OPINIONS!!

Ok, I like to blog because it's like my diary. I know others can read it, and I'm ok with that. But, it makes me feel so much better to get it down in writing. I will tell you I am not an English major and I do not have a perfect beginning, middle, and end to my stories. But, enjoy! Oh, and if you are going to delete me as your friend on Facebook after reading this because my opinions are not like yours, don't bother reading further. I don't need to be friends with such closed-minded individuals. This is my blog, my place to write my opinions. You are only reading it because you chose to click here and read this. I didn't post this on FB because I don't want to be judged any more.

If you know me, you know I can be pretty opinionated. I'm not usually one to speak out about it, but get me fired up on a subject and I'm there! Today was the day for this. Well, it's been building, but today was the day. I support the US troops 100%! There are men and women dying every day so that we can be free. So that we can have the constitutional rights! One of those rights is freedom of speech. Today, I believe my own "freedom of speech" was not welcome! How dare someone not like what I have to say! LOL! Actually, the thing is, you are entitled to your opinion, and I don't have to agree with it, but I'm entitled to argue it with my own opinion. But when your opinion just seems down right ignorant and stupid to me, it's hard for me to deal.

We are having a Gay Pride Parade in Augusta! YES, that's right! And, NO I don't have the slightest problem with it. No, I'm not gay, but does that matter? Am I supposed to disagree with this parade because I'm not gay? Yes, I'm a Christian, but does that matter? Am I supposed to disagree with this parade because I'm a Christian? What is that all about??? Why is that our business to argue it? It's their freedom of speech and they have every right to it! Why should anyone tell them it's wrong and they shouldn't do it? How dare some people actually say it's "disgusting". How dare some people say it's a "sin". How dare some people say they should ask for forgiveness! They need to ask God to forgive them because they love someone of the same sex? Give me a break!!

Today I got involved in a ridiculous argument on Facebook. I was appalled to find that there are people out there who call themselves Christians, yet judge others. Then they say they don't judge, God is the judge. But, they had the nerve to "preach" that the homosexuals were sinners! You're telling me that God is going to send my friends to Hell, no matter how good of people they are in this world, because they are gay?? If they want to go to Heaven, they have to ask God to forgive them for loving the person they do? Forgive them for making a choice to love someone, just because they are of the same sex? Is this the same way a man asks God to forgive him for committing adultery? Is this the same way a woman asks God to forgive her for murdering her neighbor? That just can't be!

No matter how you see it, my point is simply to make you understand that we all have reasons for what we believe. I could choose to push the homosexual friends of mine out of my life because of their lifestyle, but that would make me a sinner for not loving my neighbor.

When I was 15, I got pregnant with my oldest son, Tyler. My parents could have kicked me out of the house, they could have disowned me. But they didn't. They loved me and they supported me and they did whatever it took to raise me and my son. At that point I realized that there is absolutely nothing my children, or any loved one, could do that would make me disown them and no longer love them. If one of my children were to come to me one day and tell me they were homosexual, I would take them in my arms and tell them how much I love them. I would welcome any friend of theirs in my home with just the same loving arms. It nauseates me to think that some of these people that were preaching on Facebook today would honestly look at their own flesh and blood and tell them that they were no longer loved and they were going to Hell for loving someone of the same sex....or would they?? See, that's my other point! It's real easy to say you are against something until it's part of your own life. What if it's your sister or brother? What if it's your son or daughter? What if it's your best friend? I hope their loved ones never have to open up and be honest about anything that could be deemed a "sin" in their eyes.

Love one another, regardless of their sex, age, religion, race, sexual orientation. And, go to the Gay Pride Parade and wave at all of the brave men and women marching to show that they are just like the rest of us, they live, they laugh, they cry, they love, just like the rest of us do.

To those of my friends who are a big part of this blog and why I feel this way...I love you! I'm proud to call you my friends!

Ok, I'm done!

The Lottery

Today I decided I'm buying a lottery ticket. No, make that 5 lottery tickets. Perhaps if I spend $5 a week, I can really increase my chances of winning. I mean, after all, what are my current chances?? ZERO....ZIP....ZILCH! I don't buy any tickets so I don't have a chance of winning. But, I'm going to change that. I noticed it's up to $130 million! Do you know what I could do with that kind of money???

Well, I certainly know what I could do with it. I'd pay this house off, I'd pay off that new car I just bought. I'd pay off that little car Tyler got. I'd have 3 very big college funds all set and ready to use when needed. I'd build that garage for my husband so he can put these Mustangs away somewhere and I can park in this garage. I'd probably buy him that really fancy new Mustang he'd like, too. I'd pay my parents house off. They deserve it after all they've done for me. I'd pay my sister's house off. I'd pay my best friend's house off. She deserves something special, a special burden off her. I'd make sure they were all taken care of. Then I think I'd start an organization for teenage moms. I could run it. That would be my job. How great! Of course, I'd buy some clothes, I'd buy new furniture. I'd have a good retirement fund in place so I could enjoy life for the next 60 years.

Doesn't it sound great? I know, it's fun to dream. It's fun to imagine what you could do with endless amounts of money. But, I have to say, there is always that certain satisfaction you get when you buy something. When we built this house, Clint did most of it by hand, so that we could save every chance we got. He acted as general contractor where he needed to, but he did all the paint, all the tile, all the electrical. And, when we moved in, it was so awesome to know it was the house that he worked so hard to complete. We'd all love to have endless amounts of money. We'd love to be able to buy whatever we want. Just don't forget where you came from. I came from a family of hard working parents whose love meant so much more to me than the material things they could provide.

So, I'll go buy those lottery tickets....just in case. But, I'll continue to work that 40+ hour a week job to earn my money the hard way, and enjoy spending it on the fun things in life!

