Word for 2011

Tap tap tap - is this thing on? Tomorrow will be 1 year from my last blog entry, if you can even count a cute baby video as an entry. I guess I don't often have much to say that can't fit in a Facebook status!

I'm not an every day listener of K-Love radio, mostly because they play the same 20 songs for months and months. But I do listen once in a while, and managed to hear about their "one-word" campaign. I think the goal is to pick a word that will be your theme for the upcoming year. Supposed to be similar to a New Year's resolution - which, if you listen to the latest statistics, most of us have already broken by now anyway.

So the one word thing has been in the back of my mind as 2011 has begun. I have seen a lot already this year in the lives of people I know & love deeply: serious injuries, car accidents, divorces, unemployment, cancer. And the word that comes to mind is - relentless. That is 2011's word to me.

"Relentless: unyieldingly severe, strict, harsh"

Well, 2011, I have a word for you, too. And it is this: mercy. For every relentless thing you bring to the table, I will match it with mercy.

"Mercy: kindly forbearance shown toward an offender, compassion, benevolence"

• When I see an email from my boss with a time stamp of 10pm, I will stop and say kind words to her the next day because I know that she stays late because she does not want to go home to the house her husband has moved out of.
• When I read the blog of a 20-something woman who has lost her husband in Iraq, I will do more than just tear up. I will send her an encouraging note, even if I cannot relate whatsoever to her situation.
• When a conversation seems to run a little long, I will actively listen, because sometimes people are lonely and just need to talk. I've even been that lonely person before.
• When a friend just bursts into tears, I will hug and not be the first to let go. I will not offer "words of wisdom" when all that is asked is my presence.
• When a coworker calls in "sick" on the busiest day of the month at work, I will work harder to lighten her workload for her return.
• When I hear teenage snarkiness coming from my firstborn, I will be slower to respond. How can I forget how dramatic those years can be!
• When someone tells me of a family in need and I don't know what to do, I will pray. I will not always know a way to show mercy, but I will always ask for it.

Mercy - it's more than just being nice. What's your word to 2011?

Happiness defined...

Bhopal Anniversary - 25 years and counting...

A few weeks ago, Rick & I watched a documentary called "The Yes Men Fix the World." Great movie and I highly recommend it (though not with your kids). One of the issues they address is the Bhopal tragedy. There are several sides to the story, but what everyone seems to agree to is this: In 1984, 40,000kgs of a poisonous gas leaked out of its tank at the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal India - killing roughly 4000 people within hours. And yet I hadn't heard of it until 2009 - shame on me.

Activists like the "Yes Men" and other groups claim up to 23,000 deaths and birth defects in children born from people exposed to the chemical. I've read about cancer rates as high as 49%, seen pictures of kids with 6 fingers on their hands - weird stuff. And heartbreaking. And it makes me mad.

I am mad that people are still suffering. I am mad that it has been 25 years and that even though the plant has closed down, the remnants are still there, and nothing seems to be getting done to clean up the mess. I think what upsets me the most is people pointing fingers and not taking action.

I have a strong dislike for anything described as "corporate," but I find it hard to believe that a company would just kill thousands of people and not do anything to make it right. So I went to Union Carbide's website to see if I could find anything - kudos to them for having a link on their homepage dedicated to Bhopal information. I honestly didn't expect that.
I have read everything they posted - the whole Union Carbide story, and am bothered by 3 things:

1. They blame the 1984 incident on employee sabotage, but have never released the person's name. I might believe this if it were for legal reasons, but it is not. According to their site, the Indian government is fully aware of the guilty party but only wants to prosecute the corporation itself, seemingly accusing the government of monetary greed. That's believable enough...but wouldn't releasing the name of the saboteur bring public pressure to the government to prosecute? Wouldn't it also be good for the "corporate" image to name the culprit and clear their name?

2. Union Carbide has quite a list of things they did to respond to this tragedy. Financially, the initial response was a $2 million dollar donation. I was a little disappointed in that. They say they made additional attempts to donate but the Indian government refused the funds. Wait, isn't this the money-hungry government that won't prosecute the individual so it can go after the corporation? That doesn't make sense to me. However, I was surprised to learn that after the government rejected corporate money, Union Carbide funneled money through Arizona State University to set up a vocational center in Bhopal. Nice move...until the government found out and not only closed the center down, but completely leveled the building. (Such quick action would be great at the former plant site!)

3. The site has still not been cleaned up. Come on guys - it's been 25 years! Union Carbide claims it never owned the site, and that it belonged to their Indian entity - Union Carbide merely "held just over half of the stock." I'm not a business expert, but sounds like ownership to me. Again, the government of India is to blame and has had full responsibility for the site cleanup since 1998. I guess we are supposed to be ok with the fact that Union Carbide didn't address this during the first 14 years after the gas leak. They also claim that activist groups have been prohibiting clean up of the site, but give no examples.

