Only A Mere Woman

          So Lent is basically here.  Either there was an extremely short period of Ordinary Time after Christmas, or there is truth to what older folks say about time passing more rapidly the older one becomes.  Needless to say, I'm a bit unprepared for it to arrive tomorrow with Ash Wednesday, though I have been thinking about its arrival for a little while now.  My usual approach to this time is rather minimalistic and unadventurous:  giving up something that I do enjoy, but never really adding some work of mercy or spiritual endeavor to my everyday life.             Such an approach has "worked" for me so far, but my growth this year has left me feeling a bit convicted in regards to my lack of fervor.  I have come to the realization and understanding of some certain things God seems to think I am ready to do, but I am stalled at the gate, afraid to move forward, yet knowing deep in my heart exactly ...

         "People" confuse me.  Half the time I loathe them, the other half I am fascinated by them.  In my general dealings with others, I have found that "people" as a whole, or part of a group, are usually rather lousy, disgusting, stupid, and rather repulsive - an unfortunate annoyance that cannot be avoided.  Separate a "people" from the nasty herd, however, get to know him and all of a sudden he becomes an "individual" - nice, smart, interesting, intriguing, with barely any semblance to the "people" creature to be noted at all!  Such has been my long-standing perception:  "People" stink; "individuals" are cool once you get to know them, even if they come from a group of "people" who stink.             The key thing to note here is that "people" stay "people" until a level of personal knowledge has been met.  Thus the "people" one passes in the street remain so, even thou...

          There are two "lives" within me, warring for dominance.  One is much older, and therefore holds much sway; the other is younger, but in no way less strong.  "Adventure!" cries the one; "Home and Hearth!" calls the other.  Home and Hearth was chosen, young though it was, but Adventure still held a place of honor.  Honor was not enough for Adventure, and many a long and painful battle was fought between the two, with Home and Hearth slowly, oh so slowly, gaining advantage and control. Yet Adventure continued to have hope - there may yet be a day when some may be realized.  Thus Adventure submitted to Home and Hearth, or so it was thought.  One day, Home and Hearth presented Adventure with a potential reality so great that Adventure was terrified of complete annihilation.  Such a thing could not be permitted!  So Adventure has once again taken up arms against Home and Hearth, leaving me torn and bloodied, trapp...

          More often than not, I believe people who are undergoing a hard, difficult time in their life, just need someone who will listen to them, without trying to fix the problem.  I know I do.  Many times in my life would have been easier to handle if I could have found someone who would just listen to what I needed to say, at the very least pretending like they understood what I was going through.  Unfortunately, the most common responses are:   "You should try X, Y, Z; maybe that would fix it for you - that's what I would do!" or  "This is supposed to be one of the happiest/most exciting/ best/(fill in awesome superlative here) times of your life!  Why don't you just suck it up and enjoy it?!?"  Neither one is very helpful, especially when all one wants (more than likely actually  ne eds ) to do is talk, and be heard.             In  a previous post , I wrote about the th...

          One thing I truly wasn't counting on, was the hope that I would have, once a month, that maybe this time we might be expecting.  My husband and I are neither seeking children out nor avoiding them, but even either were the case, the possibility (no matter how slim) would still remain that we might be expecting each month.             I never was one of those girls who would go ga-ga over any new or not-so-new baby in sight.  It's not that I don't like children in their baby form, because I do, but the thought of holding them was never very appealing to me.  Mostly, I was afraid of either breaking them, or them freaking out and bawling the instant they hit my arms.  I don't know why, that was just the fear I had, and still have to some extent.  I don't really remember what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I can assure you that I wasn't one of those girls who dreamt of growing up to be a mom with ...

          Mayonnaise.  It's hard to believe that I "had" to give that up.  Especially considering I do not like salad dressing fake mayo in the least.  But I did, and somehow I am managing to survive with that salad dressing fake stuff.  Mostly by avoiding the making of foods which call for it.  ;)             A lot of things in life change when one gets married.  The biggest and most notable is the customary leaving of family and home to begin a new life with someone who may very well turn out to be more of a stranger than one might realize.  There are quite a few little differences which exhibit themselves after marriage, many of which are quite unforeseen in the hustle and bustle activity of the "Big Picture".  Like differences in the sense of taste.  My husband likes that fake mayo and despises the real, and also preferred margarine over butter.  I, on the other hand, held...

A letter reply to the thoughtful comment of American, on the post Fetus Actually Beneficial to Mother? My Dear American,          Thank you so much for your comment, and I do ask your pardon in the matter of my tardiness.  I would also like to beg your patience in regards to my reply, especially where technical information is concerned, as "Just Google It" does not work too well for me and I have no clue as to what sources are particularly  believable  and which are not.  Research, particularly internet-based, is in no way my strong suit.             Neither my post nor the original article were meant to be very technical and detailed.  Rather, they were meant as a general source of information, with the hopes that interested or ambitious people would then proceed to follow links and research the topic themselves.  The term " microchimerism " was used in the original article; I decided to leave it o...