Robin's Chicks

Nudge The Nest & Pray They Fly

Super (Silly) Mom: Anissa Mayhew

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I learned about Anissa Mayhew in November of 2009, when #PrayersForAnissa became a trending topic on Twitter. (This is a big deal non-tweeps. It means that out of the millions of people on Twitter, praying for Anissa was one of the most popular topics.) Anissa had a stroke for the second time in four years and the twitterverse held its collective breath and prayed. A huge majority of the other “Mommy Bloggers” I follow on Twitter were sharing personal stories of how Anissa had touched their lives. Some people knew her in real life or had met her at blogging conferences but many were simply cyber-friends– people who had faithfully read her blogs, felt like they knew her and had been inspired by her story.

And I said BLOGS for a reason. Anissa has three: her personal blog, FreeAnissa; Hope4Peyton, a blog she started when her child was diagnosed with leukemia, and Aiming Low, a website with a freaking sense of humor about parenting.

It’s my fave. Seriously, I loves it. (And a few of the Aiming Low contributors have been featured here as Super (Silly) Moms. Click HERE and HERE to read their interviews.)

Anyone who has recovered from two strokes, nursed her child through leukemia and still has the sense of humor to change the tagline of her blog to “Wheelchairs are The New Black,” is somebody you need to know. Personally, I know a lot of my friends, family and readers have been facing devastation like never before and I wanted to share the story of a true survivor with them.

If you don’t know her already, it is my pleasure to introduce you to the awesomeness that is Anissa Mayhew.

Holy crap woman. You have been through some stuff. Not only do you have a child who beat cancer but you have recovered from several strokes. What has gotten you through these events?

It’s never about just ONE thing that got me through these events. It was my family pulling together.  It was my friends being there for me. It was writing to have this place to dump myself. It was the support I found from people I may never meet who became so important to me. It was learning to be proud of things most find insignificant. It is learning to be humble enough to ask for help when you need it. It has ALWAYS been about finding the core of myself that can still genuinely laugh at circumstances.

I first heard about you when #PrayersforAnissa began trending on Twitter and literally every single “Mommy Blogger” I know and/or was following started talking about how freaking awesome you are. I didn’t even know you but I was praying. What did you think of all the attention, love and support you had during this time?

I had to check and make sure no one was promising candy on my behalf! It BLEW ME AWAY. When I came home from the hospital and learned the support went beyond the postcards and get-well cards, I just cried.  I had nothing else to do with enormous feeling inside me.

I love, LOVE your sense of humor. Seriously. Free Anissa? Wheelchairs are The New Black? Genius AND you make some serious lemonade out of some big a$$ lemons. Do you feel like a different version of yourself sense your stroke? Do people treat you differently?

Even though the writing is different and the surface image is different, it’s a comfort to realize that everything’s still the same. Free Anissa was a blog name BEFORE I ever had a stroke.  It just changed meanings. I think that’s the story of my life. Things just keep freaking changing.

How did you get the idea for Aiming Low? When did you launch the site?

I launched the site June 2009. My good friend Janet Dean and I had been to a conference and just felt there was an important message in “good enough IS good enough”. I wrote the name on a napkin.  I relaunched the site you love now with the writing staff of AWESOME last year. It has been a big part of my recovery and finding the strength to keep pushing.

I’m sure everyone wants to know how your health is now. And how is sweet Peyton?

My health is pretty good. I still type with my left hand when I’m a righty. I still run over people with my wheelchair.  Every day is small progress. SMALL. SLOW. But progress.  I’m doing things they said I’d never do. They said I’d never speak, communicate, have higher reasoning.  I say two out of three ain’t bad! Everything is a test of patience. My eyesight, my mobility, my cognitive skills, my communication skills. They can always improve, but I’m always thankful to have dome this far.
Peyton is ridiculous. She’s healthy. She’s smart. It’s hard to believe we prayed for her life.


Bonus question: What is the most awesome thing about being in a wheelchair? (Once you have read enough of Anissa’s FB status updates, tweets and blog posts you will realize that I am not a jerk for asking this question.)
Parking ROCKS! When I see someone take the last handicap spot at Target I want to roll down my window and yell, “HOW HANDICAPPED ARE YOU?”

Anissa and Aiming Low are doing their best to support disaster relief throughout the Southeast. See that disaster relief button on the right side of your page? I totally stole it from Aiming Low. If Anissa’s story touched you, if you go to Aiming Low and laugh until you wet your pants, or go to Hope4Peyton or FreeAnissa and laugh until you cry, I double dog dare you to click on the disaster relief button. It will take you to a donation page for the Red Cross. Every penny helps.

Aiming Low will be at the Type-A blogging conference in Asheville, NC, July 23-25 2011 and hosting the “Come As You Are” party at the Blogher Conference in August 2011 in San Diego. Everybody who’s anybody will be there. Which means I’ll be here, but still, YOU should go. I would if I could and if I win the lottery before then or if Wal-Mart decides they want to sponsor my blog, I’ll definitely go.

