Carlene

If they don't date and they don't go to school, how/where are they going to meet prospective husbands? If they go away to college (I am presuming here that that will be permitted), they will suffer some major culture shock.

How can it NOT be personal when you are referring to all Christians? It's like saying blondes are not very smart. If you're blonde, that's a personal remark. The concept I was referring to was the mere possibility of an omnipotent presence - a superior being hundreds of thousands of times more intelligent than humans and possessing capabilities which humans can only begin to imagine. That's a rather unemotional, clinical description of God, I suppose. But you know, if you were somehow able to re-visit the time and place where your great, great grandparents lived and attempted to describe the internet to them, their rational minds would reject it in a heartbeat. That's not to say they wouldn't believe you, only that they would be totally unprepared to leap, intellectually, from a world without electricity to one where machines not only "think", but communicate with one another. Being a Christian is not synonymous with irrational thinking. We are, rather, able to think beyond what we can see and believe in that which we cannot explain.

Gee....and I thought I was old. A whippit is a single dose ("huff") canister of nitrous oxide - the same stuff that is used as a propellant in whipping cream and at the dentist's office.

I beg your pardon, but my rational mind is NOT "cowed into submission" by my religious beliefs. Perhaps your mind is simply incapable of grasping a concept that transcends your pitifully small human brain.

Sorry, I didn't realize that your daughters would not be allowed to date. I'm assuming that rule is in effect until they reach their majority?

I was a virgin when I married, but a very young bride, as well (17). I've been lucky in love.....and extremely unlucky, at the same time. I've been married 3 times (widowed twice) and had exactly 3 sexual partners. After the first husband died, I was too afraid to date "strange men". I had never gone out with a truly "grown up" man and I was pretty sure they would want to have sex, something I wasn't prepared to deal with at one year post-widowhood. So I married a man I had known since I was 8 years old. It was a very comfortable arrangement, and a very long and happy marriage. By the time husband number 2 died, I was 50 years old and overweight. I didn't like anything about the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing, starting with the name. Who says "my boyfriend" in the same breath as "got to get my colonoscopy"? I had several first dates - I was the queen of first dates. But I met Bob. Bob was great (still is). He worked third shift. The problem was, Bob wanted me to see him off from his house when he went to work (not a problem) AND be there when he came home the next morning (BIG problem). I was somebody's grandmother, for heaven's sake. "I can't live with you," I said. And I meant it. It was just not something I had ever done and I wasn't willing to go all liberated in my dotage. No hard feelings. So we got married. And although I'm generally fine with other people living together, and even raising families without benefit of matrimony, it's outside my own personal comfort level. And my church is so dang picky about that, too. And I like going to church, so.....what can I say? Life is full of choices. Start early and practice making good ones.

Not if they are only 15 or 16 years old.

The blue "screen of death" can also be a heat problem. Check to make sure your fan is working.

From the CDC website... Genital HPV infection is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Human papillomavirus is the name of a group of viruses that includes more than 100 different strains or types. More than 30 of these viruses are sexually transmitted, and they can infect the genital area of men and women including the skin of the penis, vulva (area outside the vagina), or anus, and the linings of the vagina, cervix, or rectum. Most people who become infected with HPV will not have any symptoms and will clear the infection on their own. Some of these viruses are called "high-risk" types, and may cause abnormal Pap tests. They may also lead to cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, anus, or penis. Others are called "low-risk" types, and they may cause mild Pap test abnormalities or genital warts. Genital warts are single or multiple growths or bumps that appear in the genital area, and sometimes are cauliflower shaped. Approximately 20 million people are currently infected with HPV. At least 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives. By age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection. About 6.2 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year. The types of HPV that infect the genital area are spread primarily through genital contact. Most HPV infections have no signs or symptoms; therefore, most infected persons are unaware they are infected, yet they can transmit the virus to a sex partner. Rarely, a pregnant woman can pass HPV to her baby during vaginal delivery. A baby that is exposed to HPV very rarely develops warts in the throat or voice box. Most people who have a genital HPV infection do not know they are infected. The virus lives in the skin or mucous membranes and usually causes no symptoms. Some people get visible genital warts, or have pre-cancerous changes in the cervix, vulva, anus, or penis. Very rarely, HPV infection results in anal or genital cancers. There is no "cure" for HPV infection, although in most women the infection goes away on its own. The treatments provided are directed to the changes in the skin or mucous membrane caused by HPV infection, such as warts and pre-cancerous changes in the cervix. All types of HPV can cause mild Pap test abnormalities which do not have serious consequences. Approximately 10 of the 30 identified genital HPV types can lead, in rare cases, to development of cervical cancer. Research has shown that for most women (90 percent), cervical HPV infection becomes undetectable within two years. Although only a small proportion of women have persistent infection, persistent infection with "high-risk" types of HPV is the main risk factor for cervical cancer. HPV infection can occur in both male and female genital areas that are covered or protected by a latex condom, as well as in areas that are not covered. While the effect of condoms in preventing HPV infection is unknown, condom use has been associated with a lower rate of cervical cancer, an HPV-associated disease.

