Inspirational gifts and accessories
This is posted above the desk in my basement/ workroom where I assemble the Mychness Bands and get them ready to ship.
I’d love to revamp the space and make it more functional- and soon I will. But in the meantime, this keeps me going.
Today I found it especially appropriate. Just because my server failed, doesn’t mean I will!!!
Originally posted by Tova September 23. 2011 / Reposted after The Great Server Crash of 2011
As I mentioned last night, I went to bed feeling fine and enjoying that moment while I had it. Because I woke up feeling not so fine. The 23rd. What a shitty day that was. That was the last day either of my girls lived inside of me. The day we said goodbye to Sunshine too. I look at the little ticker in the corner of this page: 1 year, 11 month, 4 weeks, 1 day. That’s lots of words. In two days, it will just say “2 years”…
I opened my iphoto this morning to go pull some pics of my newest Muchness bands to get them ready to put on the site and while scrolling through my photo library I got pulled into pictures of Elie’s 40th birthday party. It was in November of 2009. Less than 8 weeks after our loss. I’d decided that I couldn’t let his birthday pass without something and it was an excuse to create some joy and celebrate the things we did have. It was on a sunday night. It was supposed to be a surprise. We spent the day getting massages at a fancy spa near me. My boss had given me a very generous gift certificate after we lost the babies. It was a nice day. I remember the women who gave me the massage was chatty (for a masseuse) and somehow I mentioned that I was there as a gift because I’d lost identical twins recently. She told me she had a twin sister. I asked if they were identical. She replied “we used to be, but then my sister got fat.” …something about her stupidity struck me even more than her callousness.
But anyway, that’s not the point. We came home from the massage and our house was filled with friends and family. I have NEVER seen such a turn out to a party in my life. Nearly everyone who was invited made the effort to be there, and it was appreciated. I thought at the time it was pity. “Awww, poor Tova and Elie, after all they’ve been through, the least we could do is show up at this party they are hosting at a not terribly convenient time.” And maybe it was pity. It’s OK. I was glad they were there and I think they were glad to have something they could do to show support.
Oy! Again, Not the point!!! The point is, I saw this picture in my iphoto. This one and a few others from that day.
I looked at my eyes, my smile, Elie’s eyes. even Molly’s, and I started to shake, and then cry. That party, that was a good day. Maybe the first good day since the loss. But there is so, so much sadness there. so much grief. so much pain, hidden behind that smile and those eyes. I used to look at these pictures and think “These are bad pictures, I don’t look so good” but now I see it wasn’t the pictures, and it wasn’t how I ‘looked’ …. it was everything else.
I needed to get this out before I can get done the 100 things I have to do today. But I want to end on a happier note. Here is a picture I absolutely LOVE from this past summer. This picture is joy. With my sun and daisy necklace, my sparkly muchness band. Our honest smiles that go deep. It’s Muchness. It’s my family.
Jess September 23, 2011 at 11:16 amSending you love, Tova. I’m glad you have come so far….
judi September 23, 2011 at 11:29 amyou have a wonderful way with words, Tova. I felt the sadness and the joy all smushed together. much love from someone who “gets it”…
Yvette September 23, 2011 at 2:10 pmBeautiful family! Beautiful MUCHNESS!
Jen September 23, 2011 at 2:51 pmTova, I am thinking about you today as you think about your little girls. What a wonderful way to honor them — with your words and, of course, this site!
I can see/feel the joy and light in the second picture.
Btw, how could it escape me that we share a day *your girls’ angel day and my girl’s edd*?
Tova September 23, 2011 at 11:09 pmJen- I didn’t know that either. Or maybe at the beginning of this journey I did? What a long, strange trip it’s….. continues to be… 
Julie September 23, 2011 at 3:20 pmHi Tova.
I didn’t realize that our dates were so close…I’m glad your rainbow joined you the next year..I had a second loss the year after, but my rainbow has finally come! Wish I had known last year about the Muchness movement. :0)
L’shana Tova!
