More Meaningful Gifts - 1st ANNIVERSARY Festivities! Come Join Us for the FUN!

MMG CELEBRATING ♥♥♥ 1900 SALES ♥♥♥ ON OUR

٭٭٭٭٭ ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY WEEK CELEBRATION !! ٭٭٭٭٭

CLICK HERE TO JOIN IN THE FUN!

More Meaningful Gifts is a daily thread in the Etsy Forums.

It is a BNR - "Buy and Replace Thread" where a list of Etsy shops are promoted throughout the day. In order to get your shop name on the list, you must purchase from one of the shops already on the list and YOUR shop name replaces it!

MMG was created and launched on August 27th, 2008 and since then over 300 shops have participated with approximately 40 unique shops posting on the thread daily. The thread just celebrated 1900 sales and celebrate a new shop every week with Seize-A-Shoppes!

I want to thank everyone for making MMG so special to me and such an integral part of my life inside and outside of Etsy.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

In celebration all purchases from dorana.etsy.com and ddots.etsy.com for the week of 8/28-9/4 will give you a X5!

(you must sell 5 items before getting kicked off the list! - if you already have a X2 - it does NOT equal X7 - converts to X5).

IF BY 9/4/09 dorana.etsy.com's shop hits 100 sales, each ITEM purchased from either of the curator's shops will get you one entry into the end of the week drawing for a custom

Double-Strand myBouquet FLOWER WEAVE BRACELET - ONE OF A KIND DESIGN JUST FOR YOU -

which will be revealed on http://doranadesign.blogspot.com/ next MONDAY 9/7!

check out these great examples

siempre - dorana

Dorana - Our Handmade Weddings: A Simple Fairytale - Featured on Etsy.com

We're so excited to have our wedding featured in the world's largest handmade community! Thank you to all of Etsy Admin and members for helping us have the perfect simple wedding!

siempre- dorana

I Must Assimilate!

After much internal conflict, I have succumbed to the pressures of creating a blogspot account and blogging! ☺

But when you're a type-A obsessive compulsive, control freak this opens up a brand new can of worms of decisions. Hair pulling debates on will this just be a business blog - and isn't my business a PEOPLE business - I mean isn't one of the main reasons I am successful in business is because it's personal to me and therefor how can I draw the line between a personal blog and a business blog?

Will I be using this as a "dear vagina, why so blue?" journal or will I be using it like many of my very productive friends and teammates and fellow shoppe owners who feature one another, maybe a favorite recipe, a really cool product they came across...

And now with the ultimate assimilation to the world of blogging comes a whole NEW set of issues to battle in my already over cycling brain - will I now go back to mySpace and regurgitate my daily escapades for the enjoyment of post pubescent boys everywhere? And what for this Facebook? Will I now also rewind my years of climbing up the corporate ladder and join my executive almost-husband and schmooze with the likes of those closet "I hate my jobbers" in Linked In?

I "twit" but don't know what the hell to do with it after days of communicating with the twitting helpdesk, had quite the digs in mySpace until interstate authorities had to issue restraining orders to stalkers, was quite the IM master until honeycyberbots started taking over the airways...

But with the ever cheerful, positive, "I can do and succeed at everything I pursue" attitude, I will move forward with this new blogging venture ever eager to see what lies ahead and which path it will lead to... oh and by the way, that pic up there - my favorite design featured in my shoppe at dorana.etsy.com - that's just in case tomorrow I wake up and decide this is a business blog!

siempre - dorana

The THANK YOU - Our HANDMADE ETSY WEDDING - Dorana 12/26/2009

How do you thank not just the people that help you create a memorable and joyous wedding, bring happiness to your life both personally and professionally, but also the people that helped you become the person you are and cheer you on as you aspire to be the person you want to become?

We wanted a special way to say thanks to those near and far!

Thanks to the incredible photography of our friend Stephen Shadrach, we collected our favorite photos of the day and a favorite quote and designed our special 4 Page Photo Thank You Card.

We were fortunate to have our good friend Kat Wauters from Etsy's H20works.etsy.com bring our design to life!

It is the perfect keepsake and token of our incredible union.

Thank you for your wonderful customer service Kat!

A very special THANK YOU to our family and friends who helped make our day exactly what we had wished for!