I sleep naked on occasion, but usually in a tee shirt (summer) and LOTS of stuff (like sweats) in the winter. I have come a long way. When I was young, I not only had to have a nightie or PJs in order to sleep, I required underwear, too. I bought my DH silky PJ pants for Valentine's Day. I want him to wear them to bed, but not necessarily to sleep in. They feel soooooooooo sexy!

Green, you are so BAD! I love it! But I don't dare...my DH would kill me.

One of my stepdaughters weighed 90 pounds when she was six years old. I realize that's a long way from 200 but it's still very abnormal. We couldn't find clothes to fit her without extensive alterations. Other kids teased her mercilessly. This was her mother's logic (expressed to my husband, and she was SERIOUS): it's all your family's fault because your mother is fat and one of your sisters is fat, so Kathy gets the message that it's okay to be fat and she won't try to lose weight. Of course, the same woman would call my house when the child lived with us and scream bloody murder because we wouldn't give Kathy "choices" when mealtime came around. Kathy's idea of an alternative dinner menu was pancakes (swimming in butter and syrup) or French toast (ditto the butter and syrup). The good news is that Kathy is now 40 years old and no longer overweight. The bad news is that she's a meth addict. Her drug addiction, according to her mother, is the result of her unhappy childhood - not the part during which she raised her, I'm sure. It was probably the pancakes and French toast thing that did it. My bad.

That's a new one (to me), although I have seen LOTS of the DE decals and the urinating Calvins, as well. Here it's a sports decal (or dance, cheer, etc) and the kid's name under it. My DIL, for example, has an SUV with a hockey player decal and under it "Joseph", because my grandson plays hockey. Sometimes they get carried away. I saw one the other day and the whole back window was covered with them - all for "Whitney": a ballerina, a cheerleader, a softball, and a gymnast. Makes you wonder what Whitney does in her spare time.

Good luck with that. I seriously don't think many of us "expect" our daughters (or sons) to have sex before they are married. We hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

It's never too late to discover who you really are... An old cowboy sat down at the Starbucks and ordered a cup of coffee. As he sat sipping his coffee, a young woman sat down next to him. She turned to the cowboy and asked, "Are you a real cowboy?" He replied, "Well, I've spent my whole life breaking colts, working cows, going to rodeos, fixing fences, pulling calves, bailing hay, doctoring calves, cleaning my barn, fixing flats, working on tractors, and feeding my dogs, so I guess I am a cowboy. How about you, young lady? What's your story?" She said, "I'm a lesbian. I spend my whole day thinking about women. As soon as I get up in the morning, I think about women. When I shower, I think about women. When I watch TV, I think about women. I even think about women when I eat. It seems that everything makes me think of women." The two sat sipping in silence. A short while later, a man sat down on the other side of the old cowboy and asked, "Are you a real cowboy?" He replied, "I always thought I was, but I just found out that I'm a lesbian."

I am so mad at my DH's friend, Mr. P. Today he e-mailed ME pics of him and his live-in girlfriend!!! Of course, it started another argument between DH and myself. I think it was a totally in-your-face thing for him to do, knowing, as he does, how I feel about their relationship. DH is afraid that I am going to "destroy" his 40 year friendship with Mr. P. I have no intention of doing any such thing. I was even civil when Mr P came to my house a few weeks ago. But this was just so not cool of him. I did not respond to the e-mail. Men are pigs (present company excluded).

We have those here, too. The city/state traffic depts don't like them but they will leave them up for a few months following a fatal accident. I have seen articles in the newspaper when they remove them and the families are angry about it. Some people think they are dangerous, in and of themselves. Passing motorists gawk at the crosses, photos, etc and try to read what the signs say. I think, however, that I understand what drives people to do that. My first husband died in an industrial accident during the construction of a large building in Richardson, TX. (For the edification of those who live/work near by, it is just off Central Expressway and was originally Citizens State Bank.) Passing by the site bothers me, even 30 years later. I used to think it was a shame that there was no marker saying that a man (two men, actually) died here, but I guess that wouldn't be good for business. I'm pretty sure that if I had tried to erect one of those little memorials in their parking lot, I would have been arrested. About 25 years ago, when they still left the doors to my church's sanctuary unlocked all during the day, a woman shot herself on the altar. There is no marker to indicate that anyone died there and most of the parishioners now don't even know about it, which is just as well, I suppose. It creeps me out a little bit every now and then, if I let my mind wander during Mass. The woman's funeral Mass was held in the same church, by the way. I think it was big of them not to hold a grudge.

