My Single Mom Life

Like I said earlier, my sister and my nieces came over and brought breakfast from McD's. It's monopoly time again, and so I took all the little game pieces and went online and entered them. I didn't win a big prize, (would have been nice) but I did win 75 free 4x6 digital prints and free shipping and handling, from Snapfish.com.
That is so cool!
I can now print out some pics and mail them off to the grandparents. I know great grammy doesn't have a computer and it's been ages since I've sent her any recent pics of the boys. (I suck at snail mail) I'll mail a bunch to my folks as well. Yay for winning a useful prize at least!
I went searching my archives for pictures to upload to Snapfish and ended up spending nearly 2 hours reading old entries. I used to have so much more to say. Life seems to be at a standstill these days. It's all so routine anymore. Dull, boring. Blah.

For lunch, we went to Boston Market and had an awesome lunch. I love home style cooking and even more when I'm not the one slaving away to make it even though I do love to cook. Plus, the boys got to pick what they wanted. The girls were adorable but stupid me, I forgot the camera. Grrr. Oh well, next time I'll get new pics of them.

I got some more questions sent in by reader Kelly; Up til now what is your fondest memory? Is it from childhood or from your adult life? Has this memory help shape your life any? Like has it inspired you to something greater in your life?

My fondest memory. Hrm. It's so hard to nail it down to just one. I have a lot of fond memories. I was sitting here thinking about this for a few hours this afternoon and I really can't nail down just one. I was thinking back to times with my grandfather who passed away when I was 11. He was my best friend. I loved going to his house and playing games with him, he would always let me win, no matter the game. It's probably why I'm such a sore loser at most games...lol
And it's not really a fond memory, but his passing did have a major impact on my life.
He was a prominent member of the church we all went to. Played in the band, never missed a day at church unless he was really sick or a family member was.
His funeral was very difficult for me. All the things I had been taught about God loving his "children" and when he died, I questioned the why. I was told it was because God had something else planned for him, that he was needed in heaven.
Wasn't he needed here more? He had a family to take care of, kids to raise, grandchildren to look after, things to do, here.
It didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. For God to take away someone who was doing so much good here.
That's when I began questioning all the reasoning behind God, and church, and the bible, and it's stories. I simply couldn't accept that God's plan was to take away someone who was so important here, and needed here as much as he was.
I don't think this moment has inspired me to do something greater in my life, but it certainly changed who I was.
I completely turned away from the church, from God, from the bible. I simply wasn't buying any of it anymore. I started questioning everything, and when the answers I received back sounded completely ridiculous to me, I turned further and further away from it.
I don't blame his death on me becoming secular, but it certainly was the starting point for me living my life the way I do now.
I live without a god, without commandments to follow, without a church to be part of.
I raise my children without a god, without a church. I used to get a lot of flack for that, that kids need to be raised with a god in order to be decent human beings, but what I've found out since raising them without one, is that they treat their fellow man far better than most who claim to have a god as part of their lives.
My sons have taken a lot of crap from their fellow believing students over their disbelief. They get called Satanists, told they are going to hell, called commies etc etc, all by other children who supposedly follow the word of god.
This amuses me. It shouldn't, but it does. Why does it amuse me so much? Because one of the main teachings of Christ, is to treat your fellow man as you want to be treated. Another is to not judge unless you want to be judged, to love your fellow man, yet here we have supposed followers of Christ, slamming those who are different.
The boys take it all in stride and stick to how they were raised. To be kind no matter what is said to them. They simply reply back with something like, "I'm happy that you are happy going to church, I am happy not going."

I know this probably wasn't the kind of answer you were looking for, but it was a major moment in my life, a turning point if you will. It shaped me into the person I am today.