Julie (another woman who gets it…)
Tova September 23, 2011 at 11:07 pmJulie- you know about it now! Even I didn’t know about it last year!!! Welcome to our little corner of the internet and congrats on your rainbow!
xox
OMG! OMG! I just had my first celebrity sighting at the post office! I was sending out some Muchness Bands and as the teller stamped my envelopes and saw my return address, SHE recognized ME from the newspaper!!!!! I was the celebrity! (I use the term VERY loosely) When I put my bag on the counter to pay she laughed “ha- sequins… of course” 🙂
I guess I have a reputation to protect. I can never leave the house in anything less than Muchness ever again!!!
My Legacy? hahahaha
Ive given myself a to-do list for the day. To keep me on track i got this awesome lime green hourglass. Focus in what i need to get done in the next hour and then keep track of the time visually. So far, i think it’s working. Except taking the time to blog about was not on my to-do list!!!!
Hahaha
Got a fortune from one of my kid’s friends’ mom. She split the cookie between her kid and mine and without even reading it, offered me the fortune. Ya know, i think this is something i’m learning all the time.
So, you remember I spent WAY too much on the amazing Betsey Johnson Dress for the family photo shoot?
And then I went and spent WAY WAY too much for the framed print?
The picture we fell in love with... before.
So, the picture we wanted mounted and framed, we loved with the white background, but I asked them to retouch it in photoshop in the same style as another picture from our group had been retouched. They warned me that it might be “a bit much” and I explained to them that I would be the one to decide that. MY version of “a bit much” and other peoples versions are not exactly the same thing. So, against their better judgement, they Muchified our family pic.
I LOVE IT!!!!!
LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!
I cant wait to get it and hang it on the wall!!!
What do you think???? Be honest!!! (But only if you love it. If you think it sucks, go tell someone else. haha!! 🙂 )
What? You think this says something about me or something about my 3 year old???
My old car was so blahhhhh. And LOUD. Truly, i was embarrased to drive around town with it. My brother in law is a car dealer and he was on the lookout for a new used car for me. My requirements? Not black, not beige, not white, not gray, big trunk.
This is what i got! Its my new MUCHNESS Mobile!!!
I have been trying like mad to get those Muchness bands ready for sale. Setting up a shopping cart has revealed itself to be a bit more of a hassle than I anticipated. And I want to make hangtags with strips if paper to write your secret messages to yourself. And I want them to be sparkly. And beautiful.
I am taking this whole thing really seriously, and I have to, to get it done, but I also don’t want to be my own buzzkill….. It has been pointed out to me that being a buzzkill is the definition of stealing someones Muchness. Is my stress stealing my Muchness? That would suck.
In other news, I went to see our portraits that we took and they were great. And I’m the sucker that drank a glass of wine and spent a LOT of money on them. But I do get a hard drive with a video slideshow of the best shots. I am hoping there is some way to manipulate the info and get in there so I can print them… But either way, I will get to watch them.
So, here’s the funny thing about it, we got large printouts of only two pictures. You’d think they’d be the kids. But we decided we have enough pictures of the kids because I take pictures pretty frequently. So the BIG framed / mounted pic we got is of the whole family, all four of us. And the smaller framed print? Just me and the hubby. I mean, who is ever gonna take a picture of the two of us together like that? And ya know what? we looked GOOD! And ya know what else? I’m wearing my Muchness band and it’s right up front in the camera’s eye. Hubby pointed that out, how it looks so nice, right there… hmmmm. I like him 😉
I don’t have the pics from the photoshoot, but here’s a pic of Muchness for inspiration:
Molly was soooooo excited to see Minnie or mickey!
As we waited our turn she started doing the “I gotta potty” shuffle.
Finally- our turn! We walked on stage and Minnie held out her hand. Molly turned to me- panic in her eyes. “mommy! I have to potty!”
We took the picture and booked it off stage to the bathroom. I’m pretty sure there’s a little wet spot on my shirt. :-/
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