In what has become one of the most surreal moments of her life, Lee Woodruff, a contributing editor to
Family Fun magazine and mother of four shares how she found out her husband, who had just been named co-anchor for ABC World News Tonight, had been severely injured while on assignment in Iraq. While she had taken her children with her to Disney World to shoot a pilot for Family Fun, her entire world was turned upside down when she received a call from David Westin at ABC News telling her that Bob had been hit by shrapnel and had suffered a brain injury.
While I've only just begun reading this book, I know I'm not going to be able to put this one down. Lee Woodruff is an incredibly gifted writer whose description of the events that transformed her picture perfect life, had me riveted fom the start.
Since I've just begun reading the book, for more details, here's an excerpt from Amazon.com:
In one of the most anticipated books of the year, Lee Woodruff, along with her husband, Bob Woodruff, share their never-before-told story of romance, resilience, and survival following the tragedy that transformed their lives and gripped a nation.
In January 2006, the Woodruffs seemed to have it all?a happy marriage and four beautiful children. Lee was a public relations executive and Bob had just been named co-anchor of ABC?s World News Tonight. Then, while Bob was embedded with the military in Iraq, an improvised explosive device went off near the tank he was riding in. He and his cameraman, Doug Vogt, were hit, and Bob suffered a traumatic brain injury that nearly killed him.In an Instant is the frank and compelling account of how Bob and Lee?s lives came together, were blown apart, and then were miraculously put together again?and how they persevered, with grit but also with humor, through intense trauma and fear. Here are Lee?s heartfelt memories of their courtship, their travels as Bob left a law practice behind and pursued his news career and Lee her freelance business, the glorious births of her children and the challenges of motherhood.
Bob in turn recalls the moment he caught the journalism ?bug? while covering Tiananmen Square for CBS News, his love of overseas assignments and his guilt about long separations from his family, and his pride at attaining the brass ring of television news?being chosen to fill the seat of the late Peter Jennings.And, for the first time, the Woodruffs reveal the agonizing details of Bob?s terrible injuries and his remarkable recovery.
We learn that Bob?s return home was not an end to the journey but the first step into a future they have learned not to fear but to be grateful for.In an Instant is much more than the dual memoir of love and courage. It is an important, wise, and inspiring guide to coping with tragedy?and an extraordinary drama of marriage, family, war, and nation.
A percentage of the proceeds from this book will be donated to the Bob Woodruff Family Fund for Traumatic Brain Injury.
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Posted in: Blog, Book Club on 03/25/2007
Here's the story,
Of a lonely lady,
Who was bringing up three very ugly girls,
All of them liked to wear gold,
Like their mother,
The youngest one had curls,
More to come...
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Posted in: Blog, Kiddy Commentary on 03/25/2007
It happened. I'm officially boycotting my local bagel store - which means I'm going to have to travel an extra mile out of my way for a cinniman raisin bagel button - just so I can stick to my guns and stand up for what's right. Now what would prompt me to do such a thing, you ask? Simple, poor customer service. You see, this is the second time I've had an altercation at the bagel store. The place was taken over by new owners last year and ever since then, the food has been shoddy, the service, brusque and the drinks...well, I'll fill you in on that one in a minute...
The first problem started when I forgot my wallet one day and told the bagel lady I'd be back soon to pay them for the bagel and coffee I had purchased. It took me a little bit longer than I expected to head back to the store and so the woman started calling me at home so that I drop off the $5 I owed her. As soon as she left the first message, I went back to the store and paid my money. But she kept calling. Seems whoever I gave the money to didn't tell her so she kept harrassing me to pay her back. When I finally got her on the phone and explained I already paid them back, she relented. Thoroughly annoyed, I stayed away from the bagel place for at least one month and then started going back a few weeks ago. But yesterday, forced me right back into boycott mode.
You see, after ordering bagels, two coffees (with pretty shoddy lids) and then two wadda juices from the refrigerator, I gathered up my items and brought them to my family, who were sitting in the car waiting for their food. But when my daughter opened her wadda juice (a container that doesn't spill and is a mixture of juice and water), she took one sip and spit it out because it tasted sour - when my husband and I sampled it, she was right - it was pretty rancid. So I grabbed the two juice containers and went inside expecting to be able to make a switch but that didn't happen. When I told the man behind the counter about the bad juice, he proceeded to tell me that I was mistaken, in fact, he said "You are wrong - we just got the juice yesterday." Oh really - is that what they told those pet owners who bought the tainted pet food that killed their animals? It's your fault, not mine. I was so mad, I took the juice and slammed it into the garbage can. Then got back in the car and told my husband what happened. He of course, jumped out of the car and went back inside and of course, got me my money back.
