Thanks to all who responded. I never expected such a response.

• My 19-year-old daughter wants to join the Army. I'm very scared at the thought. Any advice out th - Scared mom
  • Scared mom --sorry for the long post - Jestme
    • Thank you so much for your wonderful post. - Scared mom
  • Thanks to all who responded. I never expected such a response. - Scared mom
    • Your daughter is lucky to have you as - mom.
      • Thanks so much.. Can I have my daughter call you?? LOL - Scared mom
    • response - cat
  • hope - cat
  • I understand your fear! I have three sons between - sm
  • Why the Army? She'd be much safer in Navy - sm
    • Navy? On a boat with thousands of hor*y men? I don't think so. nm - me
      • Is there an age limit on being able to sign up?? I might have missed my chance. LOL - And that's a problem because.....
      • Just because you're in the Navy.... - sm
        • COULDN'T AGREE MORE!!! - ditto
    • other forces - Jan
  • during non-combat sure - but the last 3 wars - were all bogus.....like THIS one!!!...sm
    • I agree this war is a joke, and I would not be proud of my kid being a part of it. - nm
  • If no war, I would say sure. Not now. Would like to say more, - but can't. Just NO.
  • Not to sound harsh here BUT - - missy
    • And if recruited, would send my child to - Maggie
      • And Canada would send him back. Can't do that anymore! - nm
      • I am totally - trose
  • re: joining up - Jan
  • iraq/daughter - cat
    • Cat - regarding your email to me...sm - were all bogus.....like THIS one!!!...sm
      • e-mail - cat
        • hey cat!! Ya didn't really ruffle...LOL - were all bogus.....like THIS one!!!...sm
  • I would just make sure she fully understands - sm
  • Army does not always equal - combat (sm)
    • No such thing as non-combat right now. - nm
      • but... - combat (sm)
    • combat - cat
    • Yes, I think it's the most mature decision she has ever made. When she dropped out of school, we - Scared mom
  • I'm glad there are people to defend us (sm) - Just me

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defend itself by a growl, nip, bark, or retreat to a safer place.  It is not expected that a pet would attack and kill a human in response to a perceived threat.  These dogs do that very thing.  

I really hope you read the link I posted about pitbull owners. 

something to her about it all, once I figure out a way not to lose my temper.  Yes, I am a laid back-type of parent, as I tried trying to keep up with the Jones' and such, but after putting my kids through torture (of course, thinking I was doing best) by constantly involving them in things they had no interest in (and, of course, listening to everyone on how to raise my children), I decided to listen to THEM.  I am very involved in their schools and I have a lot of quality time with them daily, but I just feel kids need to be kids as well and have time with their peers and work out things on their own without me constantly over them.  Let's face it, there is no guarantee I will be here even tomorrow, so I try to instill morals in them and pray they do the next right thing,but I cannot expect them to make every right decision and I should not judge myself as a parent that way.  If I do, then I will inevitably correct and criticize them, as I will be judging them by someone else's opinion as well. 

Thank you, because I really knew what the right thing was but I kept allowing someone else's feelings tumble into my own and that made me feel really sad.  I know they are both very good kids.  They may not be perfect to the standards of some people, but they are mine and I am very proud of them....no mmatter what anyone says.

(((hugs))))

If you are or are not the poster I responded to - doesn't matter one lick.  The poster said *will not shop in any store that sells gay or lesbian items*

Poster did not clarify that they *WOULD shop in a store that sells heterosexual items also being sold to gays* -

You seem to have an interpretation and possibly reading problem which, if you were the poster I was responding to, accounts for the little pea-sized, shut-down to nearly closed-down brain.........

To me it is unbelievable that homophobes still exist in the 21st Century amongst the common folk? 

All this spewing about Christmas and Christian way of life and giving and generosity and all this supposed good feelings, yet all I see here is hypocrisy and condemnation for anyone who is not of your faith and for anyone who doesn't interpret any bible the way that some of you do.

God says we are to love each other as we love ourselves - but looking at some of these posts I see SOME really lack loving themselves and become accusers and finger-pointers - and JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED.....

To all who condemn others who do not follow your ways, religion, closed mindedness..... Who died and left you boss of anything?

And lest not forget that Christianity and Catholicism stems from Judeo-Christian teachings.....which when I get involved teaches all about tolerance. 

Now, can we all just try to be pleasant and get along and agree that we can all disagree and still be civil to one another or is that task far too great?

 I got up and said, "what??" And there it was - on the news. In the little left hand corner of the t.v. is a sight I've never seen since living here (over 10 years). Our area covered in white!!! We are in the deep south, 2 hours north of the FL border.  The forecaster says it's gonna snow today!!! It's been raining all morning, a very cold rain, but apparently there is a system coming our way and it will change to snow in the afternoon! I can't believe it.  I've been planning trip after trip to take the boys (I have 3 small ones) to see snow. They've only seen snow on Nickoledeon.  My 5 year old doesn't even own a winter coat, only pullovers, etc.  I've been digging in the closet looking for matching gloves and made sure there are plenty of batteries in the camera (it's run dead before during a major event). Can y you tell how excited I am? I can't believe it.

