noticed on the way.....
things I've noticed on this journey called life.
Sunday, February 29, 2004
Backwash
My other great blogging community.. so much more than just a blog! Check it out, I'm sure you'll love it.
Please join me at Backwash.com so I can add you to my group of friends. By joining, you can keep track of your friends, post detailed profiles with photos, flatter your friends, send private and instant messages, get birthday reminders and send e-cards, share your favorite links with friends, meet new people, write journals, participate in communities and much, much more! And it's all free!
You can read my profile at Backwash Profile or look me up by using the "Browse Profiles" feature. My userid is Fehu. Once you join Backwash, you will be automatically connected to me, and all of my friends.
Click here to join BACKWASH now!
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Please join me at Backwash.com so I can add you to my group of friends. By joining, you can keep track of your friends, post detailed profiles with photos, flatter your friends, send private and instant messages, get birthday reminders and send e-cards, share your favorite links with friends, meet new people, write journals, participate in communities and much, much more! And it's all free!
You can read my profile at Backwash Profile or look me up by using the "Browse Profiles" feature. My userid is Fehu. Once you join Backwash, you will be automatically connected to me, and all of my friends.
Click here to join BACKWASH now!
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Well, I did warn you! LOL
Heart of Crystal
What is Your Heart REALLY Made of?
brought to you by Quizilla
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Heart of Crystal
What is Your Heart REALLY Made of?
brought to you by Quizilla
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What can I say? I'm becoming addicted to these silly quizes!
Brief summary of your name: Elizabeth
Your name of Elizabeth gives you a very idealistic but passive outlook on life. You appreciate music, drama, and the arts and could excel in these fields. You desire culture and all the comforts of life but you are inclined to daydream and not bring your ideas to fulfilment. Although you would like to do many things, procrastination undermines your accomplishment and success in life because of insecurity. You do not like to create issues and will do anything to avoid conflicts. Making decisions is difficult for you without the support and approval of others. This name gives you a very sensitive nature, making you feel much that you do not understand.
Strangely enough, the derivitive version of my name is nearly the exact opposite:
Brief summary of your name: Beth
The name of Beth brings opportunities for success in business and financial accumulation. It fires you with ambition and promotional ideas, ideas that are original, progressive, and large-scale. With this name, success to you is a foregone conclusion, for you cannot conceive any reason for not reaching all your goals, as you have self-sufficiency, supreme confidence, boundless energy, and enthusiasm. As long as you have a sense of freedom from monotony and drudgery, and can see progress being made, you feel buoyant and optimistic.
You're Element is Water. You are soft and serene at
most times but like Wind, you're scary when
you're mad. You proabaly have a talent is
singing and even your speaking voice is lovely.
You have an innocent type of beauty that makes
you look younger than you are and you like
close relationships with people.
What's Your Element(girls)? (PICTURES)
brought to you by Quizilla
You're a mermaid. The stereotypical mermaid had a
long, fish-like tail that blended with the
human torso at the hips and almost white skin
with red hair or some off color like green or
blue. They were the most fantastic singers and
the siren type of mermaids would lure sailors
with their lovely lullaby into dangerous rocks.
They were mostly harmless and peacefull and
they were content to simply sit on the beach
combing their hair or in the water playing with
friends. They never wore clothes and were
always women. They were sweet and a little
deciteful at times. (please rate)
What Mystical Creature Are You? (Pictures)
brought to you by Quizilla
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Brief summary of your name: Elizabeth
Your name of Elizabeth gives you a very idealistic but passive outlook on life. You appreciate music, drama, and the arts and could excel in these fields. You desire culture and all the comforts of life but you are inclined to daydream and not bring your ideas to fulfilment. Although you would like to do many things, procrastination undermines your accomplishment and success in life because of insecurity. You do not like to create issues and will do anything to avoid conflicts. Making decisions is difficult for you without the support and approval of others. This name gives you a very sensitive nature, making you feel much that you do not understand.
Strangely enough, the derivitive version of my name is nearly the exact opposite:
Brief summary of your name: Beth
The name of Beth brings opportunities for success in business and financial accumulation. It fires you with ambition and promotional ideas, ideas that are original, progressive, and large-scale. With this name, success to you is a foregone conclusion, for you cannot conceive any reason for not reaching all your goals, as you have self-sufficiency, supreme confidence, boundless energy, and enthusiasm. As long as you have a sense of freedom from monotony and drudgery, and can see progress being made, you feel buoyant and optimistic.
You're Element is Water. You are soft and serene at
most times but like Wind, you're scary when
you're mad. You proabaly have a talent is
singing and even your speaking voice is lovely.
You have an innocent type of beauty that makes
you look younger than you are and you like
close relationships with people.
What's Your Element(girls)? (PICTURES)
brought to you by Quizilla
You're a mermaid. The stereotypical mermaid had a
long, fish-like tail that blended with the
human torso at the hips and almost white skin
with red hair or some off color like green or
blue. They were the most fantastic singers and
the siren type of mermaids would lure sailors
with their lovely lullaby into dangerous rocks.
They were mostly harmless and peacefull and
they were content to simply sit on the beach
combing their hair or in the water playing with
friends. They never wore clothes and were
always women. They were sweet and a little
deciteful at times. (please rate)
What Mystical Creature Are You? (Pictures)
brought to you by Quizilla
|
As I reach into my bag of stones today my mind is blank. I have no expectations, nothing I'm looking for, no answers to seek. Let's see what the stones have to say about my life right now.
Wunjo
Joy, Pleasure, Hope, Delight
Well that certainly bodes well. Wunjo normally brings with it good fortune, joy and reward. Sounds like something I could use right now. I wonder where my good fortune will come from.. will it be something positive about my health? My relationship with my husband or family? Or will it actually be a more physical form of fortune, like money? I doubt that.. I tend to think of Wunjo as bringing joy in a more obscure format. Perhaps I'll simply experience joy from something simple today.
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Wunjo
Joy, Pleasure, Hope, Delight
Well that certainly bodes well. Wunjo normally brings with it good fortune, joy and reward. Sounds like something I could use right now. I wonder where my good fortune will come from.. will it be something positive about my health? My relationship with my husband or family? Or will it actually be a more physical form of fortune, like money? I doubt that.. I tend to think of Wunjo as bringing joy in a more obscure format. Perhaps I'll simply experience joy from something simple today.
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Saturday, February 28, 2004
Can he possibly be serious?
Civilization Watch - February 15, 2004 - Homosexual "Marriage" and Civilization - The Ornery American
Wow.. when I first read this article I thought it had to be satire. Nobody in their right mind could actually think this way. But, the more I read, the more I realized this was actually a look in to this man's mind. I scared me. Deeply. That anyone could be so ignorant and still be allowed to offer his opinion as fact? Well, it just blew me away.
