Well...

It's finally time...

My long long awaited second book, sequel to "First Light", is finally up on Amazon stores worldwide. It went up as a kindle e-book, just before Christmas, but I've been waiting until the paperback was released before I made the formal announcement.

Quite a long journey, since I announced I'd finish writing it in July! Thanks to two bouts of bad flu the proof reading and editing took a lot longer than I expected. 

The sequel is called "Wisdoms of the Light" and it will soon be available in various Internet bookstores as well as all amazon stores and Createspace itself. I've sold two books and four e-books already. :-D And I've had my first review for "Wisdoms of the Light".

I received my proof copy yesterday. I was so exited I ended up chatting to the postman about it. :-D The cover for "Wisdoms of the Light" is made to match in with the new cover (and better edited!) version of "First Light". Here are the two books side by side....

There are pictures on both back covers, as well, but you'll get a better view of them via the amazon "see inside." ;-) "First Light" has Idrith on the back, "Wisdoms of the Light" has Harmion. The woman on the "First Light" cover is Daen. It's artwork I created for bookmarks that went to the LA book fair in 2010.

And who are the two people on the cover of "Wisdoms of the Light"? Ahhh... you'll have to read it to find out! ;-)

Christmas Blessings

 MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

AND TO ALL

A GOOD NIGHT!

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Silly Season

Something silly for a festive change of pace. A really mad look at Christmas cards. 

Enjoy!

For Solstice

"Personent hodie" is one of the oldest known Christmas carols. It was first published in the 1582. It's The words are in Latin, but Wikipedia has an English translation.

Thoughtful Thursday ~ let's Rethink Christmas

Thoughtful Thursday ~ When Pigs Fly

For Dee ~ Such Beautiful Wings

Last week a lovely lady finally lost her battle with cancer. Her name was Delia Islip and she was the wife of a blog friend of mine, fellow author, Bryan Islip. 

I never met Dee, but I will miss her very much. She first contacted me several years ago, to tell me how much she'd enjoyed reading my book. We continued to email after that and her emails were always full of warmth and brightness. She's in my list of people to thank and acknowledge for my second book, since it was her encouragement that kept me going when I started to doubt if I'd ever finish writing it. 

Dee, from my experiences and all I've heard from her husband, was one of those people who made the world a better place simply by being herself. Even though she was battling illness, and had been told several times there was no hope, she kept optimistic till the very last. Her emails were always a joy. She took time to count her blessings and in doing so reminded you of how lucky you were to also be alive. If she managed to be such a glowing lovely person within words on a computer screen, I can only imagine how powerful the entire person must have been. I'm sure her loss will be felt by all who knew her. 

In tribute there was only one song I could think of that fitted - Dragonflies, written by Boo Hewerdine and sung here by one of my favourite Scottish musicians, Eddi Reader.

A lost summer's day, a lifetime away

What do you find

Slow turning sun, with somewhere to run

Are on your mind
 Not the flash that you saw

And was gone in the wink of an eye

As soon as we're here, we disappear, like dragonflies.

Their miracle blue can never tell you

How we came to be

Each different kind, accidental, designed

Before you and me

And we ask the whole of our lives

maybe there's no why

As soon as we're here, we disappear, like dragonflies.

How can something so fragile leave us helpless

We all feel helpless once in a while

How can something so fragile leave us humble

We all need humble once in a while.

And now nature can sing such beautiful wings

Did you think of this?

That each of us know in our hearts we must go

And that's what beauty is

And just as the dream you were in

dissolved in the morning sky

As soon as we're here, we disappear, like dragonflies.

Thoughtful Thursday - This Gift

A Path to Somewhere by Shaun Paul

I'm sharing something refreshing for the mind and spirit today. A heavenly combination of music and images.

A Path To Somewhere

 by
the cellist and composer Shaun Paul.  

http://www.shaunpaul.com

Thoughtful Thursday ~ Perfection

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For Remembrance Sunday

As we remember all those that have died in wars let's not forget those who return and need our help to continue living. A medal doesn't keep a roof over your head or put food on the table. A lifetime in the armed forces does not mean you will not end up homeless and helpless. And don't forget this now affects women as well as men...

