The Oregon Women's Report - Women's News from Oregon

Submitted by Kay Helbling

You ask a child to write a story and, especially if it’s a boy, you’ll hear more groans and moans then would fill a Super Bowl stadium. Such was my dilemma when raising my two boys and as a teacher when asked to teach a writing class at our private school.

Writing has never been my strength. Numbers were always my love and joy. I could turn out a great research paper or technical report, but ask me to be creative and I run for the hills. As such, I thought of myself as a very unlikely candidate to reach the soul of a writer. Unfortunately, a small private school must stretch its meager funds by having teachers step out of their comfort zone and really, much of writing is technical. You need to use the correct verb form, know the difference between a phrase and a clause and of course avoid those unsightly hanging participles, run-on, or fragmented sentences.

How could I narrow the focus of the “eight-page” girl or broaden the perspective of the “one sentence” boy? How could I bridge the dryness of the mechanics of the subject so that it could reach the creative soul of the writer?

By Erika Weisensee

It is hardly possible to name all of the roles involved in the incredible job of being a mom. Mothers are protectors and comforters and waitresses and cooks and maids and chauffeurs and counselors and nurses and teachers all in one.  How do we say thank you for all of that? Well, Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 10th. Cards, flowers, chocolate, spa gift certificates and breakfast-in-bed are good places to start. But another lasting way to honor “Mom” is to pass her love and life lessons on to those around us.

I recently invited my friends and family to share something wise they learned from their mothers. Most of them struggled to narrow it down to just one, and I certainly feel the same way about my mom. With that said, here’s but a small sampling of the wisdom of our mothers:

Jan Springer, Director
Heritage School of Interior Design

Just as in fashion, we are no longer required to wear the latest color, hem line or clothing style du jour. Instead we are wearing what is comfortable, flattering and affordable. Home interiors have evolved from the dictates of the design industry to individual personal lifestyle. Of course we our influenced by tradition and the latest trends, but more importantly, by how we live. For most of life can get chaotic and our home should provide us with the chance to renew and refresh.

BACK FROM IRAQ: Part 5
by Sharon Lacey, Portland Comedian
www.sharonlaceycomedy.com

DAYS SIX – TEN:
Many people think Iraq is a hot oven all year.  It’s not.  It can snow in the winter, and it definitely felt cold enough to snow last night here at Meraz Base near Mosul.  The heater in my bunk just couldn’t do the job, and the one thin blanket supplied didn’t help much,. During the night I put on my winter coat over my clothes, and added gloves, muffler, two pairs of socks, and leggings. And yet I awake this morning, shivering. I’m staying in the VIP quarters.  I can only imagine how cold the soldiers must be.

I saw this ad online encouraging moms to go back to school and could not help but wonder what kind of crazy school is the picture woman going to where you do workouts?

By Linda Kopp,
Review from a Woman’s perspective

Earth is a movie that is adventurous for the whole family.  You will be overwhelmed with the beautiful scenery, majestic animals, along with the unique storyline that parallels with the animals daily steps in the desert and tropic forest.  The scenes are breathtaking and the photography is brilliant.  This film takes you away from the hustles of life in Western culture.  The narrator shares a storyline of a herd of elephants, specifically a mother and her calf, as they are separated from the herd, on their desperate search to find water.  The movie also portrays lifestyles of other animal species such as cranes, lions, whales, dolphins, and giraffe.  This film will bring the zoo and the world to you.
My Grade: A+
100 Critics score: 83%
Things to Like: Majestic waterfalls, sites of a far away land, and creatures great and small.
Things to Caution: Scary for small children, as there are animal attack scenes.

By Jean Tracy,
KidsDiscuss.com, Parent Newsletter

The father of a second grader bragged, “Jesse received 100% on his math and spelling tests.” “Wonderful!” said his grandparents. Jesse smiled, “It’s because I have a big brain.”  We grill our kids about homework. We fuss when it’s sloppy. Good report cards make us proud. Why? We want our children to succeed. Like the father in the story, we love bragging about their “big brains.”

What about Character?

by Kay Helbling

The unselfish giving of thousands of folks in Oregon who volunteer each year is remarkable. (see Volunteers in Oregon, the Backbone of Our Economy, OregonWomensReport 1-29-09). An example of this can best be described by my recent introduction to a group in our local parish called “Mary’s Cousins”. Not unlike other volunteer activities, these women come together to fill a need and warm hearts.

During one morning service, our Pastor asked all the women in Mary’s Cousins to stand. One after another, all around me stood women wearing crocheted and knitted shawls—a myriad of style and color.
But these shawls weren’t for them. Instead, they made the shawls for members of the community who were experiencing a life threatening or life changing challenge. If the recipient feels a spiritual lift as they wrap the shawl around their shoulders, it is no wonder. The name of the folks in emotional need are offered up to Mary’s Cousins. While stitches are added, prayers are said for that individual or family.

By Erika Weisensee

That sex sells is nothing new. That sexy images and ideas are being bought and marketed to younger and younger people is disturbing.  Corporations have recognized the buying potential of today’s hottest target market: Tweens. Defined as 8 to 12-year-olds, tweens are not quite teens and no longer little children. But let us not forget, they are still children.

