Month: November 2023

Categories
Character

Give Generously

Give Tuesday color stacked
Giving Tuesday

On GivingTuesday—November 28, 2023—the whole world will come together to give back through acts of kindness, gifts of voice, time, talent, or treasure.

Last year’s tenth anniversary of this global phenomenon, saw an estimated 37 million Americans donate over three billion dollars in only 24 hours! So this year, let’s join the movement to see what we all can accomplish. The global hardships are gigantic and gruesome, but together we can make a difference.

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Every act of generosity counts and

everyone has something to give.

If your postal service and email boxes are anything like mine, they’re stuffed with solicitations from charities. So many that it gets annoying, especially when it’s from a charity we’ve never even heard of. But rather than getting irritated, I sort through the mail to look for those charities I approve and support. Rather than automatically tossing or deleting, I stack the snail mail and move emails to a donation folder for future consideration.

Although I haven’t always donated on GivingTuesday, it’s beneficial to do so since the concerted effort of millions encourages more giving on this day and throughout the year. Also I’ll time a gift to my chosen charity if they have notified me of a matching grant for every dollar given.

Of course, there are so many things we can give that are not calculated in dollars: food to a pantry, blood to a bank, essentials to a homeless shelter, and kindness to others. Among the 50 kindness gestures suggested by GivingTuesday are the following:

  1. Bring popsicles to a park on a hot day.
  2. Clean out your closet and donate some items.
  3. Ask for donations instead of birthday gifts.
  4. Cheer up a friend in need of cheering up.
  5. Compliment five people.
  6. Tell someone why they are important to you.
  7. Let someone go ahead of you in line.
  8. Send three cheerful postcards to people who won’t be expecting it.
  9. Forgive someone.
  10. Include someone with a disability in your plans.
  11. Call someone and talk instead of texting.
  12. Refresh a delivery person with a snack or beverage.
  13. Put kind notes inside some library books.
  14. Smile at everyone you see.
  15. Pay it forward.
  16. Give voice to your favorite cause on social media.

You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus:
It is more blessed to give than to receive.’
Acts 20:35 (New Living Translation)

And for the greatest gift of all, remember:

God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
1 John 5:11 (New American Standard Bible)

Many thanks to the https://givingtuesday.org website for informing this post and providing motivation for joining the movement.

And for details on my blog and dwarfism memoir trilogy, go to https://angelamuirvanetten.com.

Image credit: RDNE Stock project, https://www.pexels.com/photo/an-elderly-mab-receiving-a-cup-of-drink-from-a-volunteer-6646992/

Categories
Celebrations

Give Thanks

Give Thanks

As thanksgiving approaches guest lists and menus are the typical focus. But how much thought do we give to what we are thankful for? When browsing through my 2023 engagement calendar, I was struck by the domination of difficult scenarios for which gratitude did not come to mind. But a closer look pushed me into giving thanks for both the times of celebration and consternation.

Medical issues have touched every aspect of our lives, even the good things. For example, we were delighted to attend the wedding of Robert’s niece Brittany and her husband Stephen.

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But my inability to drive after dark meant we had to stay overnight. The motel we booked had a tall bed that Robert couldn’t climb into and lowering it was not feasible. However, the aggravation turned into appreciation when a shorter rollaway bed was located. The bonus was congregating with relatives at the breakfast bar the next morning.

My 70th birthday trip to Australia would have been impossible without Robert’s Florida family—Susan, Brittany, and Lyn & Bill—each taking a turn to stay with him for a week. Even though my three-week excursion was marred by being in ICU with COVID, I’m deeply indebted to them for allowing me to spend time with my family and friends in Sydney.

At home, Robert’s propensity for falling out of bed was ameliorated with lowering and relocating the bed. We were grateful when Gary and Kathryn helped us rearrange the furniture. But none of this prevented Robert from landing on the floor. Several 911 calls for help to pick him up were needed when he couldn’t get up after sliding off the bed. But it was a pleasant surprise to learn that Fire Rescue calls are free unless they take you to the hospital in an ambulance. Just as well, because on October 28 we called them to the house twice in one day.

Being hospitalized for eight days in October was nothing to be pleased about especially since it involved Robert’s blood pressure, breathing, kidney, and infections in the sinuses, bladder, and lungs (pneumonia). Nonetheless we were thankful Robert was classified as a progressive care patient attended by ICU nurses, numerous specialists, and therapists. We were glad when the hospital discharge plan continued many of these services at home.

I’m happy that earlier in the year we didn’t know so many medical interventions were on the horizon. This allowed me to continue marketing my dwarfism memoir trilogy with weekly blog posts, a workshop at the LPA District 4 Spring regional in Palm Beach Gardens, contribute a chapter to an anthology on “Dwarfism Arts and Advocacy: Creating Our Own Positive Identity,” and participate on an LPA advocacy panel on Understanding the Laws.