So, I decided to take excerpts from this opinion and offer my opinions on them. Here goes:
Anyone who opposes this edict will be branded a bigot; any schoolchild who questions the legitimacy of homosexual marriage will be expelled for "hate speech." The fanatical Left will insist that anyone who upholds the fundamental meaning that marriage has always had, everywhere, until this generation, is a "homophobe" and therefore mentally ill.
Well, perhaps some of these people are bigots, or homophobes. Unless I know them, I really wouldn't know. That schoolchildren will be expelled for "hate speech" for simply questioning marriage? That's ridiculous! School and learning are all about questioning. That's part of the process of learning. You believe in hetero (or traditional) marriage? Good for you! So do I.. it's been working for me for years. I fully intend to uphold the "fundamental meaning" of marriage. However, I see no reason that same-sex couples should be excluded from that.
Marriage Is Already Open to Everyone.
In the first place, no law in any state in the United States now or ever has forbidden homosexuals to marry. The law has never asked that a man prove his heterosexuality in order to marry a woman, or a woman hers in order to marry a man.
Any homosexual man who can persuade a woman to take him as her husband can avail himself of all the rights of husbandhood under the law. And, in fact, many homosexual men have done precisely that, without any legal prejudice at all.
Ditto with lesbian women. Many have married men and borne children. And while a fair number of such marriages in recent years have ended in divorce, there are many that have not.
So it is a flat lie to say that homosexuals are deprived of any civil right pertaining to marriage. To get those civil rights, all homosexuals have to do is find someone of the opposite sex willing to join them in marriage.
<< snip >>
However emotionally bonded a pair of homosexual lovers may feel themselves to be, what they are doing is not marriage. Nor does society benefit in any way from treating it as if it were.
Not exactly the same thing now is it? So, a gay man can marry a woman. And a gay woman can marry a man. Well, that's just lovely. But, when I got married, I married the man I loved. Would I want to marry a woman when I was in love with and attracted to a man? Nope! I don't imagine my friend Pam would want to marry a man when she's perfectly happy in her relationship with Katherine. They had a beautiful religious ceremony performed by the minister at their church. They took their vows and promised all the same things to each other that my husband and I did. Why shouldn't their marriage have the same legal standing as mine? And just how does society benefit from my hetero marriage anyway?
The damage caused to children by divorce and illegitimate birth is obvious and devastating. While apologists for the current system are quick to blame poverty resulting from "deadbeat dads" as the cause, the children themselves know this is ludicrous.
<< snip >>
Only when the father became powerless or absent in the lives of huge numbers of children did we start to realize some of the things people need a father for: laying the groundwork for a sense of moral judgment; praise that is believed so that it can instill genuine self-confidence.
People lacking in fundamental self-esteem don't need gold stars passed out to everyone in their class. Chances are, they need a father who will say -- and mean -- "I'm proud of you."
As a mother I'm deeply offended by this. I have two children with men I'm divorced from, and one child with a man I never married. To suggest that a mother is not capable of teaching moral judgment or instilling self-esteem in her children is ludicrous! My "damaged" children, aged 24, 19 and 16, are bright, responsible, open-minded, self-assured and accepting. They are everything I ever hoped they would be and then some. I'm proud of who they are, and they know it. I also know that I would like them to be my friends even if I weren't their mother.
Most kids would rather that, instead of divorcing, their parents would acquire the strength or maturity to stop doing the things that make the other parent want to leave.
While my children my have initially hoped that Mommy and Daddy would work it out, they now know that splitting up was best for everyone involved. Including them. My kids know that every decision I ever made was based on what I believed to be the best thing for them. Sure, I could have stayed with my first husband. He could have taught my children all about infidelity. Or my second husband. He could have taught them that when things don't go quite the way you like, the answer is to get drunk and throw your wife down the stairs. Did I leave these marriages because I was selfish? Maybe... Was leaving the best thing for my children? Definitely.
And it isn't just the damage that divorce and out-of-wedlock births do to the children in those broken families: Your divorce hurts my kids, too.
All American children grow up today in a society where they are keenly aware that marriages don't last. At the first sign of a quarrel even in a stable marriage that is in no danger, the children fear divorce. Is this how it begins? Will I now be like my friends at school, shunted from half-family to half-family?
This is not trivial damage. Kids thrive best in an environment that teaches them how to be adults. They need the confidence and role models that come from a stable home with father and mother in their proper places.
So, now my divorce hurts your kids? How exactly is that? If your marriage is so stable and loving, then that's what your kids are living and learning. My marriage didn't last. The reasons are many and mostly personal. Sometimes the best thing for the family is not to stay together. If your kids are so worried that every little fight is going to cause you to divorce, then maybe you're not doing such a hot job of making them feel secure. My children are very secure in the knowledge that they are loved. They have a whole family, not a "half-family." I'm not even sure what a "half-family" is. Just because I'm divorced it doesn't mean that my relationship with my ex is over.. and it certainly doesn't mean that his relationship with his children is over. We are adults, after all, and capable of overlooking our past and our differences so we can both be there and be pleasant for our children. How are my children damaged by having happy parents in different homes? How is it that we can't be role models without living together? In my family, we're better role models when we're apart.
There is a very complex balance in maintaining a monogamous society, with plenty of lapses and exceptions and mechanisms to cope with the natural barbaric impulses of the male mating drive. There is always room to tolerate a small and covert number of exceptions to the rule.
I'm still trying to understand this one. Since men are genetically programmed to mate with as many women as possible, we should just tolerate their affairs? That is as long as they're covert? So, it's acceptable for a man to cheat as long as he doesn't do so often and doesn't get caught.
Now huge numbers of Americans know that the schools are places where their children are indoctrinated in anti-family values. Trust is not just going -- for them it's gone.
I never noticed that my kids were learning anything "anti-family" in school. All this time I thought family and moral values should be taught in the home, not at school. I don't expect teachers to be a moral compass for my children, that's my job. I do expect teachers to teach my children, reading, writing, math, history, socialization, etc. I have to wonder just what "anti-family values" his kids are learning in school, and if he's so opposed to them, why not either fight it, or move his kids to a different school.
Parents in a stable marriage are much better than schools at civilizing children. You have to be a fanatical ideologue not to recognize this as an obvious truth -- in other words, you have to dumb down or radically twist the definition of "civilizing children" in order to claim that parents are not, on the whole, better at it.
Well, look at that. Something we almost agree on. I do agree with the idea that parents are better at "civilizing children" though I'm not crazy about the terminology. The idea that you have to be in a stable marriage to do so is absolute bunk.