I've been praying for this and asking God for it to snow. He knew my heart!  Every trip I've planned to go and take my kids to see snow hasn't worked out for one reason or another.  Maybe this is why......I really hope the weatherman is right.....I'm so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, there are parts of what you say I agree with and parts I don't. :)

In my case, I had to step in or the state would have taken the child.  The dad was a bum...but when I look at how he was raised and the he** he went through, I understand how scared he is of even trying to be a father.  I don't excuse it, but I understand it.  I understand it all the way to family court where I will be getting a child support order against him next month <G>.  Got one on my own daughter, already.  My daughter was born with a mental illness and was a teenage mother.  It was a time bomb that finally exploded in a world of drug abuse.  But to treat the addiction without the mental illness will never result in a productive member of society.  So...that being said, holding these 2 parents accountable is futile...other than financially (okay, even I laugh at ever seeing any of that money).  They are infrequent visitors in my GC's life.  That is simply the way it is.

I look at European countries and see multigenerations living together even still, where the older family members help raise the young children so the parents can support the entire household.  That was what I meant about a community raising children.  We as Americans don't function in that way overall as a society.  We splinter and break apart and when young adults need help, often it means the children go somewhere else (usually aunts, uncles, grands).  Sometimes in divorce, one party has more _power/control_ (usually due to finances) and has a greater say in how, who and where the children are raised.  I suspect there is some of this dynamic occuring in the OP's life that she felt she couldn't share.  (My story is out there...but some are not as open).  Some divorced people use children as pawns, and this, too, is as sad as parents who cannot take responsibility for their offspring.

But I do fully support any parent, who for the sake of the children, can try to enrich their young lives and teach them tolerance, patience, forgiveness, acceptance, and learn how to deal appropriately with situations so that they can grow into strong, proud adults.  I suppose my point in all this was in my original response.  Bad things can be found everywhere...but if we can teach our children how to deal with them in a positive way, we have given them the gift of maturity.

Thank you for your response.  I did appreciate reading it and respect what you had to say.

First of all I am glad so many of you used this board to share your feelings on this issue of hating cats. I have read each one of your posts a few times over and agree wholeheartedly. I have also felt that this issue goes a lot deeper than not liking something with 4 legs and a tail that meows. That is why I brought it up. It is frustrating to say the least and something I could never understand.

Some of the people I have come in contact with who make these remarks will also out of the other side of his or her mouth proudly state how they love animals, just not cats. The last time I checked a cat was an animal. I can certainly understand having favorites, we all do.  What I don't understand is selective animal loving.

One of you posted that you feel these people are missing something. That really hit home with me and actually brought me to tears. I have missed so much in my life having no children, etc. I used to get angry over circumstances I could not control and actually felt I was being punished in some way. All around me are people with what seems to me to be everything.  One thing God made sure I had all my life is the ability to love and receive it 100 times over from animals. It has literally been life saving for me. There is a history of abuse in my past, and this is one love I am not afraid of.

The post that spoke of cats being looked at as evil, the black cat at Halloween hit home, too. That post opened my eyes to a lot of things. My friend I spoke of who went shopping with me and shouted all day long about hating cats said that her mother doesn't like them either. It really does seem to be an attitude that in many cases has been passed down to the next generation. My mother, 90 years of age now, has always and will always have a spot in her heart for cats. She loves them dearly, but because she has dogs who don't tolerate cats she does not adopt cats. My grandmother as well loved them.

I guess when I see a cat I see an animal with elegance and beauty, an individual little soul that walks and cannot be heard or peeks between the railing of my niece's stairway and then very gingerly comes downstairs to sit by the front door. No one can expect everyone to love them, but the one post that said hate is such a strong word says it all. One post said how cats kill birds, etc. I don't like that either, but it is instinct. My friend had an English Springer Spaniel some years ago and called me crying, saying her dog was a MURDERER!  She said she looked out the kitchen window and saw Daisy shaking a little rabbit. The rabbit died and Daisy went on her way. It is animal instinct, and nature can be very cruel sometimes. My mom sat at the living room window 4 years ago and saw a snake come over the roof to get at a bird nest we had been watching. We were anxiously awaiting the flight of the babies. It never happened. 

Some don't like cats rubbing up against their legs, etc. I guess I could never hate anyone or anything that was just expressing love to me. I value what some others hate, and that's part of life too. I am not preaching, just letting some feelings out and learning a lot at the same time.

In my local shelter just a few miles from my apartment by last count about 5 weeks ago there were 500 cats waiting for adoption, and yet down the road from where my mother used to live year after year appears a sign in the front yard a few times a year   .  . Free Kittens.  Like me, so many live in apartments, etc. that do not even allow pets.

Thanks again for letting me open up and let it out. It has helped, and hearing your comments has helped to understand a little better. I have a few little stickers on my dashboard that says it all. It is from the ASPCA. It reads very simply

We Are Their Voice. 

God bless you and God bless all animals.

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