To my ETSY "MORE MEANINGFUL GIFTS" FAMILY - there aren't words to thank you enough for all of your love and support!

siempre- dorana

THE BRUNHAMMERS

Photography by Stephen Shadrach.

TEAM WORK Blog Feature of DDOTS ® Spiral Notecards by SimaGJewelry.blogspot.com

I am honored to be featured by SimaGJewelry!

I created custom DDOTS ® Spiral Mini Note Cards for Sima's signature Spiral Necklaces and Charms.

Thank you for the wonderful write up and feature Sima!

siempre- dorana

Last BUSINESS-TYPE Post on Personal Blog

I have finally decided to separate the BUSINESS from the PERSONAL!

This is the last BUSINESS-TYPE POST on my personal blog!

I've come to realize that the people that follow this blog for my personal stories and narratives are different then those that want to learn more about my business and business related topics.

So I've created http://doranadesign.blogspot.com for all topics relating to business building, my jewelry design and artwork, the registry website, motivational narratives, and anything outside of the "personal" genre.

I hope to see you all there!

siempre - dorana

ddots.etsy.com - Custom WEDDING REQUEST for Groom's Gift - "I THINK I Love You!" DDOTS ART CARD

I was thrilled this summer when ddots.etsy.com received a custom card request from Bride Tracy for a gift for her Groom on their wedding day!

Every couple shares many special quotes and sayings. When they first said "I love you" to one another, he was so nervous that he blurted out,

"I THINK I love you!"

She replied,

"I KNOW I love you!"

It became a little joke between the two of them and she thought it would be a perfect quote for her special Wedding Card!

I'm SO pleased with how it came out!



I am so happy to have been invited to share in such a special moment!

siempre- dorana

PLEASE VOTE FOR: "Out of Many, We Are One" - Semi-Finalist in ETSY/NASA Art Contest

I have just been notified that my entry to ETSY's NASA Contest has made it to the Semi-Finals and I'm SO excited!

Please click HERE to VOTE!

It would mean the world to me to get your vote!

The entry piece is called "Out of Many, We Are ONE" and it took weeks to complete.

I hand-punched thousands of brightly colored dots from card stock and arranged each dot, one by one to create a space view of our beautiful Planet Earth from an image taken by a NASA Shuttle mission.

How COOL would it be for that piece now to go to the International Space Station on the Shuttle's final voyage!?

Each member can only vote once and voting ends Monday, December 6, at noon.

The response has been wonderful and I'm very proud of this piece.

To all who have voted, my sincerest thanks (including my family who I held prisoner on Thanksgiving Day after dinner and passed the laptop to, one by one)!...

I am always awed by the cheer leading support from my handmade and online community.

You are truly an inspiration to me.

Please feel free to repost this blog and SHARE!

** Click here to find out how to get a FREE LARGE PHOTO PRINT CARD of this design! **

siempre- dorana

My MARESAR Signature Sleeping Beauty Turquoise Earrings - on their way to a BRIDE on her WEDDING DAY!

These simple, elegant and timeless earrings will soon be worn on a BRIDE'S WEDDING DAY! Make sure to check back in for when I post the pictures!



siempre- dorana

myHandmadeRegistry.com - FEATURED ON ETSY.COM!

myHandmadeRegistry.com is FEATURED ON ETSY.COM's BLOG!



On the morning of March 4th as I was in the middle of managing a dozen open windows on my browser and returning emails, running chat rooms and ignoring my blackberry, I noticed its little corner light flashing red out of the corner of my eye... I grabbed it and quickly skimmed through the message titled, "wedding registry" and read,

"hey there, I want to include you in an Etsy blog post and link to your wedding registry site, ok?... maybe you can reblog it! -v"

I remember reading it, "cool!" I said to myself, and flung the phone to the opposite side of the sofa where I went back to whatever crisis was at hand at that moment.

While checking my inboxes and threads awhile later, I noticed the little red number at the top of my Etsy screen that reminded me of the conversation that was awaiting my reply. I clicked on it just as I had a million times before and as the screen reloaded, my heart stopped, I instantly felt the heat wash over me as I saw it...

Next to the message titled "wedding registry," was the profile picture of a smiling brunette with a red bubble underneath that said ETSY ADMIN.

OH MY GOD!

I clicked on the message and read it again and as the words finally sank in, I bursted into hysterical tears!

I threw myself across the couch and grabbed my phone and started dialing and

NO ONE WAS ANSWERING!