Calling a homosexual contract "marriage" does not make it reproductively relevant and will not make it contribute in any meaningful way to the propagation of civilization.
Huh? "Reproductively relevant?" So, the only reason for marriage is to propagate civilization? I don't remember that being in my marriage vows. Love, Honor, Cherish, Care for... these things I recall.. Propagate civilization? Nope.. I'm sure it wasn't there.
Let me put it another way. The sex life of the people around me is none of my business; the homosexuality of some of my friends and associates has made no barrier between us, and as far as I know, my heterosexuality hasn't bothered them. That's what tolerance looks like.
But homosexual "marriage" is an act of intolerance. It is an attempt to eliminate any special preference for marriage in society -- to erase the protected status of marriage in the constant balancing act between civilization and individual reproduction.
So if my friends insist on calling what they do "marriage," they are not turning their relationship into what my wife and I have created, because no court has the power to change what their relationship actually is.
Instead they are attempting to strike a death blow against the well-earned protected status of our, and every other, real marriage.
They steal from me what I treasure most, and gain for themselves nothing at all. They won't be married. They'll just be playing dress-up in their parents' clothes.
Here's where I really get confused. Just what does a same-sex marriage steal from me? My marriage is secure, happy and not dependent on outside forces for it's health. I'm not the least bit threatened by my gay friends marriages. I've attended many same-sex marriages and even offered to perform a few. Mr. Card seems to believe that the only reason to get married is to have children. As I said before, nowhere in my vows was that ever mentioned. So, if a couple is childless, by choice or sterility, does that mean they're marriage is a fraud? Is it not a real marriage? My current husband and I have no children. Due to illness I'm on drugs that prohibit me from conceiving. Is our marriage somehow less because of that? And, just what is the "protected status" of marriage that he's talking about? I guess I'm just stupid.. can someone please explain to me how someone elses marriage "steals" from mine?
What happens now if children grow up in a society that overtly teaches that homosexual partnering is not "just as good as" but actually is marriage?
Once this is regarded as settled law, anyone who tries to teach children to aspire to create a child-centered family with a father and a mother will be labeled as a bigot and accused of hate speech.
A little paranoid? To say the least. I don't think teaching our children that marriage is a contract between two people that love each other is wrong. I've taught my children that marriage is a commitment, not something to be taken lightly, and I have no problem with encouraging my hetero children to someday get married and give me grandchildren. If my kids were gay, I would wish the same for them, albeit with a somewhat smaller chance of grandchildren.
The propaganda mill will pound our children with homosexual marriage as a role model. We know this will happen because we have seen the fanatical Left do it many times before.
So when our children go through the normal adolescent period of sexual confusion and perplexity, which is precisely the time when parents have the least influence over their children and most depend on the rest of society to help their children grow through the last steps before adulthood, what will happen?
Already any child with any kind of sexual attraction to the same sex is told that this is an irresistible destiny, despite the large number of heterosexuals who move through this adolescent phase and never look back.
Already any child with androgynous appearance or mannerisms -- effeminite boys and masculine girls -- are being nurtured and guided (or taunted and abused) into "accepting" what many of them never suspected they had -- a desire to permanently move into homosexual society.
In other words, society will bend all its efforts to seize upon any hint of homosexuality in our young people and encourage it.
What absolute bunk! If anyone knows how difficult it is to be gay in this society, it's a gay! I don't believe you can make someone gay any more than you can make someone straight. People are attracted to others for a variety of reasons. And yes, nearly all adolescents go through a period of experimentation and confusion. That's perfectly normal, and most of them come out of it with a good idea of their sexual identity. It's been my experience that most of the people that come out of this phase of life confused and hurt are gay. These are people that know they're attracted to the same sex, yet are pushed to be "normal" heterosexuals. The thought that society in general will force homosexuality down the throats of our teenagers is so much paranoid drivel.
The dark secret of homosexual society -- the one that dares not speak its name -- is how many homosexuals first entered into that world through a disturbing seduction or rape or molestation or abuse, and how many of them yearn to get out of the homosexual community and live normally.
It's that desire for normality, that discontent with perpetual adolescent sexuality, that is at least partly behind this hunger for homosexual "marriage."
They are unhappy, but they think it's because the rest of us "don't fully accept them."
Homosexual "marriage" won't accomplish what they hope. They will still be just as far outside the reproductive cycle of life. And they will have inflicted real damage on those of us who are inside it.
They will make it harder for us to raise children with any confidence that they, in turn, will take their place in the reproductive cycle. They will use all the forces of our society to try to encourage our children that it is desirable to be like them.
"get out of the homosexual community and live normally." So, to be homosexual makes it impossible to live normally? I wonder how many gays this guy actually knows. I mean people he works with, shops with, goes to church with. The ones he doesn't know are gay. People that are living pretty normally to my view. This guy seems to think marriage is all about sex. Gays want marriage to legitimatize their sexuality and the rest of us get married to reproduce. And again, the paranoia that the gay population is somehow out to get our children and make them all gay. I don't know about you, but every gay man or lesbian woman I know was the product of a heterosexual marriage.
A postulated but unproven genetic disposition toward homosexuality is supposed to be embraced and accepted by everyone as "perfectly natural" -- but the far stronger and almost universal genetic disposition toward having children and grandchildren is to be suppressed, kept to yourself, treated as a mental illness.
You're unhappy that your son wants to marry a boy? Then you're sick, dangerous, a homophobe, filled with hate. Control your natural desires or be branded as evil by every movie and TV show coming out of P.C. Hollywood!
Where does he get this stuff? Homosexuality is perfectly natural. It happens in nearly every species in nature. Granted, it's a small percentage, but it's there. Always has been, always will be. Accept it and move on. Odds are in your favor that your children will be hetero. They may choose to marry and have children, they may not. In the end, the decision is really theirs, not yours. I know if I had to make that choice knowing that Orson Scott Card was the grandparent, I would certainly give it long hard thought. Would I be unhappy if my son wanted to marry a boy? Maybe.. at first. I want grandchildren and while this certainly wouldn't rule them out, it would reduce the chance of it happening. In the end, I'd be happy to see my son happy with the person he loves. As a mother, my main wish is that my children each find love and happiness in their lives. Where ever and however they find it.
It is the most morally conservative portion of society that is most successful in raising children who believe in loyalty and oath-keeping and self-control and self-sacrifice.
Ummm.. my children believe in loyalty and oath-keeping and self-control and self-sacrifice. I always thought I was a liberal.. does raising respectful children mean I'm really a closet conservative? Oh, the horror! The shame! What a horrible pagan I must be.
