Sunday, July 30, 2006



"Valerie"

It's kind of hard to make out the words in this video, but I still love this song and Steve Winwood.


Friday, July 28, 2006



One Sunny Afternoon in July

Yesterday afternoon, I was driving with DQ to pick up a friend who was going to spend the night here. We came upon a car accident about a minute after it had happened. An SUV was laying on its' side, the front windshield smashed into smithereens. A semi was in the median, with the driver standing next to the open door. He was bent over in anguish. A woman, about my age, was laying face up in the middle of the highway, perfectly still. Her body was motionless. She had massive brain trauma. I found out today that she died. She had run through a stop sign, was struck by the semi, and was ejected from her SUV. She hadn't been wearing her seat belt.

Whenever I hear sirens, I always say an "Our Father." The nuns in my grade school started me with that practice many, many years ago. It is said for the people who are needing help, and also the workers who will be ateending to their needs. Yesterday was no different. Instinctively, I knew the lady was close to death when I said my prayer.

I wonder why she ran the stop sign. She was from this area, so she should have known it was there. Was the afternoon sun in her eyes? Was she looking for her cell phone? Was she just daydreaming? What I do know is that she left behind a family who will have all of those questions as well.

Today, as I drove down that road again, I looked at the strip of road where this woman had drawn her last breath. All evidence of the accident was gone. I said yet another "Our Father" for this woman's family.

I will never, ever take life for granted again. I will cherish these moments with my girls, as if today were the last day I am with them. Each and every morning, I will wonder if this day is going to be my last, and live that day accordingly.

And may this woman, Theresa, rest in peace with the risen Lord.


Thursday, July 27, 2006



KEVIN WINS!!!

My good friend, Kevin, from www.counselingkevin.com, was able to figure out who (what?) is the new addition to our family.

It is a 1999 gold Toyota Camry - with very low mileage and in very good condition. It was bought primarily for TP to use, although she can't take it with her to college this year. She'll be able to take it next year, when she is doing her clinicals. At the end of her college, then she will buy the car from us, as the title is in my name.

The girl is absolutely THRILLED and very grateful. It sure beats driving around an old Volvo station wagon with no air conditioning or air, and with a huge crease that starts from the driver's side door to the rear bumper. That car also costs a ton of money to fill it up; whereas, gas mileage is great for this new car.

Pictures will be forthcoming, as soon as I can get TP out of the car long enough to be able to take some. Believe it or not, we purchased it on E-Bay from a dealership about 100 miles away from here - and so far, it's been a very satisfactory experience. The car will be looked at by our local dealership to see if there needs to be anything done to it, but the car drives impeccably well. Would you ever purchase a car on the internet???


Tuesday, July 25, 2006



A New Addition to our Family

Tomorrow afternoon, we are expecting a new addition to our family! We are SO excited (especially the girls), and the countdown has begun.

The opportunity presented itself, so we decided to go and and do this one more time. . .
Please check back tomorrow for pictures of her! I'm sure you'll be just as thrilled as we are!


Wednesday, July 19, 2006



BEWARE - CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECTS

I'm going to be writing about two rather controversial subjects which are probably not related to each other, but which are in the forefront of my life right now.

The first subject has to do with EMBRYONIC stem cell research. As you know, today President Bush vetoed the bill which supported this kind of research. As he said, "If this bill were to become law, American taxpayers would, for the first time in our history, be compelled to fund the deliberate destruction of human embryos, and I'm not going to allow it." He believes, as do I, that embroyos are the beginnings of human lives, and as such, they should be protected from death. Pure and simple. (BTW, The Anchoress has an excellent article on this subject - check it out at www.theanchoressonline.com .)

I would like to share with you that my oldest sister has Parkinson's disease. This subject is one which we can't discuss because we see this so differently. She believes that this kind of research is necessary in order to find treatments and/or a cure for her disease. What she doesn't realize is that research being done with adult stem cells is far more promising and is yielding impressive results.