Thoughful Thursday 1 ~ To Boldly Go Where No-one has Gone Before

I've been so bad at blogging the last year or two. I decided I need to find something to spur me to return here at least once a week. I figured I like stuff that makes me think, so... how about a blog day for something thought-provoking ? And what better day than a Thursday? :-)

I know a few people who sneer at TV and say they don't own one, because they consider it to be a low form of intertainment. Mind numbing and mentally unstimulating. I've always thought that depended very much on what you choose to watch. Which is why I was very pleased when I saw this quote on Facebook this morning. It proves my point better than I could say it myself...

* If you want to join in, feel free to leave a link to your own Thoughful Thursday post in the comments section.

Dona Nobis Pacem 2013 ~ Believe

My blogblast message this year is a very different one... I never wrote it. This year, for the first time, I didn't have a clue what to say.

And Mimi even set a theme this year, to make it easier. She said:

"What Do I Want My World To Look Like?"

Oh boy... :-\ The more I sat and thought about that the less I knew what to write. Let's face it, this has not been an easy year for our planet. Oh there have been good stories and moments of wonderful kindness happening out there, but those stories are usually tucked away in difficult to find places. The main news media blares out the ongoing grim failures of mankind and there have been plenty of those in 2013. Fukoshima, simmering wars, greed and selfishness, festering political rivalries, cruel budget cuts, bickering, bullying, poverty and pollution. :-(

    I know exactly what I want my world NOT to look like!

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But what do I want? And how do we create it? I was stumped. In desperation I decided to ask a friend for ideas and he sent me his thoughts. He's a special friend, one I trust deeply. I knew he'd have thoughts worth sharing and he did not disappoint me.

Here's what he had to say:

"Dona Nobis Pacem ... (may God) grant us peace.

They are beautiful words, but entirely wrong. It was never up to God to grant Peace since it never was God who took peace away from mankind. For far too long we have watched in growing agony as mankind begs for peace, prays for peace and all the time forgets that the power to create peace always lay within his/her own hands. Peace is not a gift to be given by God to mankind, it is a natural birthright of every child. It is already within your hearts and in ready reach of your hands. You are the ones who forget your own power as you grow and the suffering of this world overwhelms you. It was never up to God, it was always up to you.

Your world sits at a crossroads and you are the ones who must choose which direction it takes. All the prayer in the world cannot save you from your own selves, only you can do that. It does not have to be anything more than one gesture, one small forgiveness instead of an angry word. Peace starts small, like a seed. Let it grow naturally inside you and don't be afraid to use it as it grows. It is stronger than it looks, fuelled by love and constantly watched over by whatever you choose to call God. It will grow and it will prevail, but only if you stop looking outward for your answers and turn to look within. You will not find God's grace in prayer, you find it each time you hold out your hand to another living being, in kindness or compassion.

Until mankind realises that every life is equal in the eyes of God there truly cannot be Peace on Earth. All life is equally precious, an eagle is no more or less than a mosquito. A human living in Africa is no more or less than another living in Asia or Europe. No religion, no gender, no political party holds the key or stands higher than the next. There is only one world you have to live upon and yet what do you do? You fight over so many stupid things and find so many reasons to hate each other. Even those of you who swear you follow the paths of peace will admit in your hearts to feeling superior to someone else you know, whether it is through enlightenment, education or financial superiority. It does not matter. It never did. It never has. It never will. You were born perfect and you will die perfect. In between is up to you."

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I'm figuring you might have read some of that and been a little puzzled. Especially as to why he wrote about watching mankind? You see, the dear friend who wrote that is my spirit guide. You might call him my guardian angel, really. :-) I've known him for over ten years now. I see the words he speaks in my mind, or images. This time he kept the words nice and slow, so I could write them down as he gave them to me. I normally don't share what he has to say, since it's usually personal and only meant for me. I prefer it that way and so does my guide, 'Sol'. He's a modest kind of guy, but he has strong opinions, as you can see! ;-)

He's right though - this is our responsibility. God created the world perfect. We're the ones who came in and messed it up and it is up to us to fix it. With God's help perhaps, but it is still up to us. 