I called my mom, answering machine.

I called Todd, answering machine.

I called Heather, voice mail.

I called Gary, and FINALLY after the third try, I could share my tears of joy!

Words can't begin to describe what that moment meant to me. That instant when you realize that the countless hours of work and dreaming about the possibility of your ideas is finally paying off!

The world's LARGEST HANDMADE COMMUNITY was featuring MY website!

When my mother finally called, I could barely speak through my tears! When I could breathe enough to reassure her that no one had DIED, I cried,

"Mom, I've worked SO HARD! I can't believe they're really featuring my website!"

I spent the next several days contacting the HUNDREDS of artisans that I had spent the last several weeks featuring throughout the website to let them know that the "mother ship" had spotted US!

I wasn't online when their feature hit the air. In fact I didn't see it at all until FIVE HOURS LATER late Friday night!

It was more than I could have ever dreamed of!

Our registry is being featured in Etsy's HANDMADE WEDDING SERIES!

Not only was our site mentioned, it was linked to their article with a display of our ENTIRE BANNER with links to our tutorials and even to my own personal shop!

I couldn't have dreamt of a more wonderful affirmation of all of my hardwork!

The rest of the weekend was a blur of welcoming over 100 new members and celebrating as comment after comment of congratulations was left on the blog!

I HAVE TO take this time to thank everyone in our community for all of your love and support as we've worked to make this vision come to life and as we continue to grow and develop, I know I can't do any of this without you!

To my amazing support, Amanda (ulixis.blogspot.com)- thank you for being so generous of your time and talent! I know that this could not be possible without you!

To my amazing MORE MEANINGFUL GIFTS family, my every day has more meaning having each and every one of you in my life!

Here's to the first step in our more meaningful journey...

siempre- dorana

myHandmadeRegistry.com - Not Just Another Networking Site

What I think sets apart successes from failures are those that find adversities and ADVERTISE them and those that find adversities and look for ways to make them ASSETS!

After half of a year dedicated to the idea that people really are interested in the artisan community and then researching, promoting and marketing my jewelry shoppes from various online retailing sites, I came to an enlightening conclusion that I had heard over and over again...

"These sites are really just SELLERS selling to SELLERS!"

After all, before I learned about them from another seller, and joined to sell, I had never heard of them either!

And so I started researching about how I could get BUYERS to find MY STORE of handmade goods and I stumbled across a couple of interesting blog posts...

"I wish I could register for my wedding at Etsy.com!"

"Oh, I'd LOVE it if everyone would get me Etsy.com stuff for my baby shower!"

After searching for several days, I found ONE online registry where registrants could add Etsy.com item numbers to their wish list of goods along with the likes of Macy's, Bloomingdales, ToysRUs, etc.

I thought, "Hey! I CAN DO THIS!" : a Handmade Registry - a place where everyone can create a personal page with a list of their favorite items from only HANDMADE RETAILERS!

Won't be able to find Macy's HERE!

Then the daunting task of figuring out HOW TO DO THIS! With neither the desire to wait what must surely take months to create, nor the funds to support it, I remembered a site that I was introduced to where members could customize their pages to create their own social networking site! And myHandmadeRegistry.com was born!

It's still in its infancy, but I believe it can grow into a powerhouse tool!

It is NOT just another Networking Group - our platform happens to be BUILT as one, but this is my vision...

Imagine the now millions of artisan shoppe owners that flood the gates of the Handmade Community. Now imagine how many times just this past week each one of those members have been asked, "What do you want for Christmas? Hanukkah? Birthday? Anniversary?"

myHandmadeRegistry.com is designed for these shoppe owners to share their Wishlist with their families and friends - especially those that have such a hard time shopping for them! Imagine the incredible relief husbands and boyfriends will feel knowing that there's a place where she has pictures of everything her heart desires and all they have to do is CLICK ON IT and it takes them right to the check out counter! (no offense guys - I KNOW there are many of you that are godsends! but let's face it - this is the promise land for most of you!)

This registry now opens up the artisan marketplace to so many more people!

But lets take this another step further...

I've created GROUPS within the community that I plan to market for OUTSIDE OF THE ARTISAN COMMUNITY - for expectant parents, a house-warming group to share decorating tips on a budget and find that special accent piece, and my favorite :

my $5000 Handmade Wedding!

