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Time to Take Stock
So maybe you don't make New Year's resolutions. But surely you sit down and do some evaluation. Or you know you should. Here are some things to consider:
What were you glad you accomplished this year?
What did you fail to accomplish that you need to make a bigger priority?
What do you most want to accomplish this year?
What is your long-term plan to visit some places you've always wanted to see?
What relationships need more attention?
What is your plan for spiritual growth this year?
What books do you want to read?
Ye Olde Christmas Storye
William Dean Howells (1937-1920) on Dickens's Christmas stories (from Criticism and Fiction):
It was well once a year, if not oftener, to remind men by parable of the old, simple truths; to teach them that forgiveness, and charity, and the endeavor for life better and purer than each has lived, are the principles upon which alone the world holds together and gets forward. It was well for the comfortable and the refined to be put in mind of the savagery and suffering all round them, and to be taught, as Dickens was always teaching, that certain feelings which grace human nature, as tenderness for the sick and helpless, self-sacrifice and generosity, self-respect and manliness and womanliness, are the common heritage of the race; the direct gift of Heaven, shared equally by the rich and poor.
Thank you!
Thanks to those who use the link from this site to place orders on Amazon. A portion of the proceeds goes to help fund our Kenya ministry. We've already been able to place an order for the next trip (probably February) thanks to you. It costs you nothing extra, and it benefits others. Thanks again. We appreciate you, whoever you are!
A Different Kind of Ruler
Some Bio News Stories
In the news recently...
. Last week researchers announced a safer test that will enable doctors to tell if a fetus has genetic disorders. The new test won’t risk fetal damage, and it’s also more accurate, which means a reduction in abortions by mothers who terminate the lives of healthy babies in the mistaken belief that they will develop incurable and untreatable genetic defects.
. New York City is the first U.S. city to launch a pilot program in which an organ-recovery team will trail ambulances. The team will be ready to jump in if the patient (a) dies and (b) is a viable donor. Officials have warned that the program, made possible by a $1.5 million grant, might yield zero kidneys.
. Russia has approved the sale of the first-ever treatment for type 1 diabetes using pig-grown insulin-producing cells. Australia is next.
. Though two years ago the president pledged $19 billion in stimulus incentives to help doctors and hospitals “go paperless,” the conversion is going slowly.
. Major league baseball banned amphetamines in 2006, but 105 players have been granted exemptions for Adderral, which is prescribed for ADD and ADHD.
. International trade in surrogacy and sperm donation is a growing industry—and it’s outside the reach of restrictive laws.
The Help and Hope
It was one of the big publishing success stories for 2009—how the author of The Help launched her debut novel to the top of the charts and stayed there. As mentioned in a previous post, my sister-in-law gave me a copy for Christmas last year, but only this week did I finally have a chance to read it. Turns out it's been a publishing success story in 2010, too.
I have little to add to what's already been said about a book that’s been reviewed 2,800+ times on Amazon and today still sits on the top-twenty list. So I’ll keep it short.
The story begins in 1962 when a college grad returns to Jackson, Mississippi, and wants to write. A New York publishing exec counsels her to write what disturbs her. So she collects the stories of black women cleaning homes and cooking and, really, raising kids for rich, Southern white women.
Publisher’s Weekly described the book as being “full of heart and history.” I would add one more “h” word—hope. The south still has plenty of room for improvement on the racism issue, but we’ve come a long way, baby, in the past fifty years.
If you like edutainment through the vehicle of story, add this one to your Christmas list.
"Not with Pearls...or Braided Hair"
Today's my day for posting on the Tapestry blog. If you read this blog regularly, today's Tapestry post will sound a bit familiar... Check it out here.
There and Back
I returned on Saturday night from a whirlwind trip to Oregon, planned around seeing my nephew, Jonathan (left), as the hat maker in "Fiddler on the Roof"--the junior version that lasts ninety minutes instead of two hours or more.
When I got to the DFW airport on Wednesday, my niece from Portland met me at my gate before I even left town. We had about 15 minutes crossing paths as she had a layover while headed east on business. Great fun.
After I landed in Portland, we went to the Multnomah campus, where another niece is finishing up a semester, and caught her choir rehearsal. Gorgeous harmony on the Christmas songs.