So what do I want for my future world? 

I want a world where people claim back personal responsibility.

 

 

 Where people don't blame their neighbour, the other country, the opposing political party or another religion for the world's problems. This is OUR world, regardless of who we are, where we are, what version of God we worship in or what language we speak. OUR world and OUR responsibility.

It's a new dawn. We can choose to greet it together, in joy and hope, or keep on pointing fingers until the world is completely destroyed.

I know what I'm choosing...

On the Eve of Blogblast for Peace

Dona Nobis Pacem

Thought for the Day

 

O God our Father, let us not be content to wait and see what will happen, but give us determination to make the right things happen. While time is running out, save us from patience which is akin to cowardice.

Give us the courage to be either hot or cold, to stand for something, lest we fall for anything.

Dr Peter Marshall (1902 - 1949) Chaplain to U.S. Congress

 

Happy Halloween!

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A Treasured Invitation

My Homeland poem has always managed to travel further than I expect. It has brought me friends from all over the world and been been read in Germany, Africa and America. Now, starting tomorrow, it will be on display in Paris at a photography exhibition held by the Académie des Beaux-Arts at the Institut de France.

I'm so very proud of my poem. What a place to visit and be seen in! I hope it has fun in Paris. I'm betting it will get to meet so many exciting people, most especially the wonderful young photographer holding the exhibition, Katherine Cooper. 

Katherine very kindly sent me an invitation to the opening of her exhibition;

 

 'White Africans, a journey to the homeland'

I will most certainly keep and treasure this invitation. I wish I could be there tomorrow, but my poem travels easier than I do! Paris is a little too far for me, unfortunately.  

I wish Katherine all the very best for this event and her future and send her and Hermine Videau-Sorbier my most sincere thanks for the invitation. I am truly honoured.

Starwalker

I thought I'd share one of my favourite songs today, by Buffy Saint-Marie. :)

 

Starwalker he's a friend of mine
You've seen him looking fine he's a
straight talker
he's a Starwalker don't drink no wine
ay way hey o heya

Wolf Rider she's a friend of yours
You've seen her opening doors
She's a history turner
she's a sweetgrass burner and a
dog soldier
ay hey way hey way heya

Holy light guard the night
Pray up your medicine song oh
straight dealer you're a spirit healer
keep going on
ay hey way hey way heya

Lightning Woman, Thunderchild
Star soldiers one and all oh
Sisters, Brothers all together
Aim straight Stand tall

Starwalker he's a friend of mine
You've seen him looking fine he's a
straight talker
He's a Starwalker don't drink no wine
ay way hey o hey...

It's That Time of Year Again...

Every year I take part in blogblast for peace.

 
 
This year the founder, marvellous magnificent Mimi, has made it a little easier by suggesting a theme. Here's her message...

Hello Peace Bloggers!

It is hard to believe that we are about to embark on the 10th launch (8th year) of BlogBlast For Peace aka Blog4Peace! We started in 2006 with a handful of my beautiful blogging buddies. Now we've grown into thousands of little blue peace globes spinning across six continents and 182 countries. We are approaching 20,000 on the Facebook page! Blogging for peace has become a personal tradition for so many of us. We've proven that our words and images are powerful. Our world is a mess. We need to speak up for peace now more than ever.