I also checked out the information on this from the Indian government (http://www.mp.gov.in/bgtrrdmp/profile.htm), and am not surprised to see that like Union Carbide, they also have biased information. The website describes that night as a "holocaust," among other things. What I don't see is direct accusations, like on Union Carbide's site.

Why can't someone just step up and clean up the mess? It wouldn't have to mean accepting responsibility for the whole event, but it would be a heroic move. And the right thing to do.

I started reading about this after we saw the movie, with the goal of being more globally minded. But now I just feel helpless - I can't travel to Bhopal to volunteer, and I don't have a giant financial gift. I guess being informed can be depressing sometimes, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be.

I know it's been awhile...

Oh dear blog, I've thought about you often, but haven't really had a lot to say. I get this idea in my head and never follow the thoughts to completion, so I convince myself it's not worth writing about. Let me tell you about the last year or so.

I'm a mom...again. Wasn't sure I was ready to do it all over again, and can't really say I enjoyed being pregnant. But I am in love with little Ben, and it is so fun to compare him to baby Kate. He is so sweet & beautiful - Rick is already using him as leverage to have more. I'm not sure what to think about that yet.

Kate has 4 months until she officially becomes a teenager. She is gorgeous, and I am so glad she has yet to go boy-crazy like some of her friends. She & Rick seem to be getting along a little better these days, and she does seem to like Ben when he's not crying or smelly. :) She spends a lot of time on the cell phone with her friends, discussing the latest social scandal, but never really seems to be in the middle of any of them. Now that I think about it, I wonder if that's really true...

As for me, I'm going green. I can't pinpoint what happened, but at some point in my pregnancy with Ben, I became obsessed with living a more natural, environment-friendly lifestyle. My new slogan is "Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without." I am FB fans of sites like Treehugger, participate in Meatless Mondays, and read books about Raw Milk laws. We no longer buy laundry detergent, household cleaners, and very soon we will be done with disposable diapers. More recently I've been trying my hand at homemade bath products - couple of failed attempts at lotions, but have lip balm down pretty well. :) Next goal is to get rid of napkins & paper towels...

Rick is still the best husband ever. He lets me be who I am, encourages my crazy ideas (most of them anway), and just loves me. We are a good team, as long as it's not a home improvement project! :)

Well that's it for now - a lot more going on outside our little family, but gotta leave something to write about later. Happy Thanksgiving!

"Our UAV is online..."

Anyone who knows the source of the phrase can sympathize...  :)

Car Troubles

We have 2 vehicles at our house - "my" car (the one we use to drive everywhere) and Rick's truck, circa 1992. It's an old truck with rust holes in the sides but has been diligently maintained over the years and still gets across town and back. And my car is the one that breaks down this week - oh the irony.

I don't pretend to know anything about cars or how they work, but when you turn the key and nothing happens it is not a good thing. Which is exactly what happened on Wed night. We got the car home late Wed night and decided to wait until the next day to address the problem. I sacrificed 90 minutes of sleep the next morning so I could be driven to work early enough for Rick to be back to work on time. I thought the plan was to get the car fixed during the day and I would be happily greeted by my husband in the parking lot shortly after work.

Instead I sat at my desk over an hour after everyone else had gone home before the rusty old truck pulled in to the parking lot. I had been stuck at work for nearly 12 straight hours and the car still wasn't fixed. What had he been doing all day? I could have managed this much better, I thought. And I told him so, in not-so-kind words.

When we got home for the evening, I was physically and emotionally exhausted and went to bed, every little action reminding him I was still mad. It was not until after I had gone to bed that God began to work (more accurately it wasn't until then that I was willing to listen). I realized how much my negative attitude contributed toward the evening. I was so disappointed in my selfishness. I wrote him a quick note of apology and went to sleep, only to be awakened by my husband a couple hours later. He had been working on the car, gone to the auto parts store, bought the part and put it in. The car was working fine now, he said, so I could sleep in a little later since he didn't have to drive me to work in the morning.

It was the loving actions of my husband that taught me a lesson in humility, love, and forgiveness. I saw God in him this week - what a blessing!

Rude Awakening Part 2...

During my prayer time early this morning, I felt led to pray for a specific friend of mine. She's a great friend and I've been trying for years to get her to come to church. I mention it occasionally, but hadn't said anything to her in a while. This morning at work I got an email from her asking what time church starts on Sunday. I don't know for sure if she'll be there Sunday or not, but she is thinking about her spiritual life and that is a great step. That little email brought me so much joy today - it was so worth the lost sleep to see the validation that God does hear my prayers and is working in the lives of those around me.