%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |   Reflections and ruminations from a modern day Alice - Life is Wonderland |
|
Reflections and ruminations from a modern day Alice - Life is Wonderland  Welcome to the place were I chronicle my own falls down dark holes and adventures chasing white rabbits! Come on In, Take a Bite, You Never Know What You May Find... "Curiouser and curiouser." Alice in Wonderland    |
| 30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT May 28th On this last Talk Tuesday of May, let’s talk about bias. How do your own biases influence your life? Is it possible to ever be truly objective? I've spent the morning catching up on the three prompts I missed this weekend and now my brain feels a little like mush. I have to really take a minute here and think about biases...what ones I may have, of those of others that affect my life. I can think of more examples of the latter that effect my life lately for sure. First and foremost, many people in this country are biased against Muslims. I feel that bias pretty acutely because my husband is Muslim. He is pretty lapse but still goes to mosque on the holy days and still refrains from eating pork. I find myself always worrying over his safety when he goes to pray. Recently, a mosque he has frequented in the past suffered a fire they believe was intentionally set. It saddens me because I've attended that mosque with him on holidays. Despite being a non-Muslim visitor, I was welcomed in so warmly. They wanted me to feel that this was my space as much as theirs and everyone had an encouraging smile and kind word. I know that many people, even those close to me, have a different view of Muslims but I have only know them as loving, peaceful and welcoming. I fear for my daughter, that she may face those same biases one day should she choose the path of her father's faith one day. I fear very much what her world will look like then. Political biases shape much of our world these days. While I try to keep my personal politics close to my heart, I still feel the pressure of a world drawn on taught lines. I feel sometimes that I am judged on the basis of what I am perceived to be, and as a result, I am grouped onto one category or another. There is a mother at my daughter's school who has formed an opinion about who she believes I am, and as much as I am tempted to set her straight, I can't bring myself to invite the confrontation. Is it even worth it? Sticks and stones...right? As far as my own biases...gosh I have a few of those. I'm ashamed to admit it but I do have some preconceived notions and biases that I can feel working against my better judgement sometimes. I try very hard to push past then though. I do believe we can reach a place where we can be objective, at least in a specific space and time. |
| 30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT May 27th Today is Memorial Day here in the US, a federal holiday for remembering and honoring persons who have died while serving in the Armed Forces. How do you honor those who have passed (whether they served in the military or not)? I always try to thank a service man or women when I see them out in public, especially those older gentlemen you see wearing the hats that say Korean War vet or WWII veteran. I want my daughter to see my example and learn to be thankful for those who served and continue to. We have started a tradition of making cards for soldiers at Christmas. She knows that we always give money to the veterans selling the little red poppies outside the super market. She understands the significance of that small red flower. When she is a bit older, I will take her to Washington D.C. and we will visit the tomb of the fallen soldier and the great wall of names of all of those who have died in service to her country. I think those are such important lessons to impart on the youth of today, especially as an entire generation of warriors and heroes are passing on, leaving only their stories as evidence of their valor. It is our responsibility to make sure their sacrifices are not forgotten. |
| 30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT May 26th Share an instance in your life when you would have liked a do-over. As a rule, I do not contemplate "do-overs" in my life. It is a dangerous concept for someone like me, someone who spent so many years trying to "fix" someone only to have it all come to nothing. I spent five years of my life with an alcoholic whom I loved madly but must have known, deep down in my core, that I could not save him. Regardless I threw myself into his recovery with a determination and a passion he himself never possessed. I missed all the signs that he had given up until it was too late. He died in his mid-thirties, taking a large piece of me along with all the promises of marriage and a family with him. I'd give him those prime years of my life when I could have been getting married and starting a family. I traded those ripe years for pain and disappointments, betrayals and urine-colored hospital floors and acrid smells of blood and antiseptic. If I had a do-over, would I even have handled it all differently? Would I have still fallen in love with my best friend? Wouldn't I have still tried everything to save him from himself? No, do-overs are not something I allow myself to contemplate ever. Instead I remind myself that all my choices, good and bad, brought me to where I am today and it is exactly where I am supposed to be. I met a wonderful man, got a second chance at love and discovered the amazing gift that is motherhood. Life has brought me blessings, three times over any pain and heartache I have been forced to bear. |
| 30 Day Blogging Challenge PROMPT May 25th Write about your plans for the weekend. If you had 48 hours to do whatever you wanted, no holds barred, how would you spend your time? I'm playing at catch up again today because this weekend went exactly as I had planned! We kicked it off with an after school Friday evening playdate for my daughter and her friend that morphed into a sleepover. It had been about a month since she's had a proper play date and I was happy to see her laughing and goofing around on the trampoline with her bestie. Since she was occupied, I was able to switch over my closet to my spring and summer garb and catch up on the laundry pile this effort typically generates each season. The rest of the weekend was spent at home, working on the yard. It was the thing that had been the most neglected when we purchased the home. There was a lot of overgrowth that was hiding lovely natural rock formations and the process of recovery is surprisingly rewarding. It has been a wonderful way to reclaim the property, laying fresh mulch down and planting new flowers. The weather was absolutely perfect, making up at last for so many days of rain. The weekend ended, as I would like them all too, with a cookout with family. We ate on the deck with the torches and toasted marshmellows on the fire table. It was seasonal perfection! |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