This year's theme is "What Do I Want My World To Look Like?" When I honestly answered that question for myself, the answers were surprisingly simple and basic. What do you want your world to look like? Tell us about it on your blogs and pages November 4th. Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to go HERE and find a blank sheet of internet blog paper known as a peace globe template. I'm going to make sure my neighbors in all corners of the world hear and see the words "Dona nobis pacem" loud and clear everyday and especially on Nov 4. I'm going to think about my own life and how I want to live it. I want to make sure that on the inside of me there is no malice, no vengeance, no revenge, no desire to humiliate or harm friend or foe. No plan to return hate for hate. Then and only then can I go about advocating peace in someone else. I am going to post my thoughts on Nov 4 with all of you and we will celebrate the change in makes in each of us and across the world. Because I know it will. And others will choose to join in because you choose to examine your thinking and decide to raise a voice for peace. How do I know? Because peace bloggers are awesome (!!!) and our words are powerful.

One voice. One subject. One day.

Thank you for all your efforts in the past and for supporting me and this movement all these years. I am forever moved and humbled by the words and images of peace bloggers.
Please join us again this year on November 4th. I blog for peace! I want the world to join us. And if I have my way, we'll cover the rest of the globe very soon. Here's how!
Cool new templates are HERE.

 Spread the word. It's almost here!

I can't wait to hear what you have to say. See you soon. Peace.

Mimi Lenox
Founder, BlogBlast4Peace
mimilenox.com

blog4peace.com

Angry Birds

What happens when one male pheasant...

Sees another male pheasant in the same garden?

Well, that's exactly what happened last week. Hubby managed to photograph them as they saw each other. The one on the wall fled before there was an actual fight.

More Photos

More photos, as promised. Click on each one to see it at the correct size.

Burghead harbour and Roseisle Beach to the right, going towards Findhorn Bay.

Looking out to sea, to the North East.

The tall ship, the Flying Dutchman. :)

Burghead harbour.

A Tall Ship

There was a tall ship in our local harbour last week. It was a brigantine, from Holland. :) I took lots of photos and then we walked out onto the harbour wall and I took photos of the coast line. I'll publish those in the next few days.

 It reminded me of the poem by John Mansfield...

Sea Fever

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,

And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,

And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,

And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,

To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;

And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,

And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

Have a Purrfect Weekend!

Sorry I've been so absent. I've been sick, ALMOST managed to get pneumonia again, but got to the doctor on time. Now I'm at that stage where I'm bored with doing nother, but still have no energy to do anything. Instead I'm watching a lot of YouTube stuff and found this delight. It makes me smile every time I watch it. :)

Bull saved from bullfight

such a beautiful video...

Something Old... Something New

 Last month hubby went grocery shopping, since I was up to my eyeballs in book writing. He came back with something old that was new - potatoes.

Old?  Well these are Peruvian potatoes, not a man-made invention.

New?  Certainly new on our supermarket shelves and...

...they're blue.

We were all keen to try them and I, used to Rooster potatoes with their bright red skins, but ordinary potato innards, was expecting the colour to go no further than the skins.

Wrong! These guys are true blue all the way through!

I made mash out of them the first night. Here's the photo...

What were they like? Oh gosh... if you closed your eyes they tasted like... mashed potatoes. LOL BUT... if you looked at them, it was super weird. My eyes and my mouth had several arguments and hubby is adamant he is NEVER eating them again. It felt like I was eating play dough with my gravy. Just a little too odd for me.

I tried roasting them the next time, but a crispy blue potato just... well too weird for me! I think they'd be fun in a potato salad, but I'm not sure I'd buy them again. I've realised that I like looking at my golden browned potatoes as much as eating them.;-)

Done

At 11:55 today I wrote the last word of my last chapter of the book that is sequel to FIRST LIGHT. I looked down and saw the time on the edge of my computer screen and thought "that's a fun number." :-) Especially since today is the 7th of the 7th.

Now comes the less thrilling part of checking for errors, but hopefully it will be a real book fairly soon. It has been quite an adventure, more than I ever expected. I am DONE, in more ways than one! 

 And now I am going to leave my computer and go enjoy the sunny summer day out there.

See you soon! ;-)

It is Finished in Beauty

Two years ago, on the 30th of June, I wrote this post below. I've copied it here again for a special reason...