These days the Platinum Weddings we see on WE are becoming more and more of a fantasy to most of us...

But lately, I've been finding myself watching those shows and saying... "I can do THAT" and "oh! I saw something like that in the forums last week for 1/100th the cost!

My vision in this group is to link these dreaming brides with Handmade Retailers who can make those pictures come to life in quality and affordability!

Members of this group can create BLOG posts on their pages with images of the various ideas for their fantasy wedding with tags relating to the items such as "dress", "invitations", "jewelry", "favors", etc. Vendors who can provide those products or services can then find and leave comments on their BLOG where they can also attach images, sketches, estimates...

How wonderful will it be to have such an incredible resource at your fingertips - remembering first and foremost that the most priceless resource in any network is building relationships - someone will always know someone who can help you fulfill your dreams!

...A place where brides can take those black and white fantasies and turn them into vibrant rainbows of possibilities while keeping as much green in their pockets!


I look forward to a million more endless possibilities with this project and welcome any new ideas, suggestions, questions... but PLEASE COME JOIN US and share what an amazing community of artisans and talented business supporters we have among us!

siempre - dorana

Concerned Customer Complaint: Letter to the Dealership OWNER: "Your Bathroom is an Out House."

WARNING:
Dearest Readers:

Please stop here if you are offended by "foul" language.

If you need a smile and choose to continue to read, please note the following:

• NO. In support of my mortified mother, my mother did NOT raise me to talk like this.

• YES. I DID - I REALLY DID send this to the OWNER of the franchise. (Haven't you ever really wanted to complain about something that made you feel uncomfortable but you were too embarrassed to explain it the only way that could truly illustrate your annoyance!?)

• The names of the accused have been withheld (Come on! I'm not THAT evil. BUT if I go back next time and it hasn't been resolved, stay tuned - 'cause I'll even post a MAP of the location!)

• I waited until I got to the HOME DEPOT to go to the bathroom almost THREE HOURS after I initially arrived at the dealership - ladies, THAT'S how bad it was!

• YES. I got a prompt reply. Mortified apology. Commitment to discuss at length during their weekly Management Meeting. (Laughing uncontrollably! Imagine THAT conversation!) And a commitment to rectify the situation.

• YES. I am personally familiar with the "condition" that I am referring to - I am proud NOT to be a Nun :o)

THE LETTER - (This letter has been modified from it's original version. The original letter was written with my Blackberry, and let's face it, we're still a ways from publishing "Pulitzer" material by thumbs!)


Dear Madam,

I hope this finds you well. I am currently sitting in your Service Waiting Area as my car is being serviced, and I couldn't help reaching out to you in my disappointment.

I purchased my vehicle from your dealership last August and my fiance purchased another this January.

We had hoped that this would be the start of a "breath-taking" relationship!

This is the second time I've brought my car in for routine service - about my 6th visit to your showroom.

At each visit, I have complained to our salesman, the Sales Manager who turned bright shades of red even through his dark skin tone, as well as the young women at the cashier's desk.

Each time, I've been assured that my complaint would be addressed before my next visit and six times later, I'm STILL completely disgusted!
I am disgusted at the Ladies Bathroom!

The first time my fiance and I both left the adjoining bathrooms we looked each other and said
"it smells like sweaty testicles!". (The language wasn't quite as P.C.)

Perhaps it is just a confirmation of our belief that we are soul mates that we both cried,
"SWEATY BALLS!" out in unison!


Alas, as I have learned in my previous FIVE complaints to members of your staff, I am not the first or several dozen-th person to bring the "sweaty balls"- stench and unwelcoming bathroom to the attention of members of your management.

In fact, on several of those occasions, along with fits of laughter at my bluntness, I have been encouraged by the management to share my frank review to other members of your staff who exclaimed,

"EXACTLY!

THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE!"

Although I am proud to have been accepted as one of your sweaty guys in the dealership-locker-room, that is not the response you should be proud of!

I am also a woman business owner and I am appalled that a business owned proudly by such successful women would allow what, as a woman, you'd understand, more than anything else - that the condition of your bathroom, is an indication of the service one would expect in your establishment!

As I look around in the showroom at 3:09pm, there are only TWO male customers and EIGHT women and even a child!

I would be mortified to let MY child in that bathroom!

You should be ashamed!

Where's the Clorox?
Febreze?

Perhaps a Reed Diffuser or two?!