It was a joy to visit with so many friends from New Zealand—two in Stuart and two in Sydney—dating back to our days in kindergarten, middle school, and university. We were also tickled that two Aussie baby nieces adorned us as a great aunt and uncle.

In Everything Give Thanks
(1 Thessalonians 5:18)

            What are you thankful for?

Related Angela Muir Van Etten blog posts are listed below:

Categories
Disability Rights

Van Accessible Parking Predicament

Van access aisle

Hugo—our wheelchair accessible van—has removed the physical stress of boarding Robert and our two scooters into our vehicle. It has also added a new challenge—finding van accessible parking. The trouble arises because the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) only requires one out of every six accessible parking spaces to be van accessible i.e. to provide an adjacent access aisle wide enough for a

 

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side ramp to be deployed. The ADA allows two van accessible parking spaces to share a common access aisle but, when the access aisle is on the side of the van opposite to the ramp, precision driving is needed to reverse into the space.

As a result, we need to allow more time when planning an outing. For one thing we might need to drive around the parking lot waiting for and praying that a van accessible space opens up. Parking in a regular accessible space doesn’t solve the problem because unless we can put down the ramp we can’t exit or reenter the van. So with extra time here’s how we have handled various parking predicaments.

In one large parking lot, we frequently find a van accessible space in the parking lane furthest away from the entrance, but then we need extra time for Robert to scooter into the building at a speed slow enough for me to walk beside him. In another large parking lot with no far away van accessible spaces, we have straddled two regular spaces thereby forcing neighboring vehicles to park in the next space over and leave us space to put down the ramp.

Smaller parking lots can be tricky and parking depends on the layout. At one of Robert’s doctor’s offices we have parked in a regular space that borders the driveway. At a dental office, I parked two wheels on the sidewalk to make room for the ramp in the parking space. When visiting Robert’s brother in a rehabilitation facility, I risked getting towed by parking in the driveway and putting the ramp down on the sidewalk.

At an imaging center, I had no choice but to park in a regular spot next to an open space. But when I went inside I asked if they had a red cone I could use to reserve this space. They didn’t, but assured me that if someone parked next to me they’d find the driver and get them to move their car when I was ready to leave. At a durable medical equipment appointment, the manager did ask a driver to move her car so we could deploy the ramp to get back into the van. Of course, asking someone to move their vehicle is only an option at a venue where it’s possible to find the driver!

Thank you for resisting the temptation to park in an access aisle.

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Categories
Open

Successful Authors Write and Talk

Podcast guest

Writing a book is not finished when you add the last word to the last chapter. Nope, you still need to respond to editor comments and choose a traditional or independent (indie) publishing path. And then there’s the massive undertaking of getting people to read the book. I say massive because each year three to four million new book titles publish and in today’s market the average book sells less than 300 print copies in the United States over its lifetime!

So how do authors get their books to stand out above the stack? It’s not enough to produce a well written manuscript lauded with top-notch reviews. Although quality

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writing is still an important ingredient for success, it doesn’t go very far without being paired with excellent marketing. And therein lies the rub. Publishers have shifted most book marketing to authors.

In order to sell my dwarfism memoir trilogy, I needed to be proficient in both writing and marketing. For me, it was a case of on-the-job training. I immersed myself in articles and webinars on publishing and greatly benefited from coaching by Ava Pennington, an author and teacher at writers’ conferences and faith-based and general market events.

As a result, my marketing strategy included: creating book launch teams; developing an author website—“a voice for people with dwarfism & disability,” https://angelamuirvanetten.com; writing a weekly blog post; being active on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest; presenting workshops at LPA national and district conferences; and contributing articles and interviews to magazines and websites.

I also prepared media kits for each book with the goal of attracting podcast, radio or TV interviews; all of which involve talking. The listing of disability focused podcasts on which I have been featured are on my website at https://angelamuirvanetten.com/media/ and listed below:

  • Coach Ang and Samyuktha. “Author Spotlight: A Champion for Change,” Season 3, Episode 2. A Little Perspective. October 29, 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g69a1m3ktEc
  • “How to Advocate for People with Disability and Dwarfism,” Season 4, Episode 27. Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast – November 10, 2022.
  • Betsy Fasbinder. “Angela Muir Van Etten: Always an Advocate.” The Morning Glory Project Podcast – January 19, 2022.
  • “Always an Advocate,” Episode 32. Florida Disability Rights, You First Podcast – November 18, 2021.
  • “Marriage Story: A Couple with Dwarfism Navigates Life’s Detours with Love and Faith,” Season 2, Episode 37. Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast – October 22, 2020.
  • “A Voice for People with Dwarfism and Disability,” Season 2, Episode 36. Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast – October 15, 2020.

Please contact me at angela@angelamuirvanetten.com if you’d like to schedule an interview, speaking engagement, or guest blog post.

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