Thursday I taught a writing workshop for about thirty kids and their parents, and that night we went out to eat at Sweet Tomatoes, our fave all-you-can-eat salad joint. Then we went down to the water's edge on the Columbia River to watch the Parade of Ships. Annually owners decorate their yachts, dinghys, and catamarans with Christmas lights, and the crafts cruise down the water in formation. Beautiful! It rained (hard) just about the entire time I was in Vancouver/Portland, but the drops stopped just as we pulled up to watch. Perfect viewing.
Friday I drove out to Cannon Beach to meet with my agent, Chip MacGregor, who has been quite patient with my getting-an-education-instead-of-writing-books life. On the way I stopped for coffee and berry scones with one of my cousins before proceeding on to the coast. Driving amidst the pointy-tipped firs fed the aesthetic side of my soul. (And it also reminded me that when I moved from Oregon to Virginia, my fifth grade teacher told me to stop drawing trees that were pointy. Everyone knows, she said, that trees are not pointy at the top. I felt a smug sense of vindication even all these years later.) I arrived at the coast about fifteen minutes early and inhaled the coastal air. Haystack Rock welcomed me with a tiny patch of blue sky overhead. Home.
Inside Mo's, I downed a cup of clam chowder and enjoyed the ocean view while Chip and I plotted out my future. Then it was back to Vancouver for the show. I met up with my parents at my sister's, where we shared dinner before meeting my oldest brother for the performance. The kids did a great job. Because I was in "Fiddler on the Roof" in high school, I especially loved remembering the music and the lines: "May the Lord bless and keep the Czar--far away from us."
Saturday morning my parents returned to their home in Woodburn. Mom rode with me, and I dropped her off before meeting with a former student, Greg Smith (a.k.a. NY Times bestselling author, David Gregory). After a quick lunch with the folks, I went back to Portland to turn in the car, and return to my hubby, daughter, and dry pavement.
Many have asked about my sister and her kids, especially since this Wednesday marks the fifteenth month since their husband and father was killed by a texting driver. December 21 would have also been Carrie and Gordon's 25th wedding anniversary. Last Christmas they all packed up and came here. So this is the year they go through their normal holiday observances with that huge, gaping hole in their lives. They are doing okay. But they haven't yet figured out who will carve the Christmas turkey. Please remember them...
As I've sat in terminals and sardine-packed seats, I've read The Help. My sis-in-law gave it to me for Christmas last year, and I finally have a chance to read something someone hasn't assigned. I should be reading for my dissertation, of course. Too soon, I say! The book is told mostly from the point of view of domestic servants from the 1960s. Great storytelling, even if the themes could break your heart. (Have you ever actually read the Jim Crow laws?)
On to the stack of business that's been waiting for months. Great to see family, but great to be home. I have a lot of Christmas prep left to do!
Whew!
I passed my comps yesterday. Whew! They put me at the long end of the table and three scholars sat at the other end and asked questions. Like that wasn't intimidating? Afterward someone told me that based on Oxford tradition, those sitting for comps have to sit at least a sword's length away from their reviewers. Ha!
Once I found out my results, I ran to finish teaching a class, grabbed a fast-food dinner for my family, and sent my hubby off to Denver on a 9:40 PM flight. We'll have to have a delayed celebration. He is supposed to return tonight--it's just a quick trip to possibly negotiate a big deal relating to micro businesses that will benefit our friends in Africa. But I have a flight out of here at Wednesday to spend four days in Oregon with my sis, meeting with my agent, seeing my family, watching my nephew in "Fiddler on the Roof," and teaching a writing workshop. Remember--my comps got delayed, so this was not supposed to ALL happen this week!
This morning I gathered all the books I need to return to three different places. It makes for quite a stack. I look forward to reclaiming the bedroom floor. Of course I have lots of reading ahead as I write my dissertation. But that intimidates me far less than having to remember a bunch of stuff when I sat in front of three scholars. I survived! Thanks be to God and all my supportive family and friends.
Melatonin Could Improve IVF Success
A report presented recently at the World Congress of Fertility and Sterility in Munich revealed that women with poor egg quality could double their chances of conceiving through in vitro fertilization (IVF) if they take melatonin.
Bionews reported, “High levels of oxidising agents - a type of chemical compound - in the follicular fluids surrounding the egg indicate if a woman has low quality oocytes. These can 'stress' and damage the oocyte. The team took one of these agents known as 8-OHdG and measured its levels in follicular fluid samples. Levels of melatonin, which is known to have anti-oxidising effects, were also measured. The team found that, as melatonin concentration in the follicular fluids naturally increased, the level of 8-OHdG decreased, leading them to believe melatonin was linked to the reduction of the oxidising agents. They confirmed this finding in mice, and discovered that adding melatonin seemed to reduce the damage to the egg caused by the agents.”
