MY LIFE - AS I SEE IT, IN RESPONSE TO MY DAUGHTER'S BLOG

I for one was shunned as a kid..I also was the skinny tall one (5' 9 1/2") with buck teeth and living in a home with 2 parents and four siblings(sometimes more) and one bathroom (three other older siblings were gone from home.) Hygene was sometimes a quick sponge bath at best, as a leisurely bath was to die for with so many in the house. I remember that doing laundry was an everyday thing, and dishes, and cooking for the household often fell on me - being the oldest sibling at home. Mom was disabled by a traffic accident so most of the housework fell on us kids. Two of us oldest at home had most of the work as the younger ones were involved in lots of school activities like band & etc. Then my sister who was helping me was chosen to go to Calif. to help an older brother. Guess who got then most of the work........me.

I lost my dad when I was three years out of high school, divorced and a child to raise. Dad was my rock to lean on, and he was gone from me.

My next years were sad attempts to keep a roof over our heads and keeping a job that I could like working at...and being the family joke of not being able to settle down, and marrying so many times. I am currently on #5 and he is a gem.

It took me a long time to figure out who I was, what religion was to me, and many other issues. Unfortunately this hurt my daughter a lot........as well as losing a son to adoption (who is now found.) I guess that I was running from what my childhood pushed on me, and the responsibility it gave me. Didn't teach me to be responsible tho.......and am still learning that lesson.

What I did learn was that I am a good organizer (sometimes not for myself) and keeping my house from too much clutter (except for my office.)

Am truly sorry for any pain that I caused my children, but hope that they learn something from the way I lived my life....Amen.

How To Be Politically Correct - Thursday 13 & More

1. Due to the climate of political correctness now pervading America, Kentuckians, Tennesseeans and West Virginians will no longer be referred to as "HILLBILLIES."
You must now refer to them as "APPALACHIAN-AMERICANS."

And furthermore . TO SPEAK ABOUT WOMEN AND BE POLITICALLY CORRECT:

2. She is not a "BABE" or a "CHICK" - She is a "BREASTED AMERICAN."
3. She is not a "SCREAMER" or a "MOANER" - She is "VOCALLY APPRECIATIVE."
4. She is not "EASY" - She is "HORIZONTALLY ACCESSIBLE."
5. She is not a "DUMB BLONDE" - She is a "LIGHT-HAIRED DETOUR OFF THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY."
6. She has not "BEEN AROUND" - She is a "PREVIOUSLY-ENJOYED COMPANION."
7. She is not an "AIRHEAD" - She is "REALITY IMPAIRED."
8. She does not get "DRUNK" or "TIPSY" - She gets "CHEMICALLY INCONVENIENCED"
9. She does not have "BREAST IMPLANTS" - She is "MEDICALLY ENHANCED."
10. She does not "NAG" you - She becomes "VERBALLY REPETITIVE."
11. She is not a "TRAMP" - She is "SEXUALLY EXTROVERTED."
12. She does not have "MAJOR LEAGUE HOOTERS" - She is "PICTORIALLY SUPERIOR."
13. She is not a "TWO-BIT HOOKER" - She is a "LOW COST PROVIDER."

HOW TO SPEAK ABOUT MEN:
14. He does not have a "BEER GUT" - He has developed a "LIQUID GRAIN STORAGE FACILITY."
15. He is not a "BAD DANCER" - He is "OVERLY CAUCASIAN."
16. He does not "GET LOST ALL THE TIME" - He "INVESTIGATES ALTERNATIVE DESTINATIONS."
17. He is not "BALDING" - He is in "FOLLICLE REGRESSION."
18. He is not a "CRADLE ROBBER" - He prefers "GENERATIONAL DIFFERENTIAL RELATIONSHIPS."
19. He does not get "FALLING-DOWN DRUNK" - He becomes "ACCIDENTALLY HORIZONTAL."
20. He does not act like a "TOTAL ASS" - He develops a case of RECTAL-CRANIAL INVERSION."
21. He is not a "MALE CHAUVINIST PIG" - He has "SWINE EMPATHY."
22. He is not afraid of "COMMITMENT" - He is "RELATIONSHIP CHALLENGED."
23. He is not "HORNY" - He is "SEXUALLY FOCUSED."
24. It's not his "CRACK" you see hanging out of his pants - It's "REAR CLEAVAGE."

