16 October, 2008
Go OBAMA!
Read this post if you still think McCain is your guy... Really our health, our wages, our intelligence...what next???
13 October, 2008
Contradictions
I feel conflicted... Last week, as the world was falling down around the dollar, I felt amazingly fine. My money issues are not connected really to the markets. Well we are all tied in, but we have very little to be concerned with in the markets as in other areas.
My money issues were very well known to me and I am making progress on my budget, paying down debts, buying less etc. I feel good about being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and it has given me hope.
Today, I feel a little shaken. Isn't it easy to go from one position to another with one email, phone call, change in the weather or any other event that has potential for change? I want to go back to my good feelings and let go of these ugly ones. Working real hard on that today.
My money issues were very well known to me and I am making progress on my budget, paying down debts, buying less etc. I feel good about being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and it has given me hope.
Today, I feel a little shaken. Isn't it easy to go from one position to another with one email, phone call, change in the weather or any other event that has potential for change? I want to go back to my good feelings and let go of these ugly ones. Working real hard on that today.
07 October, 2008
Follow up on "Appropriate" Post
Some good suggestions were given on the past post, questioning Appropriate Sexual Behavior. I have also had some other thoughts on this topic since...
The real question is "What behavior is pushing this action to the surface?" When I was a girl, I know exactly why I was acting a certain way. I was trying to make sense of what happened to me and every now and then these actions would rise to the surface eventually getting me into BIG trouble. I remember thinking how bad I was whenever I would act a certain way, so I vowed to NEVER let that secret out. It was always met with HUGE punishment, spanking, degrading etc. (Now my parents know what happened to me and realize that it wasn't me. Still would have been nice to hear from them we are so sorry to have punished you so severely.) Oh well, water under the bridge, right?
But in the case of my child, his actions were truly innocent. I know his history and experiences. He was mimicking the love he sees and experiences from his parents. This was in the truest sense of innocence and I am glad to have realizes that now. It is a hard road for any survivor of abuse. So many questions we ask of ourselves as parents, as survivors. We also ask a lot of our children and partners along the way to keep it all together so we don't have an emotional trigger. Even if it is never stated, we ask all the same or at least hope and pray they help us in our quest to heal, remain healed and stay in a place of love and support.
I know the challenges will grow, change and challenge, but I do have a wonderful partner and a great support group of friends and family that help me along the way. I am blessed.
The real question is "What behavior is pushing this action to the surface?" When I was a girl, I know exactly why I was acting a certain way. I was trying to make sense of what happened to me and every now and then these actions would rise to the surface eventually getting me into BIG trouble. I remember thinking how bad I was whenever I would act a certain way, so I vowed to NEVER let that secret out. It was always met with HUGE punishment, spanking, degrading etc. (Now my parents know what happened to me and realize that it wasn't me. Still would have been nice to hear from them we are so sorry to have punished you so severely.) Oh well, water under the bridge, right?
But in the case of my child, his actions were truly innocent. I know his history and experiences. He was mimicking the love he sees and experiences from his parents. This was in the truest sense of innocence and I am glad to have realizes that now. It is a hard road for any survivor of abuse. So many questions we ask of ourselves as parents, as survivors. We also ask a lot of our children and partners along the way to keep it all together so we don't have an emotional trigger. Even if it is never stated, we ask all the same or at least hope and pray they help us in our quest to heal, remain healed and stay in a place of love and support.
I know the challenges will grow, change and challenge, but I do have a wonderful partner and a great support group of friends and family that help me along the way. I am blessed.
06 October, 2008
Appropriate Sexual Behavior
Hmmm, I have been trying to figure out how to tackle this subject because it is a loaded one on many levels. My intent is to put forth observations and work through some conflicting experiences I have had of late.
Let's start with some context, I am a survivor of abuse. As I no longer identify with victim, I do experience triggers, that propel me into a memory. After years of therapy, 18 on and off to be exact, I have progressed into healing and for the most part have a solid grasp on my experience.
Recently, two experiences have caused me to analyze the healing I have achieved. I am starting to question my current stance and need to rethink some actions in the past.
First experience involves a friend of over 25 years. When we met, we were in middle school trying to make our way through the teenage years, high school crap and eventually making decisions for our future. After school, we maintained our relationship through letters and the occasional visit. I enjoyed an open, honest friendship with this person, who is a man. I was relieved to find a person I could trust, and the fact that he was male, defied all those stereotypes where men and women can't be friends. We were friends, good friends that supported, listened, helped when we could and enjoyed discussing our escapades, whatever they were.
Over the years, I myself was going through various stages of healing. There was the denial, the acceptance, the anger, the acting out, the reclaiming of my body, the letting go, the moving forward, etc. My friend was there along for the ride and heard some things maybe a girl should not tell a boy; went into depth that should not have been discussed? I never questioned it, because I was free of the secret and free to say and do whatever I wanted. I wasn't going to let this event decide my life.