The group set up a trial with IVF patients in which 56 women received three mg of melatonin, and 59 received none. Results showed 50 per cent of the eggs from women with melatonin were successfully fertilized, compared with 22.8 per cent in the control group. Then when the eggs were transferred to the uterus, 11 out of the total 56 conceived, as opposed to six out of 59 in the control group.
The work now needs to be confirmed with a larger test group, but it clearly holds promise, as melatonin has been shown to protect many different cells and tissues from oxidative damage—the same type of damage known to happen to oocytes.
For the complete story, go to www.bionews.org.uk/page_70654.asp
Wondering....?
...what happened to my comps? Well, I've finished my three written exams, but my orals got postponed till Monday afternoon. The plan is for us all to have an hour of discussion about what I wrote, and then I leave the room while they talk about me. When I return, I'll find out if I passed. If so, we'll discuss the next step--the dissertation.
Guest: Keeping the Main Focus at Christmas
My niece, Kate, wrote this article about helping her kids keep the focus on Christ in Christmas, and she gave me permission to pass it along:
Our Family’s Advent and Christmas Traditions
By Kate McClain
In observing Advent and celebrating Christmas, our family’s activities can be placed into two categories: (1) things we do to observe the season itself, and (2) things we do to de-emphasize the commercial side of the season.
We certainly don’t shun all cultural traditions, as we love having a Christmas tree, decorating the house, making Christmas cookies, frequenting the holiday train exhibits, and watching shows like “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” that don’t explicitly have the Nativity in them. We evaluated each holiday practice separately and chose not to do the ones we felt distracted from the purpose of Advent - a time of quiet reflection, expectant waiting, and preparation - or the celebration of Christmas as the Incarnation. Of course, each family must make their own decisions about which cultural and Christian traditions to follow. I am sharing what we do to hopefully give others some ideas and inspiration, not to say that we are doing it the right or best way.
Here are some of the things we do to observe Advent and celebrate Christmas:
1. Advent Wreath – we use our church’s Advent booklet for families and do the lessons and questions each Sunday at dinnertime.
2. Advent Calendar – each morning at breakfast we open the appropriate door and read the verse for that day.
3. Nativity set for kids – we have a wooden nativity set for toddlers/kids that they can actually play with. I just ordered the Playmobil one for [my son] since he’s really into other Playmobil stuff and we plan to give it to him on the first day of Advent.
4. Books – There are so many good books out there for older kids, but my favorite for little ones is Christmas in the Manger by Nola Buck and Felicia Bond.
5. Christmas Carols – I sing songs like “Away in a Manger” and “Silent Night” at bedtime during Advent.
6. Go to church throughout Advent and on Christmas Eve and/or Christmas Day
7. Watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" together!
Here are some of the things we do to de-emphasize the commercial side of Christmas:
1. We don’t do Santa Claus – obviously [my son] knows who [Santa] is, but we have explained that he is pretend, just like fairy tale characters, monsters, and superheroes. We plan to teach him about St. Nicholas instead as he grows older. This means we do not hang stockings for Santa, make cookies for Santa, get pictures taken with Santa, or receive presents from Santa.
2. We limit the number of presents – [My husband] and I give each child one or two presents, and we ask grandparents to go easy as well and save gifts for birthdays. As my kids approach the age of music lessons and other sports/activities, I will ask for “sponsorships” for these things instead of material goods. (As a result, I have noticed that Henry never asks for things for Christmas, only for his birthday!)
3. No “Christmas shopping” - I try not to take the boys shopping at all during Advent (except to the grocery store). It’s meant to be a time of quiet reflection and anticipation of what is to come, and I find stores during December to be the complete opposite of this!
4. Give homemade presents – we have made a commitment as a family to give only handmade gifts this year. We are making ornaments, photo frames, canned apple butter, and handmade cards for our families. This way we encourage creativity while not engaging in consumerism. Another plus is that homemade gifts cost less than “normal” presents and mean so much more to the people who receive them.
Making IVF Accessible
Experts are resisting cheap in vitro fertilization (IVF), a gentler technique priced at less than $300, as compared with the usual sixteen grand. The far less expensive version would, of course, cut into clinic profits.