While I'm at it, the stalls don't even have a hook or shelf to place a purse or jacket!

Completely disgraceful!

I am hoping that by reaching out to you, that FINALLY my complaints will be heard and something will be done!

I hope to hear from you soon and that action will be taken to make visiting the "water closet" in your establishment fair better than an "out house!"

(hoping for some fresh air)

siempre - dorana


UPDATE: Yoda had his oil changed last week and excitedly reported:


"There's a pretty plant in the bathroom! And there's new air fresheners!


Now it smells like SWEATY BALLS WITH PERFUME!"




I think I might have to post that map...

Chocolate? Meat? NOPE! This Year the ULTIMATE "Giving Up For Lent" Sacrifice: FACEBOOK AND MYSPACE

The first year that I joined the millions of Catholics around the world in the traditional practice of "giving something up for Lent" (the days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday, although Lent comes to an end after the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday) was in the fifth grade.

I had celebrated my First Communion the year before, later than most, but I was newly determined in my faith and went about celebrating and participating in the traditional ceremonies and practices with vigor and conviction!

There was no question what I'd be giving up, my greatest passion at twelve years old: CHOCOLATE!

My resolve was steadfast!

Our Lord had sacrificed his only son for me, I could give up CHOCOLATE for 40 days!...

That first day was torture!

I pushed away the dessert chocolate brownie at lunch in the cafeteria with the heartbreak of watching a puppy die!

Every Sunday my parents would pitifully offer me m&m's or other chocolate goodies attempting to assure me that,

"Sunday's don't count!"

Even then that idea was ludicrous to me!

Sunday's don't count???

As a good student of faith, even as a child, I knew the absurdity of the concept of "Sunday's OFF" during Lent.

Lent isn't about "giving something up" for the sake of "giving something up" that culminates in the "pigging out" and indulgence of that "something" on Easter Sunday...

There HAD to be MORE TO IT than that!

I found a wonderful resource while preparing for this article in Friar Jack from Friar Jack's E-spirations on AmericanCatholic.org.

"Lent is about conversion, turning our lives more completely over... The goal is not to obstain from sin for the duration of Lent, but to root sin out of our lives forever..."

My favorite quote from Friar Jack on fasting from meat on Fridays during Lent as a way to create a simple meal to link us spiritually to those whose diets are poor:

"Avoiding meat while eating lobster misses the whole point!"


Surrendering the luxury of chocolate at age twelve and later in high school renouncing meat for almost five years in the spirit of humility and sacrifice were fitting and honorable for that time in my life.

This year however, I couldn't think of anything that would truly be a testament of my will and a sacrifice honorable enough to match that first day in the lunch room when I pushed away that brownie and the pang in my gut all those years I passed on burgers and hot dogs; but more importantly, something that would make me a better person for doing it.

And then one night when I awoke in the middle of the night wondering if I had a message waiting for me on mySpace and what everyone was doing on facebook, I KNEW what I had to do!

I'd give up mySpace and facebook for Lent!

A dear friend of mine recently exclaimed,

"The internet is the devil!"

Neither of us really believes that as the internet is truly a genius work of art and science where anything and everything is possible, bridging oceans and cultures and ideas!

What IS true however is that

"Idle hands are the devil's workshop!"

How many HOURS are lost each day randomly surfing the internet? How many more are lost finding out what your friends and family are "doing right now!"

Do I really need to know what everyone I know is doing 24 hours a day? What they are listening to, eating, reading, thinking?

I hadn't truly realized my addiction to the personal social networking sites until that day at 2am when I tossed over in bed reaching for my laptop aching to find out what my online world was doing!

Some of you might quickly counter claim, but what about twitter and the forums and all the other internet sites you work on each day!?

The key word there is WORK! Trust me, I've never tossed and turned at night wondering what the front page of Etsy looks like or how many followers found me on twitter!

And as Ash Wednesday neared I wondered whether I would truly be able to stay logged off of those sites.

I began to realize that my addiction was not only taking away precious moments in each day, but that the practice in those sites contributed to my own laziness = sloth, envy in the accomplishments and lives of others, greed as I put my time online above the needs of the people I love and my responsibilities... If I'm really honest with myself, I can admit that in some way I allowed myself to indulge in each of the 7 Deadly Sins in those actions.

So I committed to not only "give up something" for the 40 days of Lent, but to become a better person in my sacrifice here after...

