Mothers Day Contest

"Mama said there would be days like this!"

If you had a mama like I did, she spent most of her life trying to warn you against certain things and certain people. But if you were a young person like me, you didn't listen very well. My mama used to say "If you lie down with dogs, you're bound to get up with fleas!" My ex husband proved her point! My Big Mama (grandmother) used to say "Hard heads make soft behinds!"

In 800 words or LESS, write an essay about one warning in particular your mother gave you when you were younger but you failed to heed her advice and found out later that she was RIGHT all along. For example, she may have told you not to date a certain person but you did anyway and after a while you realized it was a mistake and you could hear your mother saying "I told you so!" Tell your story. It can be humorous or very serious. How you tell it will be more important than what the actual warning was.

First place winner will receive $50
Second place will receive an autographed copy of my book “Whatever! A Baby Boomer’s Journey Into Middle Age” PLUS a My trademark Hot Flash Survival Kit.
Third Place: The book “God Can Handle it for Mothers" by Carlene Ward (compliments of Heidi Richards)
Fourth Place: “Mothers are Forever” by Criswell Freeman (compliments of Heidi Richards
Fifth place will receive a gift card

I WILL NOT BE A JUDGE. I'm not going to announce the judges just yet pending confirmation.

Entry deadline is May 9th. Winners will be announced on Mother's Day. All entries should be sent to: babyboomervalentine@gmail.com with mother's day contest noted on the subject line.

There will be a special surprise for all entrants and it's open to EVERYONE.

Erectile Dysfunction v. Urinary Incontinence

OK...I need some answers here. Why is it that television ads for erectile dysfunction in older men seem to carry a more attractive and sexy tone while older women ads focus on the problems with wetting our pants at inconvenient moments?

I was on my way to bed when I saw an ad for erectile dysfunction. The older couple looked happy as they were getting ready for a rendezvous. Then what happens. The doorbell rings and company arrives. But never fear! The deep sexy voice of the male announcer tells us that little pill taken by the baby boomer hunk will last up to 36 hours. I don’t know about any other woman but I may not be in the mood in 36 hours so he may have wasted a pill.

Now on the flip side, during one of my favorite soap operas I saw an ad with a woman who looked a little frazzled because she had an "accident" in public and didn't want anyone to know. So day diapers to the rescue for her future. The next time she stepped out of her house she was as happy as a clam and no one had a clue it was because she felt so comfortable with her new thick diaper pads.

There's nothing sexy about having to take a pill to get an erection---and the promotion is that it lasts for hours. And it's even worse to tell the world to be on the lookout because I may have pee peed in my pants if I laugh hysterically.

"This has been a "meno moment" brought to you by the baby boomer drama queen."

OK…I’m off my soap box.

A Mother's Heartbreak

You can't be human and not feel some sense of the loss at Virginia Tech. Even though I don't know anyone there (except for Nikki Giovanni who reviewed the manuscript for my book), I have thought about the fact that I could've been the mother of any one of those students. I would imagine many, if not all, of the moms are baby boomer women like me; women who have worked hard to get their children to a point of becoming self sufficient and prepared to take on the world.

As a mom, I can relate to the pain the mothers of the victims must be feeling. I can identify with the array of emotions that must be taking a toll on them mentally, physically and spiritually. I send my daughter off to school everyday not thinking for one minute that she could become the victim of a shooter's rampage.

Sadly, we live in a time where the morals and values I grew up on have disappeared and we are now having to face the reality that some people don't value much of anything anymore---including life.