Scary Words

I ran across this article today(http://www.newsweek.com/id/183658). Now, I won't begin to debate the rights or wrongs of abortion; there's usually no swaying people on these things. I am firmly against it. Don't agree with me? Fine. To me, if there's a heartbeat, there's a life. And that life is not to be terminated. But I think that even people who are pro-choice can agree that abortion is not a good thing, or one that should be taken lightly.

This is why the words that popped up frequently in the article scared me: control, simple, and privacy. Those three words are indicative of how many people pawn off difficult decisions or mistakes.

Control--"I can do what I want. It's my choice."
Simple--"If it's easy and legal, it can't be too wrong."
Privacy--"Since it's so simple and in my control, I shouldn't have to be accountable to anyone else."

The author goes on to cite that people passing judgement on others' situations is part of the problem. To me, this "live and let live" attitude is getting more and more tired. What happened to accountability? It seems people have no issues in stating liberal opinions (of which, yes, I do have some), but the second someone tries to get traditional ... whoa, Nelly. No one wants to say there are some things that are right and some things that are wrong. Agree or not, but don't be afraid to pass judgement on an act you feel is wrong. And yes, there's a difference between judging the act, and judging the person.

And good God---abortion may mean many things to people, but I would hope the word "simple" would not be a part of the vocabulary.

...and a Happy New Year

So I've finally recovered from whatever illness I had. The antibiotics really took care of the main stuff, but this cough has been hanging the heck on.

I would just like to say that I have a wonderful husband. But there are times when a girl just wants her mommy. Like when she is sick. He's great----he'll get me Gatorade and make soup. But he doesn't seem to understand that I need more than 20 hours to get better sometimes.

Oh well, no too bad as far as faults go.

Counting my blessings

Well, it's been a hectic Christmas season (I almost slipped and said "holiday season," which I find so watered down). In the last 2 months of the year, we celebrated a 60th wedding anniversary (not ours, ha), Thanksgiving, a graduation, my little sister's wedding (surreal), and Christmas. To add to the top of the "big things" for 2008, I found out I am pregnant! About 4 months along now, which is also surreal. So even though I was fighting a terrible cold these past few days, I still grabbed my husband outside of church on Christmas Eve and told him how incredibly blessed we are.

This year, I have just been really grateful that my family is together and healthy. Another little reminder of that came today. My mom got a weird result from a mammography and had to go back in to the doctor. She is fine--so those extra prayers worked quickly, but it is a reminder to not take anything for granted, least of all the most important thing: family.

The Advent season got me thinking

People have many preconceptions and misconceptions about the Catholic Church. They repeat what they’ve heard on NBC or read in Time. Very, very rarely do they actually take the time to read about what it means to be Catholic, to find out what we believe. Many seem to think that we’re blind followers of the Vatican, of “The Church.”

The new movie, Doubt, that recently opened brought with it a barrage of interviews by the cast. Here is one quote from the director:
“Now the Catholic Church has its faults, but these dioceses, these church schools, these centers, provided a gravity which kept people from flying off into outer space.”

We’re not blind followers. We do not depend on a diocese to keep us grounded. We are faithful—we are believers in the Catholic faith, and everything it truly represents, not what people like to think it does.

Addendum

I realized the post on divorce probably came a little out of the blue.

I was in Princeton this past weekend with my in laws and extended family. We were there to celebrate my husband's grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. They renewed their vows and I have to say, with all the glitz and hairspray that goes with today's wedding, there was nothing more beautiful than these two people in their 80s.

Quote of the weekend: "Life hasn't always been easy, but I feel the same way about her today that I did when I married her."

That's a special thing, but something all married people should strive toward. Be kind to one another, and laugh with each other.

Divorce today

I can't fully speak to divorce. I've been lucky in life that it is has been a fairly foreign thing. I knew a few kids whose parents got divorced. But my close friends' parents are all still married. My parents and my husband's parents are still happily (which is key) married. So I've had incredible role models who have shown that nothing good is ever easy, all the time.

But nonetheless, I do know a few people who have been divorced. Some wait years to date, some get engaged 4 months after the ink is dry on the paper. But I noticed a trend.

Disclaimer: I know this does not apply every time. There are some awful people who treat others terribly. But in the people that I do know, they usually say one of two things: They married too young, or they married the wrong person. Rarely do I hear, " you know, he did some things, I did some things, and we just aren't going to work through it."

The mistake in the latter way of thinking is that the problem lies in that one particular person. The danger in this is that if you always point the finger, and never look at the fingers pointing back, you'll take it straight into the next relationship.

Giddy as a schoolgirl

So, I feel a little silly. At 27, I feel like I'm a little too old to have a fictional boyfriend. But I do. I dig Edward from the Twilight series. And I am excited for the movie, which opens this weekend. And though my claustrophobia will probably prevent me from seeing it opening weekend, I fully intend to see it in theaters.