I've ignored friend requests from my friends, cousins, and even my step-mother!

Smile when I hear "aren't you suppose to give up candy or something?"

I fall asleep in the arms of the man I love instead of with my laptop.

Enjoyed my first vacation in years without even turning on my computer to check a single email!

Spend my day doing the most productive thing for my business every minute of the day and when work is over, bask in the time with my family and getting reacquainted with myself!

Celebrate in the fruits of my labor as my work gets recognized within and outside the internet community!

And I look forward to creating that healthy balance that is needed in everything in life - 'cause the point is my friends is to be the

BEST VERSION of YOURSELF EVERYDAY!

siempre- dorana

Mom Fail - I AM THAT Mom In A Towel On Classroom Zoom

PR 101:  STAY IN FRONT OF THE STORY

...YES.

That was ME.

IN A TOWEL.  

Behind my daughter’s 8 year old head.

On her very first 2nd grade class LIVE Zoom video call.

Her 2nd grade teacher and the surprise guest, the PRINCIPAL on the screen in front of me.

...I was THAT parent just TWO days ago writing to the Principal asking whether there were future plans to offer Live Video instruction incorporated in the current Google Classroom online distance learning for our daughter’s 2nd grade class.  

Kindly replying with concern over student and teacher privacy, he informed us that many teachers in the school were planning Google Meets and Zoom and Seesaw opportunities in the future.  Almost the instant that I hit “Send” to the original message to the Principal, our daughter’s teacher was sending us information about the class’ first interactive Zoom chat the following week.  Having already received the notice from her teacher, I quickly thanked the Principal for his response.  

It is the middle of week 4 of online homeschooling and like many other millions of American families we are adjusting to our new normal.  Schools in neighboring Pennsylvania are now officially closed for the remainder of the school year - New Jersey may not be far behind.  

Between ensuring that her little 8 year old attention span stays on task during the unteachered/unsupervised daily schedule for each 45 minute segment (because of no live instruction) her computer literacy inches closer to exceeding my own, 

“MAMA!  Look what happens when you click here!...

Did you know that you can create emojis when you do this?...

MAMAAA!!  Look, I can open this window and click on this to share it and LOOOOOOOK I can turn the entire screen profile instead of landscape and turn it black with neon colors!...

And GOOGLE SAYS:...”

and the 1hr mandatory lunch/recess that is strongly encouraged to happen outdoors, (I am certain that this pandemic is the fantasy of every cat and dog in the world - constant companionship and affection and going from zero walks a day to at least 2…)  instead of 12-13 hours of work flanked by the amazing after school caregivers our reality is now a 3.5hrs work day. 

Quality family time… a blessing… becoming ultimate cruise directors to our 8 year old for the sake of not allowing the television and computer and ipad to become full time parents - our non-screen-time-parents worst freaking nightmare!  

I had just arrived home shortly after 1pm having left our family’s forced isolation due to the increasing restrictions imposed by the Covid 19 pandemic in New Jersey.  

For 24 hours I was caring for my father who was in a car accident on the Garden State Parkway.  His car was totalled after hydroplaning before dawn in torrential rainfall on his daily commute into New York’s Veteran’s Hospital in Bronx, NY.  He is a Veteran continuing to serve his country as an essential federal employee servicing our Veterans.  

I forever salute all of our Veterans and emergency responders and healthcare professionals as they continue to risk their own personal health to service our community - I pray that every effort is being made to protect their health and safety. 

We are blessed to be in a position to be able to work from home without impacting our family’s income, assist in our daughter’s daily online education and be able to put everything on hold to help a family member in an emergency.  

So many other families right now are questioning how to pay for rent, where their next income will come from and how they can put food on their table.

An angel was with my father yesterday as his car spun out of control.  He miraculously walked away from the accident but refused medical treatment or evaluation at a local hospital because of the pandemic.  He currently lives alone, hours away from family after relocating because of Hurricane Maria as he awaits my brother’s high school graduation in Puerto Rico when he will be joined by his wife and son here in their new home in NJ.   After the accident he was left at the nearest rest stop on the Parkway waiting for a ride home.

Ever the cautious professional his first words to me were:  “Keep a social distance, mama!” 

I kept him company as he navigated through insurance calls and made him dinner and checked on him through the night to make sure he was okay.  We both wore masks and laughed at each other as we hung out in separate rooms of his home.    