Who do you think is volunteering for the military to defend America against our enemies?
Again, I'm confused. My son volunteered for the Air Force. In fact, I think you'll find most of the volunteers these days are kids that are looking for money for college. These teens aren't joining the service with some romantic idea of fighting for our country, they're just looking for a way to make a better life for themselves and their families.
----------------------------------------------------------------
In closing, I just have to say I just don't get this guy at all. I fail to understand his point of view, even after reading this article four times. He seems to me to be just a paranoid, homophobic idiot with no idea what marriage is all about.
Same-sex couples are already being married by their religious leaders. In the eyes of friends and family they are certainly married. What they're looking for now are the rights and obligations that go along with that commitment. Health & retirement benefits, survivorship rights, being able to file taxes as a couple rather than singles, the ability to make life-defining decisions for their partner when needed.
I'm chronically ill with a debilitating disease. If my husband and I were not married, he would not have been told the results of my various tests, nor would he have been consulted on my health care decisions. He would not have been permitted to stay with me in the hospital or to be there for my 5 surgeries. He probably wouldn't even be allowed to accompany me to the doctors office for my check-ups. I would be devastated if I had to do these things without him. This is what marriage is about. Gender doesn't matter. Love, respect, trust and sharing your lives does.
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Wow.. when I first read this article I thought it had to be satire. Nobody in their right mind could actually think this way. But, the more I read, the more I realized this was actually a look in to this man's mind. I scared me. Deeply. That anyone could be so ignorant and still be allowed to offer his opinion as fact? Well, it just blew me away.
So, I decided to take excerpts from this opinion and offer my opinions on them. Here goes:
Anyone who opposes this edict will be branded a bigot; any schoolchild who questions the legitimacy of homosexual marriage will be expelled for "hate speech." The fanatical Left will insist that anyone who upholds the fundamental meaning that marriage has always had, everywhere, until this generation, is a "homophobe" and therefore mentally ill.
Well, perhaps some of these people are bigots, or homophobes. Unless I know them, I really wouldn't know. That schoolchildren will be expelled for "hate speech" for simply questioning marriage? That's ridiculous! School and learning are all about questioning. That's part of the process of learning. You believe in hetero (or traditional) marriage? Good for you! So do I.. it's been working for me for years. I fully intend to uphold the "fundamental meaning" of marriage. However, I see no reason that same-sex couples should be excluded from that.
Marriage Is Already Open to Everyone.
In the first place, no law in any state in the United States now or ever has forbidden homosexuals to marry. The law has never asked that a man prove his heterosexuality in order to marry a woman, or a woman hers in order to marry a man.
Any homosexual man who can persuade a woman to take him as her husband can avail himself of all the rights of husbandhood under the law. And, in fact, many homosexual men have done precisely that, without any legal prejudice at all.
Ditto with lesbian women. Many have married men and borne children. And while a fair number of such marriages in recent years have ended in divorce, there are many that have not.
So it is a flat lie to say that homosexuals are deprived of any civil right pertaining to marriage. To get those civil rights, all homosexuals have to do is find someone of the opposite sex willing to join them in marriage.
<< snip >>
However emotionally bonded a pair of homosexual lovers may feel themselves to be, what they are doing is not marriage. Nor does society benefit in any way from treating it as if it were.
Not exactly the same thing now is it? So, a gay man can marry a woman. And a gay woman can marry a man. Well, that's just lovely. But, when I got married, I married the man I loved. Would I want to marry a woman when I was in love with and attracted to a man? Nope! I don't imagine my friend Pam would want to marry a man when she's perfectly happy in her relationship with Katherine. They had a beautiful religious ceremony performed by the minister at their church. They took their vows and promised all the same things to each other that my husband and I did. Why shouldn't their marriage have the same legal standing as mine? And just how does society benefit from my hetero marriage anyway?
The damage caused to children by divorce and illegitimate birth is obvious and devastating. While apologists for the current system are quick to blame poverty resulting from "deadbeat dads" as the cause, the children themselves know this is ludicrous.
<< snip >>
Only when the father became powerless or absent in the lives of huge numbers of children did we start to realize some of the things people need a father for: laying the groundwork for a sense of moral judgment; praise that is believed so that it can instill genuine self-confidence.
People lacking in fundamental self-esteem don't need gold stars passed out to everyone in their class. Chances are, they need a father who will say -- and mean -- "I'm proud of you."
As a mother I'm deeply offended by this. I have two children with men I'm divorced from, and one child with a man I never married. To suggest that a mother is not capable of teaching moral judgment or instilling self-esteem in her children is ludicrous! My "damaged" children, aged 24, 19 and 16, are bright, responsible, open-minded, self-assured and accepting. They are everything I ever hoped they would be and then some. I'm proud of who they are, and they know it. I also know that I would like them to be my friends even if I weren't their mother.
Most kids would rather that, instead of divorcing, their parents would acquire the strength or maturity to stop doing the things that make the other parent want to leave.
While my children my have initially hoped that Mommy and Daddy would work it out, they now know that splitting up was best for everyone involved. Including them. My kids know that every decision I ever made was based on what I believed to be the best thing for them. Sure, I could have stayed with my first husband. He could have taught my children all about infidelity. Or my second husband. He could have taught them that when things don't go quite the way you like, the answer is to get drunk and throw your wife down the stairs. Did I leave these marriages because I was selfish? Maybe... Was leaving the best thing for my children? Definitely.
And it isn't just the damage that divorce and out-of-wedlock births do to the children in those broken families: Your divorce hurts my kids, too.
All American children grow up today in a society where they are keenly aware that marriages don't last. At the first sign of a quarrel even in a stable marriage that is in no danger, the children fear divorce. Is this how it begins? Will I now be like my friends at school, shunted from half-family to half-family?
This is not trivial damage. Kids thrive best in an environment that teaches them how to be adults. They need the confidence and role models that come from a stable home with father and mother in their proper places.
So, now my divorce hurts your kids? How exactly is that? If your marriage is so stable and loving, then that's what your kids are living and learning. My marriage didn't last. The reasons are many and mostly personal. Sometimes the best thing for the family is not to stay together. If your kids are so worried that every little fight is going to cause you to divorce, then maybe you're not doing such a hot job of making them feel secure. My children are very secure in the knowledge that they are loved. They have a whole family, not a "half-family." I'm not even sure what a "half-family" is. Just because I'm divorced it doesn't mean that my relationship with my ex is over.. and it certainly doesn't mean that his relationship with his children is over. We are adults, after all, and capable of overlooking our past and our differences so we can both be there and be pleasant for our children. How are my children damaged by having happy parents in different homes? How is it that we can't be role models without living together? In my family, we're better role models when we're apart.