My friend also enjoyed the same freedom of discussion with me and shared many events of his life. I accepted him for who he was, is and wanted to be. Again, this idea was so refreshing, as if we were proving everyone wrong. You can have a great friendship between sexes and share the details along the way.
At one point my friend did share that he had a crush on me, back in school. We laughed and moved on. Or so I thought. Occasionally, I would receive emails referencing my body parts. In jest, I took the first couple, because I was this liberated woman who didn't care anymore what the social norms were and how people lived their lives. Then I married a wonderful man, hubbie, and my friend married a truly beautiful woman, I adore. The occasional comments slowed, then popped up now and then again. This time, it was not okay with me. I didn't like the feeling I had, as if I was doing something wrong to shame my hubbie.
Let me be clear, I have never looked to my friend for more than friendship. To this day, he has been a dear friend to me and I am grateful. But to take it further, was never on my mind. I didn't look at him in that manner. I respected him too much to muck it up with sex. I needed a friend and he was there for me.
This past summer another stray comment came and I decided to make a boundary. I couldn't have another man sharing with me thoughts about my body openly. I can't control what people do, think etc. But I can say I don't want to hear those comments anymore. I went on to tell my friend how the comments came across and eventually how I felt as a survivor. I didn't hear from him for some time.
Not one for letting things go... I emailed him one more time, wanting to know if the friendship was severed or repairable. What came next took me by surprise. It seems the person I am today is not a person he would like to have as a friend anymore. The whole lot of me, Homeschooler, Stay at Home Mom, Someone who secretly wishes for a generous benefactor of cash to wipe out the debt,(seriously, don't we all want Oprah to surprise us and make our day with saying all your debts are gone?), and now a person that sent all the wrong messages along the way to my friend.
I struggle with finding peace in this situation. I do wish my friend all the best in his life and certainly didn't mean to cause harm or pain.
Now the questions that come to mind are how does one talk about sex? Is it not okay to talk about sex? When and where is it appropriate? Is it ever appropriate? Sex is so much a part of who I am, for the various reasons connected to my abusive past. If I don't acknowledge this piece of me, am I denying who I am?
I struggle with this in terms of what I am to do now and I struggle with this as a parent.
The second event...
Friends were here for a visit. She has a little girl the same age as my eldest son. They have known each other since birth, or before if you count "in utero". They were so excited to see each other and it was nice to have them play while making memories.
There were a couple of times us parents witnessed some pecks on the cheek. Kissing... at age 6, is this okay? Is this innocent? I honestly don't know. I have no baseline of a normal childhood to measure from. Additionally, I must recognize that I don't want to go bolistic on my child and take it to the extreme because of what happened to me. Now this is the first girl my son has ever kissed and the only girl. At age 2 we thought it was so cute to see them hug and kiss. They kiss anything at that age when asked. We even bathed them together as infants, up until they were almost 3. AFter that, we introduced privacy and private parts and respect. So kissing is it normal? When is it too much?
My son, put a blanket around her while playing Yahtzee. It was the 4 of us, my two boys, my friend's daughter and myself. My son did it with such care, so that she wasn't cold. Then he put his arm around her as we played the game. Something my hubbie does all the time to me, the boys etc. Then the daughter leaned in to his side and they continued to play the game with me and my other son. I had this fast forward flash... here they were at age 16, dating! YIKES! I tried not to let my mind get ahead of me, but also saw with such innocence a kind gesture. They do love each other, we all do, as friends. But when is it too much, not innocent, too soon, are we to blame, as the parents?
I just don't know and since I have had to rethink my actions around the sex topic, I have no idea how to act. I certainly don't want to do something to encourage inappropriateness, but at the same time, I don't want it to be taboo that they are driven towards unhealthy uneducated exploration that could significantly alter their lives.
I will work it through, but gentle thoughts on this loaded topic are appreciated.
Let's start with some context, I am a survivor of abuse. As I no longer identify with victim, I do experience triggers, that propel me into a memory. After years of therapy, 18 on and off to be exact, I have progressed into healing and for the most part have a solid grasp on my experience.
Recently, two experiences have caused me to analyze the healing I have achieved. I am starting to question my current stance and need to rethink some actions in the past.
First experience involves a friend of over 25 years. When we met, we were in middle school trying to make our way through the teenage years, high school crap and eventually making decisions for our future. After school, we maintained our relationship through letters and the occasional visit. I enjoyed an open, honest friendship with this person, who is a man. I was relieved to find a person I could trust, and the fact that he was male, defied all those stereotypes where men and women can't be friends. We were friends, good friends that supported, listened, helped when we could and enjoyed discussing our escapades, whatever they were.
Over the years, I myself was going through various stages of healing. There was the denial, the acceptance, the anger, the acting out, the reclaiming of my body, the letting go, the moving forward, etc. My friend was there along for the ride and heard some things maybe a girl should not tell a boy; went into depth that should not have been discussed? I never questioned it, because I was free of the secret and free to say and do whatever I wanted. I wasn't going to let this event decide my life.