Private treatment costs between $4,700 and $16,000 per cycle, and often patients need more than one cycle to conceive. But only one in five patients needing IVF in the West can do it. In the developing world—where infertility has more serious social consequences–that number is one in a hundred. Take sub-Saharan Africa, for example. A high birth rate conceals STDs, botched abortions, and pelvic infections. And the social consequences of infertility can mean divorce, polygamy, and even death. Yet at the moment IVF is only for the rich.
The alternative form uses generic drugs (clomiphene) and simple equipment, and the estimated cost includes personnel, not just meds and equipment. Because the alternative is less toxic and far less expensive, those seeking treatment could do IVF multiple times.
Clinics in Melbourne, Stockholm and Bologna have done pilot studies with 100 cycles each. They yielded a birth rate per cycle of about 12%. Standard IVF has rates two to three times that high. Yet a couple doing the less expensive form could multiply their number of tries, making rates comparable but still at a fraction of the cost. A 2007 study found that even natural-cycle IVF (without drugs) had a 43% cumulative pregnancy rate over a year—equivalent to standard IVF rates without the risks.
Standard IVF has a 50% drop-out rate and is physically and psychologically traumatic. The low-cost, low-impact approach is less traumatic and has a quicker recovery time. Thus patients would not have to wait three months or more before trying again.
A foundation is grafting low-cost facilities into existing clinics, and they are targeting India, Uganda, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and Tunisia. The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology aims to set up a similar program in Egypt, Paraguay, and in sub-Saharan Africa.
Source: www.bionews.org.uk/page_72984.asp
An Amazing Nine Minutes
If you haven't seen the testimony from Cape Town 2010 of the young woman from North Korea, it's simple and powerful. You can view it here.
How I Spent My Thanksgiving Holiday
I finished my final written exam last Tuesday at ten, and Wednesday morning my family and I threw our bags in the car, picked up Grammy, and headed for the airport. We traveled to see my husband's family in Washington, DC, spending two nights at his brother's in northern Virginia and two nights in a nearby hotel.
Thursday morning while my hubby recovered from a migraine, I joined my brother-in-law, mother-in-law, niece and her family and a couple of other folks for a trip to the U.S. National Arboretum adjacent to the capitol. Since my niece's family lives in the District, her hubby and one of the boys biked the thirteen blocks from their home and met us there.
The Arboretum had a train exhibit in which the locomotives chugged through some of the wonders of the ancient world. All of the structures--and they were beautiful--were made of natural materials. If you look closely, you'll see that the blue engine cruising by the Taj Mahal is Thomas. My great nephew was delighted with that little detail
.
In another room they had a replica of the mall in Washington, complete with Reflection Pool. And it was all free. Or, as my brother-in-law said, we paid for it with our taxes. Since it was Thanksgiving Day, we didn't even have to stand in line.
Later, back in Virginia after the traditional family dinner, we settled in to see the Dallas Cowboys get beat by the New Orleans Saints. It woulda hurt more, except that Drew Brees had a great day, which took some of the sting out of losing in the last minute. After more pie, we sniffled our way through Toy Story 3.
On Friday we went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History. A highlight there was seeing the gowns of the presidents' wives, including some inauguration dresses I remembered. But the museum also had a great exhibit on water transportation. That evening my little family went to my niece's for dinner. She has two little boys, a hubby in Catholic University's PhD program, and a baby due any day. We ordered pizza and spent the evening making glitter cards. We got lost on the way home, but we got where we needed to go by looping through my old neighborhood. (I lived in Arlington from ages 10-17.)
Saturday was our lazy day. The teens went to their own movie, while the grown-ups went and saw Russell Crowe in the heart-stopping drama, "The Next Three Days." Then we spent the evening playing cards.
On Sunday morning we went to high mass at the Parish of St. Monica and St. James, a beautiful cottage-like Episcopal Church in the Anglo-Catholic tradition on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Two struggling churches, an Africa-American and an anglo congregation, joined into one, and the mix of cultures was delightful. Picture high church structure with songs like "I Am Bound for the Promised Land." My niece's family was lighting the first 
advent candle during the service.
My nephew, who digs wells in Ethiopia, was in from Africa. So we had lots of stories to swap. That morning he joined his parents and me in DC while the rest of the family went to church in Virginia, where my hubby's brother is on staff. After church on the beautiful but frigid day we made our way back to Virginia, passing the Jefferson Memorial, crossing the Potomac, rounding the Pentagon...
We gathered the family for a big lunch and more cards, and then it was time to fly home (where it's warm). And face the laundry. But what a great time, and a nice break from studying.