My oldest daughter, TP, has chronic lupus nephritis. A few months ago, we were discussing this topic in light of the new treatments for lupus, and I explained to her how her aunt felt about this. TP stared at me with a horrified look in her eyes and said, "Mom, I could never live with myself, knowing that another human being died so that I could live". This, from a woman-child who faces a future in which flare-ups will occur, and who will always need to be vigilant about medications and blood-draws to see if the lupus is still in remission. I know part of her opinion on embryonic stem-cell research also has to do with the fact that she is adopted - and she was given the chance to live rather than be aborted. So, she identifies with the possible destruction of those embryos because that possibility could have been a reality for her 18 years ago.

The other issue I want to bring up is medical records for adopted children.

Last week, TP was featured in a local newspaper article about being stricken with lupus in her sophomore year, and how she went about tackling the illness while still maintaining a 4.0 GPA and being involved in many activities. The article discussed how this disease strengthened TP's faith in God, and how it helped her make the decision to become a nurse. The reporter was an intern from a local university. One of the questions she had for me was "Do you think that if you had TP's medical records, it would have made a difference"?

Oh, please. . .

I can see the makings of a wonderful MSM reporter. To me, this was so TOTALLY irrelevant to the story! And, I basically told the reporter that! I told her that even if we had all of TP's medical records, it still, in no way, would have prevented the disease from occurring. I even asked her to not put that question in the article, but she went ahead and did it anyway. It was obvious it was HER agenda to bring up this particular topic. I'm now debating whether or not to say anything to the editor of the paper, as there were several other mistakes (quoting us incorrectly, leaving DQ out of the story) in the article as well.

What are your thoughts?


Sunday, July 16, 2006



TIME FOR A CHANGE

Well, I decided it was time for a little change around here. While I absolutely LOVED my previous blogskin designed by Darlene, I decided I wanted to update my look. A copy of Darlene's blogskin has been saved, in case I should ever want to use it again.

But, let me introduce my new blogskin designer. Her name is Susie, and she is a JOY to work with. She answered my endless questions, and she "tweaked" a few things to personalize the image I had chosen. Susie's website can be found at www.susiepie.com - so head on over there and say "hi". Her blog design website can be found at www.bluebirdblogs.com . Her prices are very reasonable, and her professionalism and talent are AWESOME!

In case you can't tell, the women in the above image are DQ, TP, and ME! I love how young I look! There should be more wrinkles and crow's feet on my face, but hey, I am not complaining.

So, let me know what you think of the "new me!"


Thursday, July 13, 2006



The Prayer Charlotte Church & Josh Groban

This is dedicated to my daughter, TP, as she faces her first year in college. May you find YOUR place, guided by God's grace, and may your faith keep you safe. I love you, sweetie!


Wednesday, July 12, 2006



The Debate

Thank you to all those who joined in the discussion about stay-at-home moms and working-outside-of-the-home moms.

My generation (I was born in the 1950's) was at the beginning of the so-called "women's movement" wherein a woman was told she could "have it all" - a career, kids, and perhaps a husband (but he wasn't really a necessity in order to have children). I am beginning to see where there the pendulum is starting to swing back the other way - more and more, young women are opting to stay at home with their kids rather than sending them to day care. I am not entirely convinced that a woman can truly "have it all" without something (or somebody) suffering as a result - and typically that somebody is the woman's child. Nonetheless, there are certain circumstances where a woman absolutely has to work outside of the home, but that is NOT the circumstance which I am talking about right now.

Children, without a doubt, benefit more when a parent stays at home with them full-time. I have had numerous children who come to see me in my private practice with depression, anger, and acting out issues which can directly be associated with the fact that they have not received the proper care and nurturing from their parent(s) at home. I suspect that at least 80% of my child clientele over the years had moms who worked outside of the home. That is a statement of fact, not of judgement, OK? When I ask a child if they were granted 3 wishes, what would the wishes be, invariably the first thing out of this child's mouth is that mommy (sometimes daddy) would spend more time with her/him.