Follow Anissa on Twitter, stalk her on Facebook, Hope4Peyton, FreeAnissa AND at Aiming Low. Really, she makes it so easy for you, you should be ashamed if you don’t.

Nuts

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Disclaimer: I have thought about whether or not to write this post for days. DAYS people. I normally just spit out every thought that pops into my head. I held back from writing this for several reasons:

1) I know there are some kids (preteen) who read my blog.

2) I didn’t want to offend anyone with delicate sensibilities.

I decided to write this post because:

1) If your kids are already on the internet surfing blogs, they aren’t going to get any new information here. Seriously, do you even KNOW what’s out there?

2) If you have delicate sensibilities, you are not my people. You should just unfollow me, delete me as a Facebook friend and never, ever read another word I write. Because I will offend you. I have the sense of humor of a 13-year-old boy. (Yes, I said boy.)

So, there. I will say this, if you send me hate mail and tell me how I’m not Christian, I will post your email, in its entirety, including your email address, on this blog and let all my peeps tell you what they think about it. I, however, will not even respond.

You’ve all been warned.

On Friday night Zeb and I returned home from a dinner date to find Aubrey, our six-year-old, still awake. I paid the babysitter and went into her room to tuck her back into her bed. She was cackling and she has one of those great wheezy laughs that make you think she is going to wet her pants at any second.

I giggled. “What’s so funny?”

“Momma, did you know…” she laughed manically, “did you KNOW that boys have nuts??”

I couldn’t help it. She’d caught me completely off guard. I collapsed on her bed, laughing.

“Yes, actually. I did. How did you know this?” We were both still snickering.

“_____ told me.” She named her best friend, who is her age, a boy and who’s name I will not divulge as I would like to remain on speaking terms with his momma.

“How exactly did this come up in conversation?” Still not a straight face from either of us. We could hardly catch our breath to talk.

“Wellllll…” She proceeded to tell me a story involving her cousin and an unfortunate bicycle accident and how she had told _____ about said accident.  He responded by saying something to the effect of, “Good thing she’s not a boy. Boys have nuts down there.”

Aubrey had tears trickling out of the corners of her eyes and she YELLED, “Nuts, nuts, nuts, NUTS, NUTS, NUTS, NUTS! Nuts! Nuts.” She tried different inflections and noise levels with each repetition.

We were still trying to breath.

“Aubrey, ” I started.

“NUTS!” She answered in a high pitched voice.

“Really, honey.” I tried not to snicker.

“Nuts,” she replied in her lowest voice.

“AUBREY!” I pulled myself together. “Honey, seriously. Look at me, look in my eyes.”

She took a deep breath, stopped laughing and looked directly in my eyes.

“Nuts,” she said it matter-of-factly this time.

We collapsed again.

“SERIOUSLY, listen Aubrey! If you say that at school they will send you to the principal’s office and spank you and if you say that to other kids you will get in so much trouble. DEEP trouble. More trouble than you’ve ever been in before. It’s fine to talk to me about stuff like this. We can laugh about it. But’s it’s NOT okay to do this at school or with your friends. Do you understand?”

She nodded. “I do. Momma, I promise I won’t say it at school.”

“Thank you.”

“But Momma?” She started.

“What?”

“NUTS!”

I smiled and shook my head. “You ain’t right. Go to sleep.”

I turned off her light and as I walked out of her room I could hear her quietly chanting, “Nuts, nuts, nuts, nuts, nuts” to herself and giggling uncontrollably.

It has not come up in conversation a single time since then. She is, pardon the pun, nuts.

And look, if offended you, I’m really sorry. But I warned you AND if you are a grown up and you DIDN’T know that boys had nuts– man, were you in for a rude awakening.

Here is my question, WHERE ARE YOU PEEPS? I know you are still reading because I see your little numbers when I pull up Google Analytics, but y’all have been quiet lately and I no likey. Tell me wassup wichu.

 

He Slept With You

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My husband has been out of town all week. (Stalker types: please note that when my husband is out of town I sleep with a shotgun and a stun gun. For realz.) He came home last night after the kids and I were in bed.

This morning as I was fixing Aubrey’s hair she started giggling uncontrollably.
Me: What?
Aubrey: Nothing.
More giggles.
Me: What?
Aubrey: Last night, did Daddy sneak into bed with you while you were asleep?
More giggles.
Me: Yeah.
Hysterical laughter and actual knee-slapping.
Aubrey: HE SLEPT IN THE BED WITH YOU???
Me: You have lost your mind.

Why is this funny to her NOW?

Also she lost a tooth a week ago and said,”Momma you should totally put this on the blog.”

So I totally did.

What do your kids find hysterically funny that leaves you scratching your head?

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