Because wine can't fix everything. (I've tried!)

To all the fierce mothers
A few days ago, I was watching a video of Oprah interviewing Trevor Noah.  I think Noah is an amazing man, funny and smart and very well-traveled.  He was talking with Oprah about growing up as a bi-racial child in South Africa during apartheid, where it was illegal for a black woman and a white man to get married, much less procreate.

Noah spoke about his childhood and how his family would hide him, and he noted, "Most people would have a sign to protest government oppression.  My mother had me." 

I grew up with an amazing mother, strong and compassionate and smarter than she thinks.  She's in her 70s now, and works on the landscape at my parents' house, ride horses, does tai chi, and volunteers as an educator at a local nature center.  My mom is the person that got me into biology as much as she got me into reading and learning in general, and I am so damn lucky to have grown up with her as an example.

So, yeah.  This Mother's Day, I want to give a shout out to all the mamas out there, whether through childbirth or formal adoption or mentorship or furbabies.  My heart to the mamas of angels and desire, and to the children who did not have a good relationship with their mamas.

Mother's Day Specials
I'm seriously feeling the mother love right now, so I decided to put together a couple of Mother's Day specials.  We won't be open on Mother's Day itself, but we'll have online gift certificates available for when it sneaks up on you and you realize you haven't gotten Mom anything.

We've got two specials going on:  a deep tissue/sports package called the Mountain Mama, and a relaxing, spoil-me-rotten one called the Queen of Sheba.  Or, if you have it together with her schedule, you can book your favorite mama an appointment just by going online.

Facebook giveaway!
I wasn't the child of a single mom, but I have friends who are, and I cannot even imagine the amount of hard work it takes.  I know that single mamas so often go without in order to provide for their littles, so we're giving back to them this year. 

Nominate a single mama (including yourself, if applicable!) for a FREE 90 MINUTE MASSAGE by commenting with her name on our Facebook post. Nominees accept by liking the comment with their name, and the winner will be drawn on Mother's Day.

Enter as many names as you like and feel free to share! (Winner must be local to the Steamboat area or be able to get here easily.) Open to moms, mommies to be, and mommies of angels, and I gotta say I am so. damn. pleased to see so many women lifting each other up out there.

And now for something completely different, as Monty Python would say.
Two somethings, in fact.

The first something is that Chelsea is moving into her new office over the next couple of weeks.  She's at 57 10th Street, right behind Brooklyn's Pizzaria on 10th and Lincoln.  She's got some pretty sweet digs, so make sure to read your confirmation emails for directions to her new pad.

The second something is quite a bit more personal.  As many of you know, I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in my teens--30 years ago this fall, in fact.  I had a very severe case of it and nearly died multiple times in the first 10 years.

However, this Wednesday, May 9th, marks the 20 year anniversary of the surgery that saved my life.  At 24, barely scraping by and tipping the scales at just over 100 lbs, I had an ileostomy.  This permanently removed my large intestine, where the worst part of the disease was, and quite literally gave me my life back.

I've celebrated May 9th as a second birthday for years--I refer to it as my "phoenix day"--but 20 years is a big one, and I wanted to share it with all of you.  Thanks for being there, for coming along on this wild and magnificent ride.