My High School Senior

Do you believe I'm the mother of a Senior??? Wow, hard to believe. He seems so young and so immature. Hard to believe I was his mother when I was his age.

As we talked tonight, I asked about his future. He would like to be a cop. Not a normal street cop, though. His uncle is a Lieutenant, I believe, with Richmond County. He wants to be like him. He says his uncle makes some "jack". Not sure if that's true or not because it's the brother of his step-mom so I'm not about to ask just how much he makes! So, I explain to Tyler that he needs to start researching. What do you do to become more than just a street cop? Do you go to the Police Academy right out of high school then go on to college in the evenings while working as a street cop? Do you go to college first and get the Criminal Justice degree, then go work for the county/city? Start researching...make some decisions! I also found out about this great program Columbia County Sheriff's Department has for teenagers. Not sure what they do, but I'm definitely making some phone calls tomorrow for more information. Trust me, I don't want my son to be a police officer. I don't want him to have any sort of job where he's in harm's way. But, I want him to find something he likes to do that makes him happy and feeds his family. Maybe he'll join the military, maybe he'll become a lawyer, or maybe he will go in the police force. Hey, he could be a top FBI agent one day!

Wow, I remember when he was born. I remember his first day of Kindergarten. I remember the first time he rode the bus to school. I followed that bus all the way to the school. There were times in elementary school when I was having a bad day, I would leave work at lunch and go have lunch with him and his class. Spending 30 minutes with those 7 and 8 year olds would put it all in perspective. I remember his first day at middle school. It's just so hard to believe this baby of mine is 17 and entering his last year of high school. Where has the time gone???

I love you Tyler!

My First Blog--Friendship

So today I decided to start a blog. I'm not really sure why. I guess because I'm an open book....most of the time. I don't mind sharing what's on my mind. I'm an extrovert, that's for sure. I'm also a Feeler. I'm all about making sure everyone is happy, and for some reason I feel that everyone should be that way. Why wouldn't you? Why would you want to hurt someone's feelings? Why wouldn't you be worried about saying something that may hurt someone? I honestly feel if everyone was like this, we'd have a great world!




I have alot of friends. Alot of people I would consider my friends anyway. Most of them go waaaayyyyy back, too. There is Stacey. She's my longest bestest bestie. We met when we were 12 years old in the 7th grade. We've been best friends ever since. In high school, we lived in different worlds alot of the time, hung with different people, did alot of different things, but it never changed that we were the best of friends. I know that she's always there for me no matter what, and she knows that there isn't anything in this world I wouldn't do for her. Then we have Robyn. She's the bestest bestie that's most like me. We met while working together and are like sisters. She is the one person that can come over to my house any time of any day and I'd let her in and not feel embarrassed. We both have two boys and a girl. We both deal with the same issues at home. We have so much in common. She knows my secrets, too. She, too, would always be there for me and knows there is nothing in the world I wouldn't do for her. Next we have Stacy. Stacy lives in Colorado. She came along at a time in my life when I needed some family. I had moved to Germany right before my 19th birthday. I was newly married, very homesick, and she came along and took over my big sister role for me. She's always there for me. We took a road trip together after Germany, I visited her when her first child was born, she came down for my wedding. I love her! Again, she knows my secrets, she's always been there, nothing I wouldn't do for her. Alicia, my Texas bestie. We knew eachother in Germany, we were friends through another friend of ours, but somehow we've just clicked on email and she's so great! We talk so much about our teenage sons, our ex-husbands, and all the drama in our lives. I could call her at 2:00 in the morning and she'd answer.


I have alot of friends, many of them go way back to middle school and high school. Some are closer than others, but just because I didn't list them above doesn't mean they aren't a bestie for some reason or another. I have awesome friends at work that I like to party with. I am very fortunate. It's rare to get in any sort of disagreement with these friends. Why should we? We're all adults. In my opinion, you have a friend, you have a disagreement, you both want to do whatever it takes to save the friendship. So, you talk about it, you work it out, it's done. Recently I had an incident with a friend. Not someone whose been around long, but someone who became a good friend of mine very quickly. We talked about alot, I trusted this person. All of a sudden, a new friend came along and I felt like I was tossed to the curb. I mean, maybe it was jealousy at first, but the new friend was my friend, too. It was more the fact that this person did not care that they had basically started ignoring me and putting aside my feelings to accomodate the new friend. Now, I'm not 12 years old. This isn't one of those cases where I whine and complain and act silly. I simply wanted to point out to this friend that things had changed and I wasn't sure if they were aware that they had started acting so different. BIG MISTAKE! You know how that worked out for me? I was told that I was "overreacting", I was "being ridiculous", and basically, it was all me and I was just pretty much jealous that all of the time and attention wasn't being devoted to me.



Talk about HURT. You know all those friends I listed above? Not a single one of them in all the years we've been friends has ever told me that. The way I see a friendship, you accept the fact that you have somehow hurt this person, and you make it a point to be careful in the future that you don't act different just because you have a new friend. My feelings were even more hurt after that conversation than they had ever been from the previous actions.



All in all, this person will obviously never realize how they made me feel. I've learned that the close friend before me was treated in much the same way when I came along. And, in time, a new friend will come along, and someone else will be hurt yet again. I have just learned that the friends I do have love and care about me and have made it clear to me that I am not ridiculous, I am not one to overreact, I am not a drama queen. And, considering the fact that they have known me longer and are closer to me than this friend has been, I'll take their word for it.



In closing, I'll just say something I learned long ago in Brownies/Girl Scouts:

Make new friends, but keep the old.

One is silver and the other's gold.