The reason why I asked you this question is because I recently had a converstion with a young girl whose mom worked three jobs - one full-time and two part-time - and these jobs weren't due to financial reasons. This girl had gotten to the point where she actually did NOT want mom to be around anymore because it would be "too weird". Here's a girl who spends at least 4 hours a day on the computer and watching tv during the school year (and more during the summer), and she would prefer to keep it that way, I believe, because she has gotten used to having a surrogate parent in the form of a tv or the computer. The touch of a remote or the "mouse" has replaced the gentle caress of a mom's hand. My heart broke for this little girl.

To all those moms who have to work - I totally understand. To all those moms who have chosen to stay at home (despite the fact that your brain kind of turns to mush at times) - I salute you. And to the moms who are like the one I described above, I pray for your child(ren). They are missing out on so very much.


Sunday, July 09, 2006



Another Question

What are your thoughts/opinions about stay-at-home moms and so-called working-outside-of-the-home moms?

Again, I will explain why I am asking this question after you readers discuss it amongst yourselves.

The floor is open for discussion. . .


Thursday, July 06, 2006



CONGRATULATIONS, NETTIE!!!!!!!!!

July 4th was an extra special day for me, as I had my 10,000th visitor to my blog! The visitor was somebody who all of us have come to know and love - our one and only sweet Nettie! Please go over to her website and pay her a visit, and say congratulations. She can be found at www.nettiebelle.com , for those of you who haven't met her yet.

I've been doing this blogging thing for about a year now. I'm still a "newbie" when it comes to knowing how to do all those fancy things on a blog - how I wish I had that skill (anybody what to volunteer to show me how?). So, Nettie, while I wish I could do something fancy on this blog to show my appreciation to you and to congratulate you, I can't! All I can do is just thank you for being a great blogging buddy. And thank the rest of you, too, for welcoming me into your lives. I look forward to seeing who will be my 20,oooth visitor!


Wednesday, July 05, 2006



Comment Moderation is Enabled

I've decided to do what so many of you are already doing - I have decided to moderate comments. Most of my blogger friends can probably guess why! Also, I will have an exciting announcement to make very, very soon!!!!


Tuesday, July 04, 2006



My Humble Opinion

Thank you to all who answered my question. I found your answers very interesting and thought provoking.

My beliefs about premarital sex come from not only from my religion, but also from professional observations. I do believe that one should abstain from sex until marriage, as that is what God has instructed us to do. In my clinical practice, I have seen the ramifications of teenagers who've had sex way before they were emotionally equipped to handle the consequences of that choice - and the ramifications include (but are not limited to) pregnancy, the transmission of a sexually transmitted disease such as genital herpes or HIV, and severe depression and even suicidality. Obviously, all of these ramifications will affect a person's life not only in the short-term but in the long-term as well. I have also noticed that when parents decide to go ahead and get birth control for their girls before the girl has even become sexually active ("just in case"), then the girls DO become sexually active. I've had several of these girls tell me that IF their parents had been stricter or had higher expectations of their behavior, then they would have NOT become sexually active.

What I have done with my girls is explain to them why waiting until marriage is not only pleasing to God, but it also helps them to find a mate who truly values her for WHO she is and not WHAT she is.

I've been frank with my kids - if they find a guy who has been sexually active, then it will be very important for him to be checked out for any kind of STD (including AIDS) before they get married, and if the guy refuses to get the necessary testing, then he has something to hide and he's probably not the right person for her to marry. This is going to be especially critical for my oldest daughter due to her autoimmune disease, which lowers her ability to fight off any kind of infection.

This topic came up when I was at our family reunion. I was essentially told that my view was unrealistic in this day and age, and that "even good girls have sex", so that I needed to alter my perceptions and "protect" my girls so that nothing would happen to them to affect their futures such as an unwanted pregnancy. To say that I was bewildered by their "advice" is to put it mildly. In my opinion, abstinence allows a young woman to avoid having to worry about her future - not only her physical and emtional future, but her spiritual future as well.

I'll be thinking about a new question within the next couple of days, but in the meantime, enjoy your 4th of July!!!!