sense of humor always and above all else!
I have exprienced all of the challenges that come with infertility as well as high risk pregnancy. Unfortunately, I lost several babies to miscarriage and stillbirth. Getting my children here was a series of sacrifices that I will never regret. They were all worth every second!
My own children (while of course perfect in every way) have been known to challenge me a time...or two.
For all of these experiences I am grateful! No, really I am! I think they have made me a better mom, a better instructor and hopefully, a wiser person! I know they have definitely taught me to have a sense of humor!
If I impart no other advice to anyone on this site, I would want to remind parents everywhere to keep a sense of humor always and above all else!
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