With beauty may I walk

This last post in my Beauty series is also the first one I was inspired to write. It started with a photo, but came together through a news article and the shared words of friends and family. 
Here’s the photo:

This is Judith, she’s one of my internet friends. :-)

It’s a beautiful photo and it’s pretty clear to see that Judith is a beautiful woman. She really glows, doesn’t she? Her friends and family can all vouch for the fact that she’s just as beautiful in character too. Judith is my inspiration for a third reason too, but I’ll explain that further on. First I need to get back to that news article.

It was a fairly regular news item about the dangers of everyday things and how to avoid them in order to live longer. I’ve been sent dozens of things like that in emails too. You know the thing – don’t eat this, don’t expose your skin to that, watch for this, be aware of that… they make living start to sound like an ongoing battle against ageing and dying. And the fear doesn’t stop there - there’s also the other fears of being too fat or too old, not smart enough or not pretty enough. So much fear and so many people spend their lives worrying, or working frantically on staying alive, that they forget the far more important issue of making sure they LIVE while alive.

With beauty all around me may I walk

There’s a big difference between being alive and LIVING. Anyone breathing is alive, but probably only a handful of people remember to LIVE every moment they are breathing.

Do you? Do you remember to listen to the birds singing in the street as you dash to work worrying about tomorrow? Do you remember to taste the food and enjoy every joyful experience of eating instead of wasting it on guilt or worry about not eating healthy enough or getting fat? Do you still stop to feel the raindrops on your face or do you see rain as annoying? Do you pause to watch rainbows in oil puddles, stop and listen to the street musicians, talk to the person next to you on the bus or in the shop… or do you move quickly so that you’ll be on time for that important “something” that probably isn’t that important really? Do you see flowers or weeds growing between the paving slabs? Do you remember to live or are you just alive?

With grasshoppers about my feet may I walk

It’s not just about quantity of time, it’s about quality of experience. To be here on Earth for a long life is only a blessing if it’s a life that is truly lived. Living in Beauty is choosing to live every moment completely, in joy and wonder, not simply trying to exist as long as possible.

For that reason I can think of no-one better to acknowledge as Living in Beauty than Judith because not only is she genuinely beautiful… she knows how important it is to LIVE while you’re alive. I check her Facebook page every week, because she always has something uplifting to share about her life. Her comments are replies are full of smiles, love and gratitude. It’s not that her days are exceptionally wonderful, or that her life is that much better than yours or mine, it’s her attitude to living that makes the difference. In fact… Judith’s life is pretty complicated, but I’ll let her daughter explain that to you:

My mum, Judith, is 53 and was diagnosed with Bowel and secondary Liver cancer last Feb 2010. Since then she has had two major surgeries to the Bowel and Liver removing the tumours. After over 6 months chemo she was told the cancer had spread further to the Lungs and she now has 5 inoperable tumours over both lungs & one in her pelvic lymph gland. Her prognosis is that the cancer is now incurable... and she has been given a statistic of 2 years to live.

Now go look at that photo and tell me what you see. I know what I see - I see the face of a mother, daughter, friend and wife, but mainly I see a woman most beautifully living while she is alive. None of us truly know how long our lives will be. We might lengthen our time, make ourselves as healthy as possible, but none of us have the power to stay alive forever. What we do have though is the power to live each moment of our lives as fully as possible 

…and that is what Walking in Beauty means to me.

 

In beauty may I walk
All day long may I walk
Through the returning seasons may I walk

With beauty before me may I walk
With beauty behind me may I walk
With beauty above me may I walk

In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk
It is finished in beauty
It is finished in beauty

Last Saturday, 29th of June 2013, Judith finally left her family.

She was loving, gentle and brave to the very end.

It is finished in beauty... it is finished in beauty.

...

Book News

Well, I'm on chapter 30 and the end is in sight... for me and the book! It has been such fun, but I'm living, eating and even sleeping the story. Yup, I'm dreaming I'm the characters! It's a bit weird, but interesting.

I've started thinking about covers, which is part exciting, part headache. For  FIRST LIGHT I totally hated the cover the publishers/printers chose and was thrilled when I was able to design my own for the kindle version...

