Category: News, observances, history

May timely topics-memories, memorials, and mothers

In May, we honor and remember mothers, celebrating parenthood and family with the all-star comedy “MOTHER’S DAY.” This month evokes memories of proms, graduations, and weddings, as well as timely topics like health concerns and women’s health. The month also includes observances like Mother’s Day and Memorial Day, along with personal reflections and celebrations.

May is a month of remembering and creating memories.

Mother’s Day

In the United States, we designate the second Sunday in May Mother’s Day to honor mothers. You may not be one, but we all have one, although, like me, yours may be deceased. (I know other nations have a similar day on a different date.)

Me with my mother when I graduated from medical school in 1978

You may have pleasant or not-so-pleasant memories of your mother; nurturing may not come easily to some women, possibly because they did not receive it. Sometimes when that happens, other women step in to bridge the gap. They deserve to be honored also.

Mother’s Day-the movie

From Garry Marshall, the director of Pretty Woman and Valentine’s Day, comes MOTHER’S DAY, an all-star comedy that celebrates parenthood and family.

Jennifer Aniston, Julia Roberts, Kate Hudson, and Jason Sudeikis lead an incredible cast in a film that intersects the lives of a group of people maneuvering their way through a crazy week of difficult relationships and family dysfunction in the week leading up to Mother’s Day. It’s a comedy that will make you laugh, cry and cheer! (this is an affiliate income-generating link)

Memories

May is a traditional month for proms, graduations, and weddings. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many did not happen as planned but most found creative ways to create meaningful memories anyway.

Here I am dancing with my son at his 2019 wedding which might not have happened a year later

I married my husband in May; I almost share an anniversary with the Duchess of Sussex, the former American actress Meghan Markle. She and Prince Harry are parents of a cute little boy, Archie, and a girl, Lillibet, named after her great-grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth of England.

Now the family lives in the United States, California. Their marriage has been strained by family, political, financial, and personal issues, as have most marriages. I wrote about our marriage journey in this post.

Two Words That Still Change My Life

This post shares a personal journey of unexpected love, marriage, and struggles stemming from unrecognized PTSD. It delves into the transformative power of reconciliation and healing trips to Vietnam, ultimately bringing hope and joy. Through various life-changing encounters, the couple’s story exemplifies the impact of powerful, unforeseen words and encounters.

Keep reading

May timely topics include

exploring the HEART of health, memories, and celebrations

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Dr. Aletha

Wondering what to get Mom for Mother’s Day? Maybe some help with remembering her passwords?

RoboForm Password Manager. What I use to manage passwords.

How the Oklahoma City bombing changed 4 women’s lives

The 24th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing was marked on April 19, 2019. 168 people died, and hundreds were injured, changing the state and the nation forever. The memorial and museum tell stories of hope, including a bombing survivor who became a doctor, and three women who studied trauma and helped survivors worldwide.

updated April 15, 2024

April 19, 2019 marked the 24th anniversary of the terrorist bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Oklahoma City is the capital of my home state and was my home for 7 years while I attended medical school and completed my residency in Family Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

From the bombing, 168 people died, hundreds were injured, and our state and our nation were changed forever. Never had there been such an act of horror and carnage on U.S. soil.

I’ve written here about the bombing and showed you pictures from the site which is now a memorial and museum. I’m doing that again but this time with news about 4 women who have turned the event into something positive.

OKLAHOMA CITY NATIONAL MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM

A woman survived to become a doctor

Twenty-three-year-old Madison Naylor was among the infants being cared for at the YMCA daycare located next door to the federal building at the time the bomb exploded. The building was heavily damaged but she and the other children survived.

“I remember when I was very young, I had a feeling that I had been really close to death, …I hope I can be something good that came from something so horrific.”

Madison Naylor, bombing survivor
some of the memorials hung on the fence that surrounded the bombing site have been left intact.

Madison grew up learning about the bombing and medicine. Her father and aunt are both physicians and now she is a first-year medical student at my alma mater, the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. (She graduated, and is now a resident physician in pediatrics.)

“I know the bombing is still a part of people’s lives here. It’s humbling to be associated with such a tragic event. I hope that I can be a positive face going forward.”

Madison Naylor, medical student
The SURVIVOR TREE remained standing when everything around it was destroyed by the bomb. It survives to this day.

“I just want to be the kind of person who leaves the world a better place than I found it.”

Madison Naylor, MS1
TILES PAINTED BY CHILDREN FROM AROUND THE WORLD AND DONATED TO THE MUSEUM ARE DISPLAYED AT THE ENTRANCE

Women who treated and studied the survivors

The bombing changed not only Oklahoma City, but also our state, and our entire country. It was the worst terrorist event on U.S. soil until 9/11. All of us were touched in some way, but especially three women who worked in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.

“None of us was thinking about studying disasters…But we kept studying …the Oklahoma City survivors over the years..Then started helping with disasters elsewhere.”

Betty Pfefferbaum, M.D., J.D. department chairman
This window in the museum overlooks the memorial.

Dr. Pfefferbaum, along with colleagues Phebe Tucker, M.D., and Sandra Allen, Ph.D. treated and studied trauma victims from the bombing and shared their findings with other doctors who use it to treat survivors around the world.

Lessons learned from the OKC disaster trauma

  • Disasters affect many different groups of people beyond those at the site-family, first responders, the community
  • Terrorism victims have higher than average rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression than people who never experienced it.
  • Some people develop a biological response to disaster causing a higher resting heart rate than those not affected.

Dr. Allen developed an intervention to help children of trauma process their thoughts and feelings. Sometimes children think they have to hide their feelings or act out when they are hurting. This program helps them process those feelings and learn how to cope.

At a church across the street from the memorial

The work has rippled out into the world in ways that none of them could have imagined…

OU Medicine magazine
Words written on the wall of the former Journal Record Building which sat across from the federal building. These words, painted by a rescue team who searched for survivors that day, remain as a silent witness of the horrible event.
photos in this post taken by Dr. Aletha in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Thanks to OU Magazine and KFOR for sharing these stories.

exploring the HEART of health

Dr. Aletha

lemons into lemonade

I am delighted that Janice Wald, author and blogger at Mostly Bloggging, called this her “favorite post ” when I submitted it at her Inspire Me Monday Linky Party. Please visit Janice’s blog where you can learn about writing, blogging, productivity, marketing, and more.


It isn’t often that I see news-related posts left here and even rarer that, when I do, they are so inspirational. The post really exemplifies the expression, “Turn lemons into lemonade.”

Janice Wald, Mostly Blogging