Duck and cover, it's Mother's Day

Dear friends,
Here we are again, Mother's Day. I'm hiding out. After all these years, I still teared up at church when Father Brian gave the annual Mother's Day blessing. After I complained at the liturgy meeting, he altered it include all women who nurture or care for others. But I still got misty.

If this is a tough day for you, you might want to take a peek at my "Childless Woman's Survival Guide" at the Exhale online zine. If that doesn't do it, visit suelick.com, click on Childless and read my "Mother's Day Rant."

If you're still miserable, turn off all media and do something physical, like gardening, washing the car or baking cookies (which you will then eat). Put on some loud music and forget the whole Mother's Day business. It'll be over soon.

Visit this magazine for childless women

Hi. Sorry about the delays. I can't seem to catch up, but I am pleased and proud to invite you to read the winter edition of Exhale, a literary magazine for childless women. My piece, "Childless Woman's Survival Guide," is included. The whole issue is about "levity," the ability to laugh in the midst of grief. Read this with Kleenex nearby. I suspect you'll want to bookmark this e-zine and perhaps join Exhale's discussions on Facebook.

Hey, here's another good thing: The holidays coming up, Valentine's Day and President's Day, don't have anything to do with children, so we don't have to feel left out. Celebrate. Oh, and don't forget Fat Tuesday Feb. 16. What a great month.
Back soon.
Sue

Share childless feelings in Exhale zine

My Google alerts brought me to an interesting zine called "Exhale," which is subtitled "A literary magazine for intelligent people who have lost a baby, or can't figure out how to make one in the first place." You can get it in print or online. My friend Tiffany Lee Brown won an award from Exhale for her piece "The Kitchen Sink." It's available online and definitely worth a read.
Bravo, Tiffany.

I also discovered an interesting article called "The Men Who are Desperate for Kids," published April 19 in the UK's TimesOnline. So often, we only look at the woman's viewpoint, but men have strong feelings about childlessness, too. They may not show it, for fearing of appearing "soft," but writer Nirpal Dhaiwal tells how men who wanted children and don't have them can feel the loss just as much as woman can.

As all the advertising media won't let us forget, Sunday is Mother's Day. I'm planning to duck and cover till it's over. Someone already wished me a happy Mother's Day yesterday. I just said "thank you" and moved on. I didn't have the energy to set them straight.

Happy whatever, my friends.