Today’s tweens are technologically savvy and avid consumers of media.  Messages come at them from all angles, from TV and movies, from music and the Internet. Girls, in particular, are bombarded with pressure to look and be sexy long before their minds or bodies are ready for it.

Olivia C. Rossi, RN, MSN, ACSM
Your Personal Trainer

You may not be able to change your body type—you have your parents to thank for that– or maybe not!  You can, however, change the shape that you’re in and how you think of yourself.  The goals you set and how you present yourself related to your appearance (your body image) are yours to make.  You are the only you there is, so make the most of you.

One of the best ways to begin is by celebrating what you can do when you are healthy and fit.   Yes, you’ll look better but that comes from feeling better.

By Naomi Inman
Oregon’s Lipstick Revolution series

The first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States was Elizabeth Blackwell in 1849.  Not far behind Blackwell, and well ahead of her own time was a single, teenage mom, Bethenia Owens-Adair (1840-1926), who became one of the first women to practice medicine in Oregon.  She waltzed into the world of medicine alone and unafraid to pursue her passion. She was unhampered by her circumstances.

A child of the Oregon Trail, Bethenia’s family settled near Astoria.  By age 16 she was married and had a son named George.  She could have succumbed to what happened next, but instead she soared.  She had a husband who wouldn’t work and had a violent temper.  So she divorced him at 19 and set out to “make a living for herself.”

Who says you cannot mix babysitting and house cleaning at the same time?

Weekend National Health News Focus:

1. Brain Scans Reveal Secrets of ‘Writer’s Cramp’
2. Soothing Songs Please the Heart
3. Family Ties May Help Prevent Teen Suicide

By Jean Tracy,
KidsDiscuss.com, Parent Newsletter

In our last blog we discussed 3 discipline problems when your kids fight in the car. Now we’ll offer 3 discipline solutions. One problem involved driving your kids to their activities. The traffic was bad and your kids loudly complained about each other. The second problem involved taking your kids on errands. They didn’t want to go. In the third problem you were taking your kids for a hamburger treat. Instead of being grateful, they argued about each other’s fast food joint.

If any of these problems fit your family, you have discipline choices. Consider 3 parenting tips below:

By Kay Helbling

What’s happened to the coach who aspired to guide youth to be strong, respectable and responsible citizens—to reach their goals through hard work and determination—to hold up their heads with the pride of knowing they are winners because of who they have become, not by the trophies they earn—and, to play by the rules both on and off the field. Too many of the coaches in Oregon seem to have misplaced that playbook.

Just in the last couple of months there have been several very disturbing examples. The Crater High School wrestling coach who allowed an ineligible wrestler to compete in a tournament under a false name. The baseball coach at Lincoln High School who took his players to a strip club during a school-sanctioned trip. And just last week, the head wrestling coach at Lake Oswego found promoting a growth supplement to some of his wrestlers.

By Erika Weisensee

Spring has many definitions. There’s the verb “to leap up or jump.” And the nouns,  “a device that recovers its shape” or “a source of water.” My favorite definition, however, refers to the season, the time “between winter and summer when many plants bring forth leaves and flowers.” But, we don’t need a dictionary to tell us that. All we have to do is look outside.

Here are some simple ideas for finding your own growth and renewal this spring:

Olivia C. Rossi, RN, MSN, ACSM
Your Personal Trainer:

I am still here in Virginia.  The same pair of shoes and the same love of fitness that took me on a walk through the cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C. last week-end, led me this week along some favorite paths in Old Town Alexandria and the unexpected discovery of some new ones.

My day began at 5:00 AM when I dropped my son, a firefighter, at work and drove his car to the VRE (Virginia Railway Express) station in Rippon about five miles away.

by Cathy Rae Smith
Founder of Culture Magazine

I recently had a sculpture presentation. It was positioned on a pedestal in a gallery setting in which construction was taking place in another wing. The piece was constructed of metal and coated in crystallized sugar with a few red and white stripe mint candies arranged precisely around it. In the few minutes between when it had been set up and when a small art group gathered to view and discuss the piece, a conspicuous gap gave evidence of a mint candy gone missing. For a moment, I felt like a character in a comedy plot doing a double take. What? What happened to the mint? It so happened that a construction worker had walked through in those few minutes on his way to the construction, passed by the pedestal, and helped himself to a mint candy.

Weekend National Health News Focus:

FRIDAY, April 10 (HealthDay News) — Debate about the ideal age to retire has been going on for years. But with the U.S. economy in a dramatic slump, the flip side of that question — how old is too old to work? — has become uppermost in many people’s minds. As workers young and old fret about dwindling retirement accounts in the wake of the mortgage crisis and stock market tumbles, they joke that they’ll have no choice but to work until they’re 90 or beyond.

By Linda Kopp,
Women’s Report Reviewer

I do recommend Monsters vs. Aliens as a great family film.  The story is a combination of a science- fiction  and action story.  The story revolves around an all american, teen girl who grew up in the suburbs of california and experiences an incredible change in physical appearance which coincidently changes her heart and prepared her to save those trembling on falling bridges and buildings.  The hero Susan, humbled herself to help others and especially stood up for the unloved.  Furthermore, she learned that true friends are beside you in good times and in bad.

My Grade: B+
100 Critics Score: 72%
Things to Like: Heroism, good morals, and excellent visuals.
Things to Caution: Little violence may be too old for very young children.