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9/11 Tribute - Leo A Roberts

At age 44, Leo Roberts had so much to be thankful for. He had a beautiful wife and 4 loving children. On September 11, 2001, in Wayne, NJ, Leo Roberts kissed his wife and children and headed to work for the very last time. You see, Leo worked as a municiple bond trader for Cantor Fitzgerald at the WTC Tower 1 on the 104th floor. Sadly, Leo and many others did not make it home from work that day.

He and his future wife, Betty, worked at the same company and fell in love in 1981. They married in 1985. They had 4 children in the duration of that loving marriage: Dan, Michael, Jeffrey and their sister Taylor. Dan shared his love of life and music with his children every time they got in a car together for whatever the reason. All of his children were active in sports and Leo was a willing chauffer because, not only did it give him more time with his children, but it was also the perfect time to teach them about his music... classic rock.

He once told his son Dan that if he would promise to learn how to play Stairway To Heaven, he would buy him a new guitar. Dan did get his new guitar from his mother and played the song at his dad's memorial with his brother, Jeffrey, singing vocals.

This is for you, the Roberts Family and your dad, whom I know is very proud of you.






For a complete list of participants and their honorees, please click the image below.

OLD AGE IS A GIFT

Old age,
I decided, is a gift
I am now,
probably for the first time in my life,
the person I have always wanted to be.

Oh, not my body!

I sometimes despair over my body
the wrinkles, the baggy eyes
and the sagging butt.
And often I am taken aback
by that older person that lives in my mirror,
but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my friends,
my good life, my loving family
for less gray hair or a flatter belly.
As I've aged,
I've become more kind to myself,
and less critical of myself.
I've become my own friend.
I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie,
or for not making my bed,
or for buying the silly cement gecko
that I didn't need
but looks so avant-garde on my patio.

I am entitled to overeat,
to be messy, to be extravagant.
I have seen too many dear friends
leave this world too soon;
before they understood the great
freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it
if I choose to read
or play on the computer until 4 a.m. ,
and sleep until noon ?

I will dance with myself
to those wonderful tunes of the 60's,
and if I, at the same time
wish to weep over a lost love.....
I will.

I will walk the beach in a swim suit
that is stretched over a bulging body,
and will dive into the waves
with abandon if I choose to,
despite the pitying glances
from the bikini set.

They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful.
But there again,
some of life is just as well forgotten .
and I eventually remember
the important things.

Sure, over the years,
my heart has been broken.
How can your heart not break
when you lose a loved one,
or when a child suffers,
or even when a beloved pet
gets hit by a car?

But broken hearts are what give us
strength and understanding
and compassion.
A heart never broken
is pristine and sterile
and will never know the joy
of being imperfect.

I am so blessed
to have lived long enough
to have my hair turn gray,
and to have my youthful laughs
be forever etched
into deep grooves on my face.

So many have never laughed,
and so many have died
before their hair could turn silver.

I can say "no", and mean it.

I can say "yes", and mean it

As you get older,
it is easier to be positive.
You care less about what other people think.

I don't question myself anymore.
I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question,
I like being older.
It has set me free.
I like the person I have become.

I am not going to live forever,
but while I am still here
I will not waste time
lamenting what could have been,
or worrying about what will be.
And I shall eat dessert every single day.

9/11 TRIBUTE

Leo A. Roberts, age 44.Place killed: World Trade Center. Resident of Wayne, N.J. (USA).Leo A. Roberts will be honored by M Carver at the blog AuntieM. This was the 1877th blogger to sign up for the 2,996 Tribute project.

This will serve as my T13.......for this week. I am honored to pay tribute to Leo A. Roberts today.

I remember the devastation this caused my family and me. Even though I didn't know anyone that was killed, I still honor them all for giving their lives so that we all in America could live in peace.....and someday... harmony for all nations. Peace be to all.......AuntieM

Please go to: http://www.dcroe.com/2996/?page_id=34 to sign up.

Here's to the crazy ones.

Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo.

You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward. Maybe they have to be crazy.

How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels? While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.


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