My friend also enjoyed the same freedom of discussion with me and shared many events of his life. I accepted him for who he was, is and wanted to be. Again, this idea was so refreshing, as if we were proving everyone wrong. You can have a great friendship between sexes and share the details along the way.
At one point my friend did share that he had a crush on me, back in school. We laughed and moved on. Or so I thought. Occasionally, I would receive emails referencing my body parts. In jest, I took the first couple, because I was this liberated woman who didn't care anymore what the social norms were and how people lived their lives. Then I married a wonderful man, hubbie, and my friend married a truly beautiful woman, I adore. The occasional comments slowed, then popped up now and then again. This time, it was not okay with me. I didn't like the feeling I had, as if I was doing something wrong to shame my hubbie.
Let me be clear, I have never looked to my friend for more than friendship. To this day, he has been a dear friend to me and I am grateful. But to take it further, was never on my mind. I didn't look at him in that manner. I respected him too much to muck it up with sex. I needed a friend and he was there for me.
This past summer another stray comment came and I decided to make a boundary. I couldn't have another man sharing with me thoughts about my body openly. I can't control what people do, think etc. But I can say I don't want to hear those comments anymore. I went on to tell my friend how the comments came across and eventually how I felt as a survivor. I didn't hear from him for some time.
Not one for letting things go... I emailed him one more time, wanting to know if the friendship was severed or repairable. What came next took me by surprise. It seems the person I am today is not a person he would like to have as a friend anymore. The whole lot of me, Homeschooler, Stay at Home Mom, Someone who secretly wishes for a generous benefactor of cash to wipe out the debt,(seriously, don't we all want Oprah to surprise us and make our day with saying all your debts are gone?), and now a person that sent all the wrong messages along the way to my friend.
I struggle with finding peace in this situation. I do wish my friend all the best in his life and certainly didn't mean to cause harm or pain.
Now the questions that come to mind are how does one talk about sex? Is it not okay to talk about sex? When and where is it appropriate? Is it ever appropriate? Sex is so much a part of who I am, for the various reasons connected to my abusive past. If I don't acknowledge this piece of me, am I denying who I am?
I struggle with this in terms of what I am to do now and I struggle with this as a parent.
The second event...
Friends were here for a visit. She has a little girl the same age as my eldest son. They have known each other since birth, or before if you count "in utero". They were so excited to see each other and it was nice to have them play while making memories.
There were a couple of times us parents witnessed some pecks on the cheek. Kissing... at age 6, is this okay? Is this innocent? I honestly don't know. I have no baseline of a normal childhood to measure from. Additionally, I must recognize that I don't want to go bolistic on my child and take it to the extreme because of what happened to me. Now this is the first girl my son has ever kissed and the only girl. At age 2 we thought it was so cute to see them hug and kiss. They kiss anything at that age when asked. We even bathed them together as infants, up until they were almost 3. AFter that, we introduced privacy and private parts and respect. So kissing is it normal? When is it too much?
My son, put a blanket around her while playing Yahtzee. It was the 4 of us, my two boys, my friend's daughter and myself. My son did it with such care, so that she wasn't cold. Then he put his arm around her as we played the game. Something my hubbie does all the time to me, the boys etc. Then the daughter leaned in to his side and they continued to play the game with me and my other son. I had this fast forward flash... here they were at age 16, dating! YIKES! I tried not to let my mind get ahead of me, but also saw with such innocence a kind gesture. They do love each other, we all do, as friends. But when is it too much, not innocent, too soon, are we to blame, as the parents?
I just don't know and since I have had to rethink my actions around the sex topic, I have no idea how to act. I certainly don't want to do something to encourage inappropriateness, but at the same time, I don't want it to be taboo that they are driven towards unhealthy uneducated exploration that could significantly alter their lives.
I will work it through, but gentle thoughts on this loaded topic are appreciated.
02 October, 2008
Anticipating Something Special!
We have visitors arriving tonight, the first since we moved. The house gets a spit shine... vacuumed, dusted, toilets, sheets etc. It will be nice to spend time in our new environment together. I love having visitors, speaks to my Cancerian nature. I also enjoy the preparation before guests arrive. Not that I love cleaning, but it puts me in a mode of preparing for something special and life needs a lot of something special. (I am also one of those who gets giddy about the holiday preparations. In fact the preparation is what the traditions are built on after all. Doesn't the idea of making Christmas Cookies bring wonderful memories to mind?)
The anticipation of something special. I feel the same about the upcoming Election... the anticipation of something special, Lord knows we need that right about now! And just for the record, the last 8 years... NOTHING SPECIAL!
The anticipation of something special. I feel the same about the upcoming Election... the anticipation of something special, Lord knows we need that right about now! And just for the record, the last 8 years... NOTHING SPECIAL!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)