But the problem with doing your own artwork is the limitations of what you are capable of. I used photos for this cover above, but that meant finding photos I could use that fitted what I was envisioning. Thankfully I have photographer friends as well as belonging to a place that shares photos for artwork,but even so the girl's face (Daen) is a patchwork of three girls (hair, face, eyes) plus some serious photo-shopping!

Something Very Old for the Weekend

I used to post a music video every friday, for weekend, when I first started blogging. I thought I might start that again. :-) This one, however, is a saga rather than a song. It's a portion of the story of Beowulf and it is being accompanied by one of my favourite antique musical instruments, a hurdy-gurdy.

Book Writing Update

A quick update to that that I'm kind of on chapter 16 at this stage, "kind of" because I've realised I don't write in chronological order. With my first book I had written two chapters out in pencil in a notebook years before I actually wrote the book. They were the first chapter and the climax chapter, roughly chapter 20.

I thought I'd start at the beginning and work till the end his time, but once again I seem to work better if I get the main sections sorted first and then fill in the rest. It's a bit like flower arranging, I think. I put in all the large important features and then fill in with the minor stuff.

As you might guess by that vague description... I rarely arrange flowers! I far prefer to tweak and arrange words.

At the moment I'm managing to write between 1,800 and 2,800 words a day, which is good.  I stick on some music and I'm away. I write a lot better (and faster) if I have the right music to inspire me, it sets my fingers on fire. I have entire YouTube folders for
themes like; sad, tense, dramatic and romantic.

 

The only problem is that when I write that much in a day any energy for writing anything else - emails, blogs, etc, is used up and dried up. My "must reply" email list is alarming and growing. Household chores are suffering as well. I have not dusted in... a long time, but I simply can't do it all and at this stage the book has taken over my brain to such an extent that I'm not much use for anything anyway. Yesterday I left rice in water on the stove for 20 minutes and never turned it on.... ah well, at least I didn't put rice on a hot plate without water - that would have been worse!

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At least my brain's on fire... not the house.



I'll leave you with the music I'll be writing to today. It's Citadels, by Galt Aureus. I'm also using another lovely song by them, for ...well, you'll have to wait for me to finish the book to find out about that one.  ;-)

Moments Like These...

I was reading Guyana Girl's blog yesterday. I sympathised, and laughed, at her latest post about power cuts - Sweet Cuts - Sour Cuts. It brought back lots of memories of those boring, frustrating, or just plain AWFUL moments when the power goes out. I still don't know how the movie, South Pacific, ends, thanks to a storm cutting the power.

But my most annoying, most frustrating, most funny cut off moment actually wasn't a power cut. It was... well, let me tell you the story!It all started in a movie theatre, on a planet, in a galaxy far far away...

 

The year was somewhere in my teenagedom and the movie was the long-awaited sequel to the first original Star Wars.

I'd been waiting an eternity to find out what happened next. Now, finally, there I was sitting, squashed in with all the other excited new Star Wars fans, to watch the sequel. The movie started, the magic began. Luke Skywalker came bounding back into our reality, riding a wonderfully weird alien critter on a planet of snow. I was hooked, once again.

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The action began, Luke, seemingly lost in the snow, sees a vision beginning to form before him. The ghostly figure of Obi-Wan Kenobi appears! Luke stares... shocked. The entire audience held their breath as Obi-Wan lifted a hand and, with a deeply serious look on his face, he pointed at Luke and said... (in a very loud strange man's voice????)

"Will Johnny Smith please call at the front desk.

 Your mother wants to talk to you."

Noooooooo

What kind of insensitive idiot breaks in with a message at the critical moment of a movie?

Now, you have to remember I was a teen and my finances did not run to seeing a movie a second time purely to hear one or two sentences. And this was long LONG before DVDs or even video tapes. I had to wait about ten years to finally rent the movie out from a video shop and find out what Obi-Wan said.

