Dana Daily

A few months ago my mom asked me to attend a mother/daughter retreat near my hometown of Franklin , PA. I figured what the heck. I’m entering a new phase of my life and I’m willing to go out a limb and try something new. For a short time this past weekend I wanted to curse this new-found adventuresome spirit, but more about that later. Anyway, my mom has supported me through the divorce process and I know it hasn’t been easy so I thought I would do this for her. It’s only a weekend, right? Well, a weekend can feel like a hundred years when someone drops a bombshell. My mom and I arrived at the retreat center, St. Thomas More House of Prayer to be specific, just in time for dinner. Fridays during Lent are always tricky for me. It's the issue of not eating meat. It’s not that I am the ultimate carnivore, but I am certainly not into fish or other seafood. I made her promise to take me to McDonalds if dinner was horrible. Over some kind of bread crumb crusted ocean/sea creature and v...

I was listening to a local country radio station this evening and the first few bars of a song came on. Sarah looked at me and said, "God is Great, Beer is Good, and People are Crazy. Then she went on to sing the entire song word for word. Let me tell you - you haven't lived till you've had a 4yo tell you beer is good (and now I know what her father's taste in music is these days). But, I guess it could be worse. Read on. . . My favorite song, for a short time, when I was about Sarah's age was Coward of the County by Kenny Rogers. I even named one of my baby dolls Becky after the woman in the song. I didn't know until years later what it all meant and I was mortified that my parents let me listen to it and call it a favorite. My poor baby doll. And, if you have no idea what I'm talking about, I've included links for your listening pleasure. People are Crazy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKpQRjj_WbU Coward of the County: http://www.youtube...

What began as a research effort in the 1990s revolutionized life around the globe. The internet has forever changed the way in which people communicate and collaborate. As Clay Shirky discusses in Here Comes Everybody , the internet has given people the power to organize without organizations. However, as revolutionary as the internet has been to life as we know it, this is just another example of a culture shift. Equally revolutionary to everyday life was the printing press. ·          Books were available to the masses. ·          Literacy and education became widespread. ·          Professions, namely that of the scribes, faded into history. The internet parallels the invention of the printing press in what it has done for everyday people in their everyday lives. ·          Information is readily available. ·   ...

I remember March 20, 2007 as if it were yesterday. I remember waking up in unbelievable pain. I remember pacing. I remember eating Italian ice in a dark kitchen. I remember making a phone call. I remember riding in a car on deserted city streets. I remember white coats and blue surgical masks. I remember hearing “It’s a Girl”. Happy 4 th Birthday, Sarah! 6 weeks 1 year  2 years  3 years  4 years 

I promise you this simple phrase will invoke fear from the pit of your stomach if you hear it when you're on the wet side of the shower curtain, and up to this point, trusted that your two children are playing nicely together in the living room, a mere three steps away. With great trepidation I threw back the shower curtain and took a look at the little person standing in front of me. I immediately started laughing; from relief, because it's the last thing I expected, and because she's just so darn cute. Here's is the sight that met my eyes (staged after my shower of course, for the purpose of this blog):

When Sarah was a baby I was talking to someone at work about things we remembered from the 1980s. Our list included Rainbow Brite, Cabbage Patch Dolls, stirrup pants, and Mr. Yuk (among other things). I wondered if Mr. Yuk was still around so I googled and found out that he is indeed alive and well. I printed a Mr. Yuk logo and hung him on the refrigerator so that I would have easy access to the poison control center number, just in case. Well, I've now called twice in four years. The first time Sarah decided to taste some Bath and Body Works hand sanitizer. I don't think she ate much and the particular flavor she ingested was not harmful. The second time, Sarah got ahold of a tube of glue and bit off the cap. Her mouth filled with the glue which turned to string instantly when it hit saliva. Again, not harmful, but it shaved a few years off my life. . I walked by Giant Eagle Pharmacy yesterday and saw a sign that next week (March 20-26) is Poison Prevention Week. It made m...

