The post that started it all.

About a month ago, I was home sick with pneumonia after a spinal tap.  I was constantly uncomfortable, miserable, and grouchy... so I often retreated to Facebook.  One morning, I woke up and set myself up with blankets, pillows and tea in front of the t.v. and computer.  I had plans of watching House on Netflix until I fell asleep or the kids came home from school.

But I made a life changing choice that morning, on accident, when I checked my Facebook first.  This is what I saw that day:

 

I almost feel like I don't even have to caption this.  Shouldn't every single thinking person out there know about that moment when  a panel of members from the religious right, mostly men and reportedly one or two women, lined up to speak in congress about women's healthcare issues?  This was the day that they banned the testimony of Sandra Fluke.  This was the day that the War on Women's Health became shockingly apparent to every single person paying attention.

It certainly got my attention.  That day, I started to think about what this could mean for me.  What if those men, pictured above were the ones who decided my reproductive future?  I was terrified.  

Suddenly I went from the person who forwarded memes and fought with family during political discussions, to a person who had to say something important, to as many people as possible.

I went through my page, till I found an image and poem that had haunted me since a friend had forwarded it to me last fall:

I didn't expect many to take the time to think about this, but still I shared it, everywhere I could think of on Facebook.  I attached this comment:

I have borne two children. With my second son, I was in labor for six and a half weeks, causing me to be on bed rest and in pain for a month and a half. My arches fell out of my feet, and never returned. In the 18 months I was pregnant, I vomited for every one of them, giving birth weighing less than I had when I got pregnant, loosing my tooth enamel, damaging my esophagus. I have suffered a post birth infection that nearly killed me. I nursed each child for a year, with breasts so large that they literally warp my spine, causing weakness and injury resulting in invasive spinal surgery. I get migraines that hospitalize me once a month, twice or more if I don't get affordable birth control. I cannot have anymore children because I have a medical condition that makes me unable to regulate my spinal fluid pressure and the medications I take would jeopardize my unborn child. I have stayed up nights with vomiting, feverish children. I have done more diapers than you can shake a stick at. I have put off a career in favor of raising decent people. I am a mother of two beautiful souls for whom I would do it all again... But I can tell you one thing GOP: my sons WILL NEVER SILENCE THE VOICES OF WOMEN, OR TAKE THE RIGHT TO CARE FOR THEIR OWN BODIES AWAY. So go ahead, have your little meetings, exclude half the population because we have vaginas, see how far that gets you. But don't forget your mother, your wife, your sisters and daughters.... we are watching you, we are being told what we are worth to you, and we won't forget come voting time. Any woman who is paying attention ought to be angry, and any man worth his salt ought to be too.

In the days that followed, I was surprised at the tremendous response that I received to this post.  On one page it was shared nearly 200 times, and liked nearly a thousand times.   The kind, supportive, and inspired comments I read over the days that followed were absolutely amazing.  I was blown away.  I didn't expect my voice to count, but it seems to me that even if I inspired only one person to think of their sister, mother, daughter and speak up for them... Then wasn't that enough?

So, here we are folks, almost a month later.   It's kind of ironic isn't it?  The story of the birth of my sons is also the story of the birth of this blog...  In both cases, I'm thrilled to be the vessel through which these awesome things came to us and I look forward to seeing what they become.