Month: November 2018

blog, Life Today

Five Days Before Colorado Gives Day!

Hschichie

Yesterday the world came together in a philanthropic effort for Giving Tuesday! It was impressive and heartwarming to see all of these amazing organizations.

And alas, Miracles for Mito was silent on this day.

Do you know why?

We are saving all of our donation moxie for Colorado Gives Day; only five short days away!!!!

Since are nonprofit was born in Colorado, serves the Rocky Mountain region and supports research at the University of Colorado, Colorado Gives Day seems appropriate.

For the next FIVE DAYS, I will post how our grassroots org has made an impact in this state we love.

Here is day Number 1!

DO YOU KNOW that many mito patients are told to take a very pure form of COQ10 called Ubiquinol as a therapeutic remedy?

A bottle of Ubiquinol is $125.00 out of pocket.

Miracles for Mito delivers Ubiquinol free of charge to our Mito families.

Your donation helps our families receive this supplement.

So hey, thanks! That’s pretty nice of you 🙂

blog

I Love My Mitochondria

Hschichie

Lordy I do.

I do, do, do-do-y do.

None of us would be here without these tiny, beautiful organelles.

Like any love affair it is peppered with imperfections, loss, heart ache, curses, and the occasional throwing of a dinner plate across the dining room.

Regardless. At the end of the day. I love my mitochondria.

I love them so very much me and my favorite people made a t-shirt to proclaim our love.

I love this t-shirt.

I love my mito shirt

Here is what I love most about this messaging. Mitochondria are complicated, mitochondrial diseases are terrifying, if I hadn’t been forced to know about my mitochondria, I wouldn’t know about my mitochondria.

But now I know. And now I love them and I want the rest of the world to know them and love them too.

So hence my shirt. Which can be your shirt too! Send me an email and we can get you all set up.

Second best thing about this shirt? It makes you look really smart. Like crazy scientist smart. And for someone who got a D in chemistry junior year, I love to look scientist smart.

Here’s me and researcher in Toronto. He stopped me wearing last years shirt, “Hey, I love my mitochondria, are you a scientist?”

scientist

“Well of course! What other nerd would be wearing an I love my mitochondria shirt?”

No, alas, I cannot lie. I am merely a paramour of my mitochondria.

But keep working smart devoted researcher. Keep working on these complex forces of energy…..I’ll keep talking about how super important they are.

Love.

Your.

Mitochondria.

And get a shirt too!

 

 

blog, home, Life Today

Dodie’s china, tarnished silver and love

Hschichie

Lordy. Today was a good day. We hosted 24 people. The table clothes were wrinkled, the glassware didn’t match and the silver needed a good polish.

I didn’t polish the silver. In fact I only found the silver last night in a desperate attempt to find more forks. We still have some unpacking to do.

Nevertheless, two beautiful turkeys and an impressive ham made its way into our bellies along with a little grape and a lot of laughter. My grandfather at 91 and my nephew at 2 1/2 adorned the table along with the rest of us, all between the spectrum of youngest to oldest.

family

This is what life is isn’t? These moments around a meal; a piece of pie, breaking bread, pulling out my grandma Dodie’s china, toasting the beauty of being together.

Perhaps that is what creating a legacy is about. Tiny moments that weave into bigger stories. The comfort of being surrounded by unconditional love and mashed potatoes.

Happy Thanksgiving sweet friends.

blog, home, Life Today

3 Tips to Grieving Parents Surviving the Holidays

Hschichie

Hey Loves! Our Mito Memories group is talking about surviving the holidays on Sunday. I thought I would post my own guide.

3 Tips….maybe more but this sounded like a good place to start.

1- This is Yours

Believe this and covet this. What I am about to tell you is a horrible truth but I think if you know this, it helps. Are you ready?

This journey is yours.

No one knows the crazy-ass painful extent of your grief. They don’t, they cannot. They may think they understand and yes, they may be in your court and want to support you but Honey, Sweet Love, this pain is yours to carry.

And I’m sorry for that.

I tell you this because your family and friends may be super supportive. They may be there for loves, and hugs and kisses and they want you to be happy. My goodness! They want nothing for you to be happy.

But sometimes in this journey, you cannot, you physically, mentally cannot be happy.

That is okay.

Protect your right to be sad.

Guard this right for yourself and for your family. I had many people ask what was wrong with Hubs and was he doing okay. I said, ‘yeah he’s alright.’ When I should have said holy schmoly no! He is not alright! He is f8cking sad! Let him be sad!