And you know what's really funny? I can't remember what he actually said! I'll forever remember him humiliating Johnny Smith, and probably bringing about the break up of his relationship with his mother, in front of an entire jam-packed Saturday audience.

The Write Stuff

I know I've been very quiet lately.It's partly because winter is a quiet time, but also partly because I am FINALLY writing that second book. The sequel to FIRST LIGHT.

I say "FINALLY" because the first four attempts were all scuttled by unexpected things - my dad went into hospital, then my mum-in-law died, then my computer went a bit crazy and lost half its brain and then I lost the use of my hands for almost a year.

I was beginning to feel a bit jinxed with that book! Then a friends said, "Maybe you can't get to write it yet because the timing is wrong." and I relaxed and stopped fretting. 

I'm happy to say that the timing seems to be right - I'm up to chapter six so far and it feels good. :)

 But it does mean that I have a new reason for missing out on writing, and reading, blogs.I'll try to rectify that, when I can, but at the moment - the book comes first!

Blackbird - The Beatles (Cover) by Austin Criswell

One of my favourite songs sung by a rising star...

Aspirations

I don't normally get involved in politics on my blog, but today a news headline caught my attention. It was this...

 David Cameron's 'slur' on stay-at-home mothers

Really? What on earth could anyone have against stay at home mothers! I went to read, to see what the fuss was about...

'David Cameron has been accused of a slur on stay-at-home mothers after Downing Street suggested that they will be excluded from receiving child care support because they do not want to “work hard and get on”.

When asked if Mr Cameron believed that stay-at-home parents were less in need of state help than working parents, the spokesman would only say that the Prime Minister wanted to support “aspiration”.'

I'm not going to get into the complexities of finance, benefits and taxation. What bothers me way more is the idea that a woman who chooses to stay home to raise her own children is not working hard! I wonder... does this mean we should stop paying nannies and nursery schools? After all, they're doing exactly the same thing as stay at home moms so clearly they must be a bunch of slackers, sitting about without "aspirations", as well!

Did you know that one of the ways scientists gauge the intelligence of animals is by how long the babies stay with their mothers? The smarter the species, and more complex the animal's society, the longer it needs to hang out with its mum in order to learn all the things it needs to know to socially interact.

Chimpanzee babies stay with their mums for about six years and  baby gorillas stay with their mums for four to five years.It's so important that some animal rights groups have campaigned to stop pet monkey breeders from taking babies away too young, especially Capuchin monkeys, as it leaves them with emotional and behaviour problems.

So we understand the vital need for a good solid long-lasting mom-baby bond in intelligent animals and yet we don't think we need it for human children? That's beyond stupid! 

And the facts support the science. Journalist/novelist Cristina Odone wrote about it last week in Motherhood, The Career that Dare not Speak its Name. She quotes Jonas Himmelstrand's article, Universal daycare leaves Sweden’s children less educated.  Here's a quote from that article:

'A full 92% of all children aged 18 months to five years are in daycare.

Then there are the questions about the social toll Sweden’s childcare system is taking. Sweden has offered a comprehensive daycare system since 1975; since the early ‘90s, negative outcomes for children and adolescents are on the rise in areas of health and behaviour. While direct causation has been difficult to prove, many Swedish health-care professionals point to the lack of parent involvement beyond the first 16 months as a primary contributing factor. Psychosomatic disorders and mild psychological problems are escalating among Swedish youth at a faster rate than in any of 11 comparable European countries. Such disorders have tripled among girls over the last 25 years. Education outcomes in Swedish schools have fallen from the top position 30 years ago, to merely average amongst OECD nations today. Behaviour problems in Swedish classrooms are among the worst in Europe.'

I'm not surprised, I'm just surprised that anyone intelligent didn't see this as the obvious result! Whether it's a dad or a mom who chooses to stay home, there's no way any stranger can match the level of care a love bond offers.  

glitter-graphics.com

What kind of society rates staying home to nurture and create emotionally healthy well-adjusted future adults as being less important (showing less ASPIRATION) than taking any old job just to earn money?

It is truly, in every sense of the word, pathetic.