So even though we got a refund, we're still boycotting - I don't need to be harrassed or told that I'm wrong about tainted juice to know that I'm not welcome at the bagel place anymore!
Labels: argument, bagel, boycott, coffee, fight, juice, mad, money
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Posted in: Blog, Undercover Mom on 03/25/2007
So it's the day after my daughter's eighth birthday party. This year there were no party entertainers, no petting zoos, no circuses in the backyard...just a down and dirty party at the ice skating rink...with 25 kids whose parents dropped them off so they could run errands. In hindsight, it was actually a pretty scary proposition - 25 kids on the ice - many of whom didn't know how to skate. As I finished setting the table near the rink and got the veggie and fruit platter ready for consumption, one of my daughter's friends stopped by to tell me that even though her mom had told her to wear her helmet, she really could skate so would it be okay to leave the helmet on the sidelines. Stupidly, I said sure - but I told her I'd be watching and if I thought she needed the helmet, back it would go on her head.
As more guests continued to file in and I finally strapped on my skates, one of the kids came racing out to tell me that the little girl who told me she didn't want to wear a helmet had just fallen...and hit her head. Yikes! I raced out on the rink, helped her off the ice and proceeded to sit with her for the next 15 minutes as she held a bag of ice against her head and wept quietly. When she was ready to go back on the ice, I told her to strap on her helmet and not take it off for the rest of the party (except while she was eating of course).
Another 15 minutes went by and of course, another emergency. One of my daughter's other friends - whose dad had left to hit a few rounds of golf, had fallen flat on her back. She cried for about 5 minutes straight, we took her to the EMT and after she was checked out, she was given a clean bill of health to go back to the party and skate. Luckily, this was a minor injury so the partying continued.
After lunch and cake, the kids had about 10 more minutes to skate - nothing could happen in 10 minutes, right? WRONG. In the last 10 minutes, the third little girl whose mom had left the party because I had given her the green light that she'd be just fine, fell forward and landed hard on her knee and had to be carried off the ice because she couldn't walk. When the EMT examined her as her knee began to swell like a balloon, she informed me that we'd better call her mom because she needed to be checked out at the emergency room. I called her mom and she raced over and while another parent stayed with her as I cleaned up the party table, gave out goody bags and made sure no one else fell, the mom arrived, scooped her up and raced her to the doctor.
Thankfully, when I called the mom a few hours later, her daughter was okay - bruised but no broken bones. So after thinking an ice skating party would be a piece of cake, I think next year, it's back to the petting zoo or pony rides...or maybe just plain old pin the tail on the donkey. No more ice skating extravaganzas for us...it's way too stressful and as I learned the hard way - dangerous when the other kids can't really skate and their parents drop them off to run errands.
Labels: back, head, ice skating, injuries, knee, parents, parties
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Posted in: Blog, Role Mommy Confessions on 03/25/2007
So you've just given birth and have sent your mom out to the store to pick up some extra onesies since you've already blown through the stash you had before you went into labor - you know those boring snapsuits, they come in white, pale blue, pink and inevitably wind up stained with spit up or the remnants of a diaper explosion. Well now, you can put a dose of humor into your onesie collection, compliments of Wry Baby. The site, offers snapsuits, outfits, toddler tees, gag gifts, buttons and accessories that are sure to make anyone smile the moment their bundle of joy sports a Wry Baby signature item. My personal favorite? I Eat Dirt. I'm also partial to I Eat Paste for pre-schoolers, but either way, it's short, it's simple and it's perfect for the parent with a great sense of style and humor! Wry Baby also offers an exclusive line of outfits at Barney's New York. or to shop online at Wry Baby today, click here and place your order! Labels: Barneys, cute clothes, diaper bags, onesies, shopping, snapsuits
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Posted in: Blog, Role Mommy Recommends on 03/21/2007
My son is all excited to go over our friends tonight for a party. But he's confused St. Patrick's Day with "Patrick's Day." Seems that Dylan thinks we're going over to the neighbors to celebrate Sponge Bob's ambigously gay friend's birthday.
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Posted in: Blog, Kiddy Commentary on 03/17/2007
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