Why "The Brainy Broad"?

I'm worried about losing my mind. Not just the "I'm an LDS mother of 5 kids, trying to live the Gospel to the fullest and change the world, all while keeping an immaculate house and preparing delicious and nutritious meals 3 times a day," kind of losing my mind. I mean "literal decline of brain function" losing my mind. Last year, in the sixth month of a pregnancy, I had a stroke. Three months later, at 37 weeks into the pregnancy, I had another, more severe stroke. Scary.

Years earlier, the same week that I learned I was pregnant with my first child, my father was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He declined swiftly, and died just over a month before my daughter was born. I watched the man I adored become someone else. My sweet grandmother experienced the full wrath of Alzheimer's disease, becoming a stranger in her final years of life. The loss of beloved minds through damage to the brain is something familiar to me, and all too common among mankind.

I've never been a genius, by any stretch of the imagination, but I have always fancied myself an intelligent, insightful, free-thinking, well-educated woman. Recent reflection on the above mentioned situations has led to the realization of how very fragile all that thinkin' and book learnin' is. I think I will likely lose my mental faculties before I die. I'm not planning on dying any time, soon, but I feel a great weight of responsibility to document, right now, what I know. To preserve not just the "what's on my mind", but also the "what's in my soul". To make it clear to any who may wonder that at some point in my life, I embraced deeply felt beliefs, entertained multi-faceted ideas, rejected highly popular opinions, formed tender and empowering relationships, chose hope over despair, and both failed and triumphed. I want the contents of my soul to continue to exist for a long, long time, beyond the capacity of this broad's brain.

Let me be clear. I know very surely that when I die, my eternal spirit will remain healthy and intact, and that all my memories will be perfectly preserved. It is only in this mortal world that my concern exists, so it is only for this mortal world that my written thoughts remain. And for those who may glean some bit of wisdom or humor or insight from them. And I, myself, will likely be the largest beneficiary of this endeavor. As long as my mind functions at some level, I will be able to review these words. It will be my "Notebook", wherein my adoring husband and precious children can find words of encouragement and comfort when I am no longer Me. Maybe this noble cause won't find a purpose, beyond serving as the rambling journal of another Mormon mommy. But, that would be cause enough :) So, reader, here begins the spewing forth of as much of Me as can be practically accessed with my limited resources. I will use what time and words I can to paint you a picture of Me, for as long as I am Me; one of many Brainy Broads.