There is a very complex balance in maintaining a monogamous society, with plenty of lapses and exceptions and mechanisms to cope with the natural barbaric impulses of the male mating drive. There is always room to tolerate a small and covert number of exceptions to the rule.
I'm still trying to understand this one. Since men are genetically programmed to mate with as many women as possible, we should just tolerate their affairs? That is as long as they're covert? So, it's acceptable for a man to cheat as long as he doesn't do so often and doesn't get caught.
Now huge numbers of Americans know that the schools are places where their children are indoctrinated in anti-family values. Trust is not just going -- for them it's gone.
I never noticed that my kids were learning anything "anti-family" in school. All this time I thought family and moral values should be taught in the home, not at school. I don't expect teachers to be a moral compass for my children, that's my job. I do expect teachers to teach my children, reading, writing, math, history, socialization, etc. I have to wonder just what "anti-family values" his kids are learning in school, and if he's so opposed to them, why not either fight it, or move his kids to a different school.
Parents in a stable marriage are much better than schools at civilizing children. You have to be a fanatical ideologue not to recognize this as an obvious truth -- in other words, you have to dumb down or radically twist the definition of "civilizing children" in order to claim that parents are not, on the whole, better at it.
Well, look at that. Something we almost agree on. I do agree with the idea that parents are better at "civilizing children" though I'm not crazy about the terminology. The idea that you have to be in a stable marriage to do so is absolute bunk.
Calling a homosexual contract "marriage" does not make it reproductively relevant and will not make it contribute in any meaningful way to the propagation of civilization.
Huh? "Reproductively relevant?" So, the only reason for marriage is to propagate civilization? I don't remember that being in my marriage vows. Love, Honor, Cherish, Care for... these things I recall.. Propagate civilization? Nope.. I'm sure it wasn't there.
Let me put it another way. The sex life of the people around me is none of my business; the homosexuality of some of my friends and associates has made no barrier between us, and as far as I know, my heterosexuality hasn't bothered them. That's what tolerance looks like.
But homosexual "marriage" is an act of intolerance. It is an attempt to eliminate any special preference for marriage in society -- to erase the protected status of marriage in the constant balancing act between civilization and individual reproduction.
So if my friends insist on calling what they do "marriage," they are not turning their relationship into what my wife and I have created, because no court has the power to change what their relationship actually is.
Instead they are attempting to strike a death blow against the well-earned protected status of our, and every other, real marriage.
They steal from me what I treasure most, and gain for themselves nothing at all. They won't be married. They'll just be playing dress-up in their parents' clothes.
Here's where I really get confused. Just what does a same-sex marriage steal from me? My marriage is secure, happy and not dependent on outside forces for it's health. I'm not the least bit threatened by my gay friends marriages. I've attended many same-sex marriages and even offered to perform a few. Mr. Card seems to believe that the only reason to get married is to have children. As I said before, nowhere in my vows was that ever mentioned. So, if a couple is childless, by choice or sterility, does that mean they're marriage is a fraud? Is it not a real marriage? My current husband and I have no children. Due to illness I'm on drugs that prohibit me from conceiving. Is our marriage somehow less because of that? And, just what is the "protected status" of marriage that he's talking about? I guess I'm just stupid.. can someone please explain to me how someone elses marriage "steals" from mine?
What happens now if children grow up in a society that overtly teaches that homosexual partnering is not "just as good as" but actually is marriage?
Once this is regarded as settled law, anyone who tries to teach children to aspire to create a child-centered family with a father and a mother will be labeled as a bigot and accused of hate speech.
A little paranoid? To say the least. I don't think teaching our children that marriage is a contract between two people that love each other is wrong. I've taught my children that marriage is a commitment, not something to be taken lightly, and I have no problem with encouraging my hetero children to someday get married and give me grandchildren. If my kids were gay, I would wish the same for them, albeit with a somewhat smaller chance of grandchildren.
The propaganda mill will pound our children with homosexual marriage as a role model. We know this will happen because we have seen the fanatical Left do it many times before.
So when our children go through the normal adolescent period of sexual confusion and perplexity, which is precisely the time when parents have the least influence over their children and most depend on the rest of society to help their children grow through the last steps before adulthood, what will happen?
Already any child with any kind of sexual attraction to the same sex is told that this is an irresistible destiny, despite the large number of heterosexuals who move through this adolescent phase and never look back.
Already any child with androgynous appearance or mannerisms -- effeminite boys and masculine girls -- are being nurtured and guided (or taunted and abused) into "accepting" what many of them never suspected they had -- a desire to permanently move into homosexual society.
In other words, society will bend all its efforts to seize upon any hint of homosexuality in our young people and encourage it.
What absolute bunk! If anyone knows how difficult it is to be gay in this society, it's a gay! I don't believe you can make someone gay any more than you can make someone straight. People are attracted to others for a variety of reasons. And yes, nearly all adolescents go through a period of experimentation and confusion. That's perfectly normal, and most of them come out of it with a good idea of their sexual identity. It's been my experience that most of the people that come out of this phase of life confused and hurt are gay. These are people that know they're attracted to the same sex, yet are pushed to be "normal" heterosexuals. The thought that society in general will force homosexuality down the throats of our teenagers is so much paranoid drivel.
The dark secret of homosexual society -- the one that dares not speak its name -- is how many homosexuals first entered into that world through a disturbing seduction or rape or molestation or abuse, and how many of them yearn to get out of the homosexual community and live normally.
It's that desire for normality, that discontent with perpetual adolescent sexuality, that is at least partly behind this hunger for homosexual "marriage."
They are unhappy, but they think it's because the rest of us "don't fully accept them."
Homosexual "marriage" won't accomplish what they hope. They will still be just as far outside the reproductive cycle of life. And they will have inflicted real damage on those of us who are inside it.
They will make it harder for us to raise children with any confidence that they, in turn, will take their place in the reproductive cycle. They will use all the forces of our society to try to encourage our children that it is desirable to be like them.
"get out of the homosexual community and live normally." So, to be homosexual makes it impossible to live normally? I wonder how many gays this guy actually knows. I mean people he works with, shops with, goes to church with. The ones he doesn't know are gay. People that are living pretty normally to my view. This guy seems to think marriage is all about sex. Gays want marriage to legitimatize their sexuality and the rest of us get married to reproduce. And again, the paranoia that the gay population is somehow out to get our children and make them all gay. I don't know about you, but every gay man or lesbian woman I know was the product of a heterosexual marriage.
A postulated but unproven genetic disposition toward homosexuality is supposed to be embraced and accepted by everyone as "perfectly natural" -- but the far stronger and almost universal genetic disposition toward having children and grandchildren is to be suppressed, kept to yourself, treated as a mental illness.