I'm not sure why I'm posting this now. Eight months seems like such a random milestone. Why not 6? Why not wait until 12 months, a full year? But no, 8 months it is. Nearly 8 months ago I left my husband of 5 years. I left 4.5 years later than I should have. Surprised? Those of you who thought you knew us as a couple probably are. We appeared to have it all. You saw what we wanted you to see. You saw us as you wanted to see us. You knew us as we wanted you to know us. And, yes, you knew us as you wanted to know us. The signs were there. Hindsight is always 20/20. About this time a year ago I was living moment to moment, but not so as to soak in each moment. I lived moment to moment because it's the only way I could get through the day. I fell asleep at night only to be awakened by one or both of the girls crying in the morning. I would lay there, eyes shut, thinking "Please no, don't make me get out of bed and live this life". The crying would continue and...

Dear Emily, So, my little sister is 31 today. 31?!? How can you be 31? I’m pretty sure I’m still 31 (or maybe even 30). Ah well, as your (slightly) older, (somewhat) delusional sister I have a few things to share. Here’s the thing about 31. You are now IN your 30s. You are on the downhill slide to 40 and I mean it’s a literal slide. You were once able to pass the pencil test with flying colors. Try it now, or maybe. . . wait until tomorrow, we don’t want any tears on your birthday. If you don’t have any gray hairs yet, don’t worry. You will. Before the year ends, I bet. You no longer have laugh lines. Those are wrinkles. Actual wrinkles. And, just remember, for heaven’s sake (as well as your own), that trampolines and jumping rope are for children. Enjoy your day. Happy Birthday!

Today is my grandma’s 93 rd birthday. Think about that. Ninety-three. I grew up an hour away from my grandparents so there was no running over to her house after school for cookies. There weren’t many impromptu visits. We didn’t run into Grandma at the grocery store. Grandma didn’t babysit. But, I have plenty of memories of Grandma. My grandparents lived in a huge white farmhouse with a green roof that was situated on 100+ acres of rolling farmland and woods. There were heavy pocket doors between the oversized dining room and cozy living room which was complete with an organ on which I pounded out Mary Had a Little Lamb  over and over again. Her pantry wasn’t a shallow closet with builder grade shelving. Oh no, her pantry was a room (with a window at one end) just off the kitchen. A door separated the two rooms and when children didn’t catch it as it closed behind them it banged loudly and everyone got in trouble. Each of the three bedrooms upstairs rivals in size some living ...

In what may seem like complete craziness on my part, I want to take the Sarah and Emily to Disney World before school starts in the fall. I’m not kidding when I say it’s been a long year and I feel like we just need to get away to the happiest place on Earth for a few days. Kevin and I took the girls to Disney last January for his brother’s wedding so I do have some idea of what I’d be getting myself into. That helps. Sarah still talks about that trip. She remembers flying on the purple plane (Southwest), throwing up in the castle (at breakfast with the princesses), and riding Dumbo (she must have ridden it no less than 20 times and of course it had the longest lines). I still remember the sheer joy on her face when she met Mickey and Minnie and all the other characters too. Emily was sort of “eh” on meeting them. They were nice from a distance, but when they got too close she dissolved in a puddle of tears. I have been wanting to go back since the day I left and I think it would be...

I found out today that Sarah was accepted into the ReadyK Program at St. Ursula’s School. I don’t know why I’m calling this a proud mommy moment or even why I almost started crying (happy tears) when I got the news. It’s not like I, or she, even did anything short of submitting a lot of paperwork (health forms, registration form, baptismal certificate, birth certificate, just to name a few) and a check to cover registration fees, a nominal amount. But, proud I was. She is so ready for this program and I know she’s going to do well. Little Achievers has done a great job preparing her for the next step in her education. The administrator I spoke to also explained that in late May Sarah will be invited to attend “Move-Up Day”. She will essentially go to school for a day and meet her teacher and classmates and get to see what it’s all about. It sounds like fun. I hung up the phone and in my mind I was already back-to-school shopping for backpacks, clothes, and accessories. Then it hit me...