Allow yourself to be sad. If you get too sad, allow yourself to find help. Help is awesome. Truly. I love sitting with someone who will listen and nod with me for an hour.

Validation is fabulous.

2- Find your muse

My outlet is to write.

Do you sing? Paint? Build? Knit? Draw? Photograph? Clean? Cook? Find you thing and think of your Love when you do it.

I have no outlet you may say. And to that I say you do. Dig deep, find it. Cook for the homeless, downward dog your ass off, glue-gun sesame seeds to bowls, glitter the walls…..

Find a place where you can find peace in your head.

3- Think of your Love

Honor that sweet little pickle. Honor that Love in your own sacred way, make that honor yours and yours alone. For me, this space is my very own lovely, guarded scared space, it is filled with songs that bring tears to my eyes, sunrises that take my breath away, a pair of Samantha’s shoes and a stuffed lion that ride in my car.

I love and kiss them all.

What’s crazy is that when I try to explain my sacred space to others: when a song comes on that reminds me of my girl….

Lumineers…..

Lovely girl wont you stay, wont you stay, stay with me

All my life I was blind. I was blind, now I see……

Something is watered down by my explanation to others and then I almost regret bringing that person into my sacred space.

Because this is my song, for my girl.  Lovely girl

So Loves. Find your space this season. Guard it with the intimacy of your love, your pain, the complexity of the shitiness you have been dealt. Make a list of three things that will make this season successful, make that success dependent on no one else but you.

You can do this. You can honor your Love and survive the holidays. Honor who you are, honor your sadness, honor your sacred space. Nothing else matters. Scalloped potatoes can kiss my hiney.

home, Life Today

3 Tips to Grieving Parents Surviving the Holidays

Hschichie

Hey Loves! Our Mito Memories group is talking about surviving the holidays on Sunday. I thought I would post my own guide.

3 Tips….maybe more but this sounded like a good place to start.

1- This is Yours

Believe this and covet this. What I am about to tell you is a horrible truth but I think if you know this, it helps. Are you ready?

This journey is yours.

No one knows the crazy-ass painful extent of your grief. They don’t, they cannot. They may think they understand and yes, they may be in your court and want to support you but Honey, Sweet Love, this pain is yours to carry.

And I’m sorry for that.

I tell you this because your family and friends may be super supportive. They may be there for loves, and hugs and kisses and they want you to be happy. My goodness! They want nothing for you to be happy.

But sometimes in this journey, you cannot, you physically, mentally cannot be happy.

That is okay.

Protect your right to be sad.

Guard this right for yourself and for your family. I had many people ask what was wrong with Hubs and was he doing okay. I said, ‘yeah he’s alright.’ When I should have said holy schmoly no! He is not alright! He is f8cking sad! Let him be sad!

Allow yourself to be sad. If you get too sad, allow yourself to find help. Help is awesome. Truly. I love sitting with someone who will listen and nod with me for an hour.

Validation is fabulous.

2- Find your muse

My outlet is to write.

Do you sing? Paint? Build? Knit? Draw? Photograph? Clean? Cook? Find you thing and think of your Love when you do it.

I have no outlet you may say. And to that I say you do. Dig deep, find it. Cook for the homeless, downward dog your ass off, glue-gun sesame seeds to bowls, glitter the walls…..

Find a place where you can find peace in your head.

3- Think of your Love

Honor that sweet little pickle. Honor that Love in your own sacred way, make that honor yours and yours alone. For me, this space is my very own lovely, guarded scared space, it is filled with songs that bring tears to my eyes, sunrises that take my breath away, a pair of Samantha’s shoes and a stuffed lion that ride in my car.

I love and kiss them all.

What’s crazy is that when I try to explain my sacred space to others: when a song comes on that reminds me of my girl….

Lumineers…..

Lovely girl wont you stay, wont you stay, stay with me

All my life I was blind. I was blind, now I see……

Something is watered down by my explanation to others and then I almost regret bringing that person into my sacred space.

Because this is my song, for my girl.  Lovely girl

So Loves. Find your space this season. Guard it with the intimacy of your love, your pain, the complexity of the shitiness you have been dealt. Make a list of three things that will make this season successful, make that success dependent on no one else but you.

You can do this. You can honor your Love and survive the holidays. Honor who you are, honor your sadness, honor your sacred space. Nothing else matters. Scalloped potatoes can kiss my hiney.