You're unhappy that your son wants to marry a boy? Then you're sick, dangerous, a homophobe, filled with hate. Control your natural desires or be branded as evil by every movie and TV show coming out of P.C. Hollywood!
Where does he get this stuff? Homosexuality is perfectly natural. It happens in nearly every species in nature. Granted, it's a small percentage, but it's there. Always has been, always will be. Accept it and move on. Odds are in your favor that your children will be hetero. They may choose to marry and have children, they may not. In the end, the decision is really theirs, not yours. I know if I had to make that choice knowing that Orson Scott Card was the grandparent, I would certainly give it long hard thought. Would I be unhappy if my son wanted to marry a boy? Maybe.. at first. I want grandchildren and while this certainly wouldn't rule them out, it would reduce the chance of it happening. In the end, I'd be happy to see my son happy with the person he loves. As a mother, my main wish is that my children each find love and happiness in their lives. Where ever and however they find it.
It is the most morally conservative portion of society that is most successful in raising children who believe in loyalty and oath-keeping and self-control and self-sacrifice.
Ummm.. my children believe in loyalty and oath-keeping and self-control and self-sacrifice. I always thought I was a liberal.. does raising respectful children mean I'm really a closet conservative? Oh, the horror! The shame! What a horrible pagan I must be.
Who do you think is volunteering for the military to defend America against our enemies?
Again, I'm confused. My son volunteered for the Air Force. In fact, I think you'll find most of the volunteers these days are kids that are looking for money for college. These teens aren't joining the service with some romantic idea of fighting for our country, they're just looking for a way to make a better life for themselves and their families.
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In closing, I just have to say I just don't get this guy at all. I fail to understand his point of view, even after reading this article four times. He seems to me to be just a paranoid, homophobic idiot with no idea what marriage is all about.
Same-sex couples are already being married by their religious leaders. In the eyes of friends and family they are certainly married. What they're looking for now are the rights and obligations that go along with that commitment. Health & retirement benefits, survivorship rights, being able to file taxes as a couple rather than singles, the ability to make life-defining decisions for their partner when needed.
I'm chronically ill with a debilitating disease. If my husband and I were not married, he would not have been told the results of my various tests, nor would he have been consulted on my health care decisions. He would not have been permitted to stay with me in the hospital or to be there for my 5 surgeries. He probably wouldn't even be allowed to accompany me to the doctors office for my check-ups. I would be devastated if I had to do these things without him. This is what marriage is about. Gender doesn't matter. Love, respect, trust and sharing your lives does.
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Friday, February 27, 2004
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Yep, that's me. Especially the smart and great sense of humor parts!
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Thursday, February 26, 2004
Health, Wealth & Happiness
The basic triple-whammy of wishes. Every birthday candle, shooting star, coin in a foutain, wishing well.. whatever. Every wish I've made for as long as I can remember has been for health, wealth & happiness.
It got me thinking.. are they all really necessary? I mean, do they tie in together.. is it possible to happy without having good health? How about money? Can I find happiness on my limited income? I think what I really want, after all, is happiness. Isn't that what we're all really searching for?
Looking back on my life, I've been trying to figure out a connection.
My health, while not good now, has generally been excellent thoughout my life. Was I happier before I became ill? And if I was, was I happier because of my good health? Hmmm.... I don't think so. My illnesses don't make me unhappy. I'm often frustrated by my limitations but not unhappy. In fact, being sick has forced me to slow down and really examine my priorities. I've met some fabulous people because of my health. Terrific doctors, nurses and patients. None of these people would be in my life now if I hadn't gotten sick and sought treatment.
Overall, I'd have to say that my health problems have actually worked in favor of happiness. Now I never would have expected that!
Okay.. stage two: wealth. Once upon a time I was married to a wealthy man. A man with a TRUST FUND. (yes, that's TRUST FUND in capital letters) I didn't have to work, which was great since my kids were little. I enjoyed being able to stay at home and be a mom. Okay, so we didn't stay home much. We went to the zoo, the museums, the parks. We went everywhere! Did having money help? Sure it did. I never had to plan ahead, never thought twice about packing the kids up and heading out. On a whim we would drive hours for pizza in Queens, or go to the Bronx zoo for the day. (we lived outside of Schenectady, so this was about a 3 hour drive one way) Boston was a common weekend trip. Did having money help? Of course it did! Would we have done these things anyway? Probably. Not as often, or as quickly, but with a little planning, we'd have gone. None of these outings were particularly expensive.
I also bought my kids a ton of crap during this period. If we wanted something, we bought it. Never even gave it a second thought. I mean, I made the children work for what they got. They got very little for "free." Chores were done, schoolwork was improved, reading was accomplished, but the rewards for a job well done were plentiful and expensive.
So, in the end, did money make me happy? Yes and no. I loved being able to be home with my kids. That I was lucky enough to be there for first steps, lost teeth and every milestone means more than I can express. I guess it's not the money itself that made me happy.. it's the freedom of lifestyle it allowed me that made me happy. Tough call this.. wealth? It helps, but it doesn't make me happy on it's own. (is that a cop-out or what?)
Now, just when was I the happiest?
I've given this a lot of thought over the past few days and I've come up with the time. About 6 years ago, my husband and I quit our jobs one day. It was strange, we had both just had enough. The kids were all living with their dads at the time, so it was just the 2 of us. We unloaded almost everything we owned, packed what we could in the car and hit the road. We travelled from New Mexico to New York to Florida to Arizona to Nevada and back to New Mexico in about 10 weeks time.
We slept in the car and ate in greasy spoons. We called every relative we had and borrowed money. We left things in hock shops in just about every state. We were dirty and tired and flat broke! And I was the happiest I have ever been in my life.
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It got me thinking.. are they all really necessary? I mean, do they tie in together.. is it possible to happy without having good health? How about money? Can I find happiness on my limited income? I think what I really want, after all, is happiness. Isn't that what we're all really searching for?
Looking back on my life, I've been trying to figure out a connection.
My health, while not good now, has generally been excellent thoughout my life. Was I happier before I became ill? And if I was, was I happier because of my good health? Hmmm.... I don't think so. My illnesses don't make me unhappy. I'm often frustrated by my limitations but not unhappy. In fact, being sick has forced me to slow down and really examine my priorities. I've met some fabulous people because of my health. Terrific doctors, nurses and patients. None of these people would be in my life now if I hadn't gotten sick and sought treatment.
Overall, I'd have to say that my health problems have actually worked in favor of happiness. Now I never would have expected that!
