Suffering a loss- march 20th

Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it. - Helen Keller

I hate this. I don't want to do this. But I realized that there may be someone who can benefit from this, maybe.

......

Have you ever felt pain in such a way that if felt like your heart was ripped from your chest? And as you watch it happen, you're grasping for air, confused, bewildered and yet, can't turn away?

That is just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many deep conflicting emotions underneath the surface that right now, I just can't face. I've cried, screamed. I was angry and disappointed. But at times, I was also relieved. Then, guilty. I don't know. It's all a maze of sticky emotions that entangle your heart and brain in such a way that it feels that your drowning in all of it.

I had miscarriage.

There, I said it. The crazy part about all of this is this: This is my 6th one. You would think that it would be easier. But in actuality, to think that I should have 6 more children walking the earth right now.... there are no comforting words.

But for those who experience such a tragedy, start here:

THIS IS NOT YOUR FAULT!

Read that statement as often as you need. Talk to someone: your spouse, family, a doctor, therapist. Go to a support group. Call a hotline. Write it down in a journal or blog. Cry, yell, draw, cook or clean. Do whatever you need to do to grieve. And know that there is no right or wrong way to grieve. Just your way.

I hope this helps in some small way.

Cherise

Origin of St Patrick's Day

Taken from Wikipedia

Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig, "the Day of the Festival of Patrick"), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461), the foremost patron saint ofIreland.

Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early 17th century and is observed by the Catholic Church, theAnglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland),^[4] the Eastern Orthodox Church, and Lutheran Church. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland,^[3] and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general.^[5] Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, céilithe, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks.^[6]Christians also attend church services^[5][7] and the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol are lifted for the day, which has encouraged and propagated the holiday's tradition of alcohol consumption.^[5][6][8][9]

Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland,^[10] Northern Ireland,^[11] the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated by the Irish diaspora around the world, especially in Great Britain, Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand.

Saint Patrick[edit]

Main article: Saint Patrick

Patrick was a 5th-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Much of what is known about Saint Patrick comes from the Declaration, which was allegedly written by Patrick himself. It is believed that he was born in Roman Britain in the fourth century, into a wealthy Romano-British family. His father was a deacon and his grandfather was a priest in the Christian church. According to the Declaration, at the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Gaelic Ireland.^[12] It says that he spent six years there working as a shepherd and that during this time he "found God". The Declarationsays that God told Patrick to flee to the coast, where a ship would be waiting to take him home. After making his way home, Patrick went on to become a priest.

According to legend, Saint Patrick used the three-leavedshamrock to explain the Holy Trinity to Irish pagans.

According to tradition, Patrick returned to Ireland to convert the pagan Irish to Christianity. The Declaration says that he spent many years evangelising in the northern half of Ireland and converted "thousands". Patrick's efforts to convert, subjugate, and drive off the Pagans (specifically the Celts) were eventually turned into an allegory in which he drove "snakes" out of Ireland. (Ireland never had any snakes.)

Tradition holds that he died on 17 March and was buried at Downpatrick. Over the following centuries, many legends grew up around Patrick and he became Ireland's foremost saint.

Celebration and traditions[edit]

Wearing of the green[edit]

On St Patrick's Day it is customary to wear shamrocks and/or green clothing or accessories (the "wearing of the green"). St Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish.^[13][14] This story first appears in writing in 1726, though it may be older.

In pagan Ireland, three was a significant number and the .... to continue reading, please click here.

Until next time!
Cherise, the Mompreneur

Origin of International Woman's Day

image from animalfair(dot)com

Taken from Wikipedia

International Women's Day (IWD), originally called International Working Women's Day, is celebrated on March 8 every year.^[2] In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation, and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political, and social achievements. Started as a Socialist political event, the holiday blended the culture of many countries, primarily in Europe, especially those in the Soviet Bloc. In some regions, the day lost its political flavor, and became simply an occasion for people to express their love for women in a way somewhat similar to a mixture of Mother's Day and Valentine's Day. In other regions, however, the political and human rights theme designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner. Some people celebrate the day by wearing purple ribbons.

History[edit]

The earliest Women’s Day observance was held on February 28, 1909, in New York; it was organized by the Socialist Party of America in remembrance of the 1908 strike of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.^[3] There was no specific strike happening on March 8, despite later claims.^[4]

In August 1910, an International Women's Conference was organized to precede the general meeting of the Socialist Second International in Copenhagen, Denmark. Inspired in part by the American socialists, German Socialist Luise Zietz proposed the establishment of an annual 'International Woman's Day' (singular) and was seconded by fellow socialist and later communist leader Clara Zetkin, although no date was specified at that conference.^[5][6] Delegates (100 women from 17 countries) agreed with the idea as a strategy to promote equal rights, including suffrage, for women.^[7] The following year, on March 19, 1911, IWD was marked for the first time, by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.^[3] In the Austro-Hungarian Empire alone, there were 300 demonstrations.^[5] In Vienna, women paraded on the Ringstrasse and carried banners honouring the martyrs of the Paris Commune.^[5] Women demanded that women be given the right to vote and to hold public office. They also protested against employment sex discrimination.^[2] Americans continued to celebrate National Women's Day on the last Sunday in February.^[5]

Female members of the AustralianBuilders Labourers Federation march on International Women's Day 1975 in Sydney

In 1913 Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Saturday in February (by Julian calendar then used in Russia).^[4]

Although there were some women-led strikes, marches, and other protests in the years leading up to 1914, none of them happened on March 8.^[4] In 1914 International Women's Day was held on March 8, possibly because that day was a Sunday, and now it is always held on March 8 in all countries.^[4] The 1914 observance of the Day in Germany was dedicated to women's right to vote, which German women did not win until 1918.^[4][8]

In London there was a march from Bow to Trafalgar Square in support of women's suffrage on 8 March 1914. Sylvia Pankhurst was arrested in front of Charing Cross station on her way to speak in Trafalgar Square.^[9]

In 1917 demonstrations marking International Women's Day in Saint Petersburg on the last Thursday in February (which fell on March 8 on the Gregorian calendar) initiated the February Revolution.^[2] Women in Saint Petersburg went on strike that day for “Bread and Peace" - demanding the end of World War I, .... to read more, click here.

Until next time!
Cherise, the Mompreneur