1. He works for a hospital in one of the nation’s Covid 19 epicenters and I need to protect my family
2. I am deemed essential in the financial service industry in one of the most volatile financial times in history continuing to see clients and I need to keep him safe 

Assured of his health 24 hours after his accident, I returned home and ran through the front door of my house just after 1pm, my husband who had pulled solo daddy/homeschool duty for 24hours was on a work call while I peeled off my clothes and started disinfecting myself and jumping into the shower as has been my routine upon returning home from being out and about. I am our family’s designated roamer to minimize our family exposure.   

Tiny human’s teacher’s first Zoom video call notice said she would be logging on at 1:35pm so I quickly ran to the shower yelling,

 “20 MINUTES BEFORE ZOOM WITH YOUR CLAAAAASSSSS!”

“OKAY MAMA!” she yelled back.

During the last several weeks we have been having “play dates” with friends via Zoom and her school account has not previously allowed her to access Zoom so we have been logging into my Google Account instead which has multiple security screens and passwords.  

Alarms blaring, I rushed out of the shower and wrapped a towel around me screaming, 

“YOU HAVE TO LOG INTO ZOOM MAMA!  GET ME THE COMPUTER!!!”  

I looked at her through the bedroom hallway at the table that we created in the living room with her work station and noticed that she had her super old school giant headphones on her head with no response. 

I quickly walked across the living room draped in my towel and loomed over her gazing into the laptop, 

“Hey!  What are you watching?  A video with your teacher?’’

…. Silence. 

“HELLO!  What video is that!?”  

In my towel.

ME:  noticing that her teacher all of a sudden is not the only person on the 6 block screen in front of me as Tiny Human scrolls through the screen… next to her teacher:  The Principal.

I giant-stepped to the right, away from the field of the camera.

“Mama.  

Is that a video you’re watching?”  I whispered.

“NO!  It’s ZOOM!”

…. Oh.  My. APPLESAUCE!

“PLEASE TURN OFF THE CAMERA FEED!!

“Is the camera off?!”

Giggling from the Tiny Human.  

“YES! What?!”

“Mama!  You can’t go on live video chat without letting the family know that they’re on camera!  

You need to go to each person in the house and say: 

“I’m starting a live video mama!,

I’m starting a live video daddy!, 

I’m starting a live video feed Murphy!!”  I fussed.

“Why does the DOG need to know that he’s on video!?”

“BECAUSE EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW AND THEIR PRIVACY NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED!!

YOUR TEACHER AND THE PRINCIPAL MIGHT HAVE SEEN YOUR MAMA IN A TOWEL!”

Hysterical, tear induced laughter filled the house, as I continued to make the case for informed consent…  

That being said, having experienced this ridiculous self invasion of privacy in my own home, I am emphatically supportive of live classroom instruction during home remote learning.  

I have no doubt that there will be many UH OH! moments but these children are resilient, tech savvy beings that with routine and structure and guidance can achieve anything they set their minds to…

The current state is “abnormal” and “unprecedented” and a “nightmare” for parents, but it's the “here and now” and “normal” and “the future” of these tiny humans shaping to become self sufficient, multitasking, electronic guru invaluable members of society because of these experiences.

As we continue to learn and grow from these experiences, we’ll be repositioning her desk so that she sits against a window or wall just like we do at the office to save her from the embarrassment of being the child of #ThatMomInATowelOnClassroomZoom...  

And as I sit here at 2pm on a Thursday afternoon, nursing a glass of chardonnay and my first bowl of Fruity Pebbles in 20 years (I read somewhere at the beginning of this that we should store some things to munch on that reminded us about carefree childhood days for when all else fails), I am determined to stay in front of the story and tell the world!

As I try to practice mindfulness and mommy self-compassion and mommy self-grace and mommy self-empathy, I’m feeling good that “at least I wasn’t running around with the towel around my waist this time.”  

So, YES, that is ME.  

The Mom. 

In a towel. 

Behind my daughter’s 8 year old head.

On her very first 2nd grade class LIVE Zoom video call.

Her 2nd grade teacher and the surprise guest, the PRINCIPAL both on the screen in front of me.

And we are blessed. 

siempre - dorana 

passionately dream living

#ThatMomInATowelOnClassroomZoom

#MomFail

#Covid19Sucks

#ZoomFail