Okay.. stage two: wealth. Once upon a time I was married to a wealthy man. A man with a TRUST FUND. (yes, that's TRUST FUND in capital letters) I didn't have to work, which was great since my kids were little. I enjoyed being able to stay at home and be a mom. Okay, so we didn't stay home much. We went to the zoo, the museums, the parks. We went everywhere! Did having money help? Sure it did. I never had to plan ahead, never thought twice about packing the kids up and heading out. On a whim we would drive hours for pizza in Queens, or go to the Bronx zoo for the day. (we lived outside of Schenectady, so this was about a 3 hour drive one way) Boston was a common weekend trip. Did having money help? Of course it did! Would we have done these things anyway? Probably. Not as often, or as quickly, but with a little planning, we'd have gone. None of these outings were particularly expensive.
I also bought my kids a ton of crap during this period. If we wanted something, we bought it. Never even gave it a second thought. I mean, I made the children work for what they got. They got very little for "free." Chores were done, schoolwork was improved, reading was accomplished, but the rewards for a job well done were plentiful and expensive.
So, in the end, did money make me happy? Yes and no. I loved being able to be home with my kids. That I was lucky enough to be there for first steps, lost teeth and every milestone means more than I can express. I guess it's not the money itself that made me happy.. it's the freedom of lifestyle it allowed me that made me happy. Tough call this.. wealth? It helps, but it doesn't make me happy on it's own. (is that a cop-out or what?)
Now, just when was I the happiest?
I've given this a lot of thought over the past few days and I've come up with the time. About 6 years ago, my husband and I quit our jobs one day. It was strange, we had both just had enough. The kids were all living with their dads at the time, so it was just the 2 of us. We unloaded almost everything we owned, packed what we could in the car and hit the road. We travelled from New Mexico to New York to Florida to Arizona to Nevada and back to New Mexico in about 10 weeks time.
We slept in the car and ate in greasy spoons. We called every relative we had and borrowed money. We left things in hock shops in just about every state. We were dirty and tired and flat broke! And I was the happiest I have ever been in my life.
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Wednesday, February 25, 2004
15 things
- My desk is squarely in the middle of the house, so I don't miss anything
- I have 3 children that are all more grown-up than I am
- According to my doctor I am a "walking petrie dish"
- I've been married 3 times
- I remain married to husband #3
- I have two big, black and fuzzy dogs
- I love soft flannel sheets on my bed
- I get along with both my ex-husbands and most of their exes too
- The one area of the house the cleaning lady is forbidden to touch is my desk
- The only reason I have a cleaning lady is because I'm disabled and the state pays for it
- I live about 2,000 from where I grew up, and where my extended family remains
- I really miss Freihoffer's Chocolate Chip Cookies and Drake's Cakes snacks
- I believe every city should have a good diner, a great deli and a real bakery
- at the risk of sounding racist (and really I'm not!) the diner should be run by Greeks, the deli should be Jewish and the bakery, Italian
- I became an ordained minister online, just so I could perform same-sex-clothing-optional ceremonies
Gosh.. I got a little carried away there..
Tell me 10 things about you!
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Tuesday, February 24, 2004
Just pulling a rune
I reached into my bag of runes today, looking for some clue as to how the day would go.. or maybe just hoping for some help in understanding how today was going. I don't really know what I was looking for.
Reassurance? Guidance? Confirmation?
I guess it doesn't really matter. This is what my fingers grasped:
Perth.
The dice cup. Divination. Casting lots. Fate
So, just how does this fit with my life right now?
I suppose in the end everything is left to fate. I do feel like I'm gambling recently.I've just started a new course of lymphoplasmapheresis. I've done this before with less than stellar results. The doctors seem to think that doing it again now that I've completed a course of Rituxen will make a difference. We'll just have to wait and see.
My health is always a concern these days, as is money. I was the main breadwinner in our family, and now that I'm unable to work, we've not only lost our health insurance, but we've reduced our household income by about $6,000 per month. Makes it tough. I do feel that everything is a gamble lately. Drawing Perth is certainly appropriate.
Now what I need to do is figure out how to tip the odds in my favor. What do I really want? What is it that I need? I need to balance my life. Once I center myself and find that balance, things will fall into place.
Hmmm... I'm going to have to think on this for a while. I do feel out of balance. I suppose it's time to shake the cup and cast the lots.
Wish me luck!
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Reassurance? Guidance? Confirmation?
I guess it doesn't really matter. This is what my fingers grasped:
Perth.
The dice cup. Divination. Casting lots. Fate
So, just how does this fit with my life right now?
I suppose in the end everything is left to fate. I do feel like I'm gambling recently.I've just started a new course of lymphoplasmapheresis. I've done this before with less than stellar results. The doctors seem to think that doing it again now that I've completed a course of Rituxen will make a difference. We'll just have to wait and see.
My health is always a concern these days, as is money. I was the main breadwinner in our family, and now that I'm unable to work, we've not only lost our health insurance, but we've reduced our household income by about $6,000 per month. Makes it tough. I do feel that everything is a gamble lately. Drawing Perth is certainly appropriate.
Now what I need to do is figure out how to tip the odds in my favor. What do I really want? What is it that I need? I need to balance my life. Once I center myself and find that balance, things will fall into place.
Hmmm... I'm going to have to think on this for a while. I do feel out of balance. I suppose it's time to shake the cup and cast the lots.
Wish me luck!
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Monday, February 23, 2004
How does this stuff work?
GLAD Press 'n Seal Wrap
Is anyone else freaked out by this stuff?
I mean, one has to wonder exactly what makes this stuff stick to almost any surface. And, if it sticks to the container, isn't it also sticking to my food?
I went in search of answers... and I found them. This is taken from the FAQ at the Glad site:
Q. What gives Glad Press 'n Seal™ wrap its sealing qualities?
A. It uses Griptex®, a proprietary gripping technology. Think of the textured surface of Glad Press 'n Seal™ wrap as having thousands of tiny hills and valleys. Only when you apply pressure do the valleys seal to the desired location.
The sealing actually works with the help of the primary ingredients typically found in chewing gum – an old idea now applied to wrap! These ingredients have been approved by the FDA for over thirty five years and are frequently used for labels found on fruits and vegetables. Griptex® technology allows Glad Press 'n Seal™ wrap to seal to plastic, paper, Styrofoam® containers, metal, wood and many other surfaces.
Let me get this straight.. we're now using chewing gum to wrap our food? Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not so sure I'm ever going to use this stuff! The whole idea of this new-fangled wrap kinda freaked me out to begin with. Now, chewing gum?
Do I need to worry about chewing gum being stuck to my leftover chicken? Ummm... yep. Looks that way.
Q: What happens to the seal? Does it remain on the food?
