Something for the weekend…

It’s that time of the week again. Here are some of the things that have caught my attention via social media in the last week.

What I have been reading:

To My Displaced Toddler Who I Failed For a Minute is a really beautiful, touching post by Janelle at Renegade Mothering which brought tears to my eyes. She is such an amazing writer.

I wanted to blame you. I wanted to blame you for being just wild or “bad” and I played that for awhile but when it didn’t work (at all) I had to look elsewhere. I had to look within. I was tired and miserable and saw you as just one more thing to do, to deal with, and you knew it, because kids know these things. I didn’t want it to be on me. I didn’t want to see that I was fucking up.

My second recommendation is a story I touched upon in my post from Wednesday night but please read the full story, The Cost of Labour, if you get the chance. Maternal health care (or the lack of it) is something I have a big interest in. I actually went on a previous trip to India with the author Claire, who works for Christian Aid.

As a mother I felt the pain of the parents who had lost their children in childbirth, the very moment that should offer hope and excitement within a family. I also felt grateful for the care I had received from my local hospital, a service these women can only dream of. But I also felt frustrated that women should die so unnecessarily, often leaving newborns as orphans, just because they happened to be born in a country where there is little basic healthcare. Next time you complain about the NHS, think about what you would do if it was not there.

While I think her last line is correct, I don’t think it should be an excuse for the poor treatment many people still receive at the hands of the NHS. I have always been a staunch supporter of it but I often feel that the system is broken and doesn’t allow the caring doctors and nurses (and other staff) to do their jobs the way they would want.

Finally, if you’re feeling a bit low this Christmas, why not join in with the #31daysofmindfulness project by Leigh at Headspace Perspective? I linked to this earlier this week. It’s via Instagram, which I recently joined (@tarajgreaves if you want to follow) and all you need to do is post a photo each day or as often as you can of something that makes you smile or “appreciate the joy in the day”. I’ve found it good fun so far.

What I have been watching:

You might have seen this already but I think it’s amazing. Postcards from Pripyat is a video by Danny Cooke who visited Chernobyl and was able to catching some haunting images of the decay that has taken place there since the disaster in 1986.

He said:

“Chernobyl is one of the most interesting and dangerous places I’ve been. The nuclear disaster, which happened in 1986 (the year after I was born), had an effect on so many people, including my family when we lived in Italy. The nuclear dust clouds swept westward towards us. The Italian police went round and threw away all the local produce and my mother rushed out to purchase as much tinned milk as possible to feed me, her infant son.”