Tag Archive | Catholic Church

Get Out Your Laptop, Open A Vein.

Apr29

So, what does it mean?  It means that at times I wear my heart on my sleeve.  At times I feel so strongly about things I can’t even bring myself to write about them.  When I do finally get up the courage to write about said topics, I feel as though I’m bleeding across the page, the computer screen, so to speak.  At the same time, I need an outlet for my feelings on these subjects, as difficult as it may be.  I need to express myself. By now you may be asking yourself what topics I am referring to above.  They include, but are not limited to:

Infertility – You’d think I’d have it all figured out by now – after 20 years.  I found out about my infertility when I was 10 years old and still playing with dolls.  I’ve always wanted to be a Mom first and foremost.  To my parents’ credit, they were pretty much forced to tell me at that point.  I greatly respect the fact that they knew they had to tell me the truth.  Just when I think I’ve dealt with it and accepted all that it means, it comes flooding back into my life in unexpected ways.  I start back at square one.  I want to write a series about my personal experiences so other young women won’t make the same mistakes I made or feel alone.  I’m just not there yet.  I wish we would actually discuss infertility in relation to Turner Syndrome, but it seems almost taboo, or at least it was when I was growing up.  It angers me.  We need to treat infertility as a disease, not fertility or short stature.

Motherhood – There are a whole separate set issues surrounding Motherhood I’d love to address here.  Biology alone does not make you a Mom.

I may not be a mother – but I’m still a person | Life and style | The Guardian

Sexuality and Turner Syndrome – I’ve tried to discuss these issues in the past here, but there is so much left unsaid.  Again, I don’t want young women with Turner Syndrome – or similar issues – to feel alone.  It doesn’t help that the medical profession doesn’t always get it right or that there is still so much wrong information out there.

Turner Syndrome and Sex | Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde

Reproductive Rights – The entire conversation around reproductive rights going on today absolutely disgust me.  While we shouldn’t be telling anyone what to do with their bodies, there are boundaries and we as a society need to support families – Moms, Dads, and kids.  Why can’t we respect each other and face the fact that not everyone can create a family easily?

Marriage – To marry or not to marry, that is the question.  I haven’t answered that just yet.  I love the idea of marrying Brian.  I just don’t like all of the questions and nosiness that comes with it.  And then there is religion…

Why Do You Ask? | Ramblings of a Misguided Blonde

Religion – I have so many issues with organized religion that I’m unsure of exactly what I believe anymore.  The entire situation surrounding the conversation on reproductive rights has done nothing to resolve anything.  It has only served to portray the Catholic Church in a harsh light.  How am I supposed to support any organized religion when they appear so unsympathetic to anyone who doesn’t fit the mold?  The article below is a perfect example.

Pope Says Couples Who Conceive Through In-Vitro Fertilization Are Guilty Of Arrogance | RH Reality Check

Related articles

Religious Tolerance – Part 1

Oct14
St. Stanislaus Kostka Catholic Church

Last weekend I found myself in a place that holds many specific childhood memories and lessons for me.   It is an old Roman Catholic church dating for the 1940s that now serves as a regional art center.  The parish that once occupied the church built a new building in the 1980s.  Some of my earliest childhood memories are tied to the old church building.

At one time, my parents actually liked doing something social on Saturday nights without their small children.  Our babysitter Joyce, who also conveniently happened to live next-door, didn’t mind watching us on Saturday nights IF my parents allowed her to take my little sister and I to church.  My family is Protestant, United Methodist actually, and Joyce and her family are/were Roman Catholic.  They may not have known it at the time, but my parents allowed me to question religious differences at an early age.  The experiences I had attending church with my neighbors taught me many valuable lessons.

The small town in which I grew up is predominantly Roman Catholic.  As a result, I found myself envying my childhood friends that were Catholic.  Childhood friends of mine who are/were Catholic knew Joyce from church catechism classes.  In fact, she taught third grade catechism for nearly 30 years.  Quite simply, I wanted to be like my childhood friends shopping for first communion dresses and spending time with Joyce in her classroom.  At the time, I didn’t understand the differences between Catholics and Protestants.

In time, I would learn the differences well, but I continue not to understand a society in which Catholics and Protestants don’t get along. Unfortunately, I’ve followed world political events for as long as I can remember.  I distinctly remember the violence between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland still being an issue when I was a child.  I could never fully comprehend it.

Not only were my neighbors Catholic, most of my childhood friends were Catholic.  Many of my extended family members are Catholic as well.  What sense did it make to create superficial barriers between family and friends?  I think my early exposure to different organized religions, even if two different mainstream forms of Christianity, caused me to question organized religion as a whole.

The longer I dwell on the topic, the more I have to say.  It is amazing when you realize just how profoundly early childhood experiences influence choices/experiences later in life.  I’m grateful for all of them.