If I am irrational by virtue of my religion, so be it. I know this is next to impossible for non-believers to comprehend, but I truly did not choose God....God chose me. Another irrational idea.....I know. It's something that has to happen to you before you can understand it - kind of like love.

I don't blame you at all, Mindy. I think you can see that your sister isn't going to "learn" from your mistake, or from your mom's. Neither is anyone else's sister, daughter, granddaughter, etc. Setting a good example doesn't cut it, and neither does being a horrible warning (as the saying goes). All 15 year olds are ten feet tall and bullet proof! You might take a lot of flack from your mom when she finds out what you did. Tell her, if your sister is old enough to ask for BC, she's old enough to NEED it.

I understand completely. I once had a sister-in-law from New Hampshire. She claimed that every time I talked about ice cream, her brain translated it as Preparation H. On the other hand, I once asked, in a grocery store in the NE, where something was located and I swear, the stockboy told me "the centa aisle" FOUR times and I still had no idea what he was saying. Notice to all Yankees.....there is an R in "center"!

Oddly enough, the only generic my doctor has NOT allowed is the one for my thyroid meds (I take Synthroid). Our insurance companies make it financially unreasonable in many cases to purchase "name brand" drugs, or more of us would, I'm sure. When your choice is $75 for the "real thing" and $5 for the generic, it's pretty hard to justify NOT choosing the generic. Drug reps give HUGE freebies to doctors and their staff - everything from trips to lunches, gift cards, etc. and the public, in the end, pays for them. When my son was between jobs and working at TGI Friday's he had a regular customer (drug rep) who purchased $300 in take out (give away) food every single week for her clients.

I never liked struggling over food. I didn't feed my kids an endless chocolate buffet, of course, but also never made food a big issue. I think eating your meal before you can have dessert is a basic, sensible rule. I wouldn't have made her eat every single bite of the eggs, maybe, but neither would I have let her get by with only a bite or two. As for eating the sundae in front of Brooklyn, what's the big deal? Brooklyn didn't eat her breakfast so someone else got to enjoy the ice cream. I had 4 kids and sometimes one or two of them didn't want to eat their dinner. If the clean plate kids had been forced to forfeit dessert because of their picky brother, they would have ganged up on him later and beat the soup out of him. That's life. Brooklyn won't learn any younger.

Now that scares the hell out of me....pardon the pun. A five year old who "got saved"? From what? What could a pre-school BABY possibly have done that he needs to be "saved"? And the whole cammo/army thing...and "Who would lay down their life for Jesus?". Looks more like a training camp for terrorists than a Bible camp in the USA. Whatever happened to the VBS where you made napkin holders out of popsicle sticks?

Boy, I sure have mixed feelings about this one! I started the HPV thread because I strongly believe all young girls should get it and I couldn't be happier that it will be required in Texas. My DIL had two LEEP procedures after she was diagnosed and still had to have a hysterectomy at 27 due to cervical Cancer from HPV. The daughter of my very, very close friends had LEEP procedures done in her teens and managed to save her cervix/uterus but her first pregnancy ended in a very premature infant that lived just a few days. Her second pregnancy was exactly the same, except she was able to carry the baby a few weeks longer and she survived. No more children for this young lady, though, and these problems were due to the LEEP treatments. But I have HUGE trust issues with Rick Perry. He is the governor who cut children's Medicaid in Texas by tens of thousands and left millions in matching federal funds on the table. He has not been a good governor for teachers, children, the working poor, or even the middle and upper middle classes. He literally STOLE designated funds that belonged to the state park fund and used them for his own programs. Part of these were monies that people paid voluntarily by purchasing a State Parks and Wildlife license plate. But even Rick Perry must have realized that a series of 3 shots at $165 each would be a tremendous burden on poor families, especially if they had more than one daughter. The only way these people would get their girls vaccinated would be thru a free or low-cost program. I was prepared to pay the whole $1980 to have my 4 granddaughters vaccinated if their parents' insurance plans would not cover it because I know my kids and they would have just kept putting it off "until they're older" or "when we get the money". None of them believe there is the slightest chance of THEIR daughter having sex at the age of 15 or 16. HA! Can you say "living in a fool's paradise"?

Excuse me....but my church does not proselytize, and I am not a hypocrite.