A: The sealing actually works with the help of the primary ingredients typically found in chewing gum – an old idea now applied to wrap! These ingredients have been approved by the FDA for over thirty five years and are frequently used for labels found on fruits and vegetables. According to the FDA, small amounts of such ingredients in food do not pose any health risk.
Hmmm... small amounts are harmless. That's good to know.. I still think I'll manage without it.
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Is anyone else freaked out by this stuff?
I mean, one has to wonder exactly what makes this stuff stick to almost any surface. And, if it sticks to the container, isn't it also sticking to my food?
I went in search of answers... and I found them. This is taken from the FAQ at the Glad site:
Q. What gives Glad Press 'n Seal™ wrap its sealing qualities?
A. It uses Griptex®, a proprietary gripping technology. Think of the textured surface of Glad Press 'n Seal™ wrap as having thousands of tiny hills and valleys. Only when you apply pressure do the valleys seal to the desired location.
The sealing actually works with the help of the primary ingredients typically found in chewing gum – an old idea now applied to wrap! These ingredients have been approved by the FDA for over thirty five years and are frequently used for labels found on fruits and vegetables. Griptex® technology allows Glad Press 'n Seal™ wrap to seal to plastic, paper, Styrofoam® containers, metal, wood and many other surfaces.
Let me get this straight.. we're now using chewing gum to wrap our food? Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not so sure I'm ever going to use this stuff! The whole idea of this new-fangled wrap kinda freaked me out to begin with. Now, chewing gum?
Do I need to worry about chewing gum being stuck to my leftover chicken? Ummm... yep. Looks that way.
Q: What happens to the seal? Does it remain on the food?
A: The sealing actually works with the help of the primary ingredients typically found in chewing gum – an old idea now applied to wrap! These ingredients have been approved by the FDA for over thirty five years and are frequently used for labels found on fruits and vegetables. According to the FDA, small amounts of such ingredients in food do not pose any health risk.
Hmmm... small amounts are harmless. That's good to know.. I still think I'll manage without it.
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Schadenfreude
scha·den·freu·de
Pronunciation: 'shä-d&n-"froi-d&
Function: noun
Usage: often capitalized
Etymology: German, from Schaden damage + Freude joy
: enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others
Schadenfreude. Lately I've been seeing this word a lot. I mean everywhere. I must have seen it at least 5 times just this past week.
It's not that the word is all that common. Of course, the act of Schadenfreude is common, but it's not a word we use often. Don't try to deny it. We're all guilty of it.
Ever drive over a bump in the road just a bit too fast and your passenger hits his head on the ceiling? You got a little giggle out of it didn't you?
Or, a co-worker whacks their "funny bone" on the desk and howls with pain. You felt a sick sort of enjoyment, right?
This is what slapstick humor is all about. The Three Stooges, Dick VanDyke, and everyone's favorite, circus clowns.
Physical comedy is nothing more than Schadenfreude pushed to the extreme. I wonder what it is that makes us find such joy in the pain of another. Are we just twisted? Are we simply glad that someone besides us is experiencing pain?
What do you think? And since I'm asking, when's the last time you indulged in a little Schadenfreude?
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Pronunciation: 'shä-d&n-"froi-d&
Function: noun
Usage: often capitalized
Etymology: German, from Schaden damage + Freude joy
: enjoyment obtained from the troubles of others
Schadenfreude. Lately I've been seeing this word a lot. I mean everywhere. I must have seen it at least 5 times just this past week.
It's not that the word is all that common. Of course, the act of Schadenfreude is common, but it's not a word we use often. Don't try to deny it. We're all guilty of it.
Ever drive over a bump in the road just a bit too fast and your passenger hits his head on the ceiling? You got a little giggle out of it didn't you?
Or, a co-worker whacks their "funny bone" on the desk and howls with pain. You felt a sick sort of enjoyment, right?
This is what slapstick humor is all about. The Three Stooges, Dick VanDyke, and everyone's favorite, circus clowns.
Physical comedy is nothing more than Schadenfreude pushed to the extreme. I wonder what it is that makes us find such joy in the pain of another. Are we just twisted? Are we simply glad that someone besides us is experiencing pain?
What do you think? And since I'm asking, when's the last time you indulged in a little Schadenfreude?
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Sunday, February 22, 2004
This is the beginning...
::deep breath::
Okay, here goes.
First, I might as well tell you a bit about me. My name is Beth. I'm 43 and have 3 children, 2 ex-husbands and a wonderful man I'm married to now. You'll be hearing a lot about my family. I'm actually considering putting together a "cast of characters" area just to help you keep everyone straight. Oh, and I have two dogs. They're looking at me right now, just to be sure I don't forget them.
I also have a "chronic and debilitating" disease. Actually, I have several of them. Just to get it out of the way, here's the list:
Trust me.. in a while you'll be as familiar with these illnesses as I am. After I was diagnosed about 18 months ago I started on steroid therapy. Let me tell you, it sucks! I have to give my doctors credit though. They're very upfront with me, especially since my body is so resistant to treatment. Carlson actually said if the illness doesn't get me, the treatment surely will.
Now, I don't want you to think this is going to be a depressing place to visit. Far from it! I have a delightful sense of humor and I hope to fill this journal with observations I've made that show that humorous slant. For now though, I just want to get started.
And so, it begins. I'll probably be back tomorrow sometime after my pheresis treatment. Here's to hoping something exciting happens between now and then!
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Okay, here goes.
First, I might as well tell you a bit about me. My name is Beth. I'm 43 and have 3 children, 2 ex-husbands and a wonderful man I'm married to now. You'll be hearing a lot about my family. I'm actually considering putting together a "cast of characters" area just to help you keep everyone straight. Oh, and I have two dogs. They're looking at me right now, just to be sure I don't forget them.
I also have a "chronic and debilitating" disease. Actually, I have several of them. Just to get it out of the way, here's the list:
- Polymyositis
- Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis
- Hashimoto’s Hypothyroid Disease
- Pulmonary Emboli
- Osteoarthritis
Trust me.. in a while you'll be as familiar with these illnesses as I am. After I was diagnosed about 18 months ago I started on steroid therapy. Let me tell you, it sucks! I have to give my doctors credit though. They're very upfront with me, especially since my body is so resistant to treatment. Carlson actually said if the illness doesn't get me, the treatment surely will.
Now, I don't want you to think this is going to be a depressing place to visit. Far from it! I have a delightful sense of humor and I hope to fill this journal with observations I've made that show that humorous slant. For now though, I just want to get started.
And so, it begins. I'll probably be back tomorrow sometime after my pheresis treatment. Here's to hoping something exciting happens between now and then!
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