I wanted to comment on the Supreme Court's Decision on Friday. Today something I read in an article linked to an article linked to an article linked to facebook set me off. I wrote something in Facebook and have decided that is exactly all I need to say so I am posting my status here as well..
Freedom of religion grants us all the right to believe what we choose to believe, provided that when we act on it, it harms no one.(so if I believe in something like oh... I don't know.. serial killing being the way I will get to Heaven... that is not so good because acting on that belief will cause harm.. get my point?) So that means that though I am ecstatic, over the moon, that marriage includes all couples of consenting age who love each other now, I do not think that we need to condemn those who do not share the happiness over it. I think its about the right to choose who to marry.... If you do not believe in homosexuality, then that's fine, you can marry someone who is a different gender. If you do, then now you can choose to marry someone who is the same gender. If you do not believe people of color should marry people who are white, then by all means find a soul mate who has the same colored skin as you do. If you do not believe someone of one religion should marry outside of that religion, then go ahead and marry within your religion. We can all do that now. How wonderful is that? I think this bashing of each other because one believes differently needs to stop. My choice in marriage partners should not hurt anyone else. I just happened to have chosen a heterosexual relationship. But if I didn't, there is no reason that it would hurt anyone else. People can choose to be offended, but that's just fine. They can also choose not to be and to just go on living their own lives, worrying about their own stuff. I saw an article where churches and clergy in Canada have become under attack now because they won't perform marriages for people who, according to the clergyman's religion, are sinning. Well, then people, don't sue the clergy for following what he believes, for pete's sake, just find someone else to perform the ceremony. I know of heterosexual couples who were refused marriage rites by some clergy because they were living together. They didn't sue, they just found someone else who would marry them. I wouldn't even want to be married by someone who believes my significant other and I are sinning. I don't want to belong to a church that condemns my lifestyle. It's not a reason to take them to court because of it. Or to badmouth them or anything else. Now that the door has been opened for marriage equality and it is one more step toward human equality, please, I beg of you my LGBTQ friends, do not fall into the same category as people you have been fighting against, those think that their beliefs are the only way, and that everyone should have the same beliefs. This supreme court decision is not an invitation to start bashing others who believe differently. I hope one day we can all live together with total acceptance of the differences that make us all unique. To quote John Lennon, "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you will join us and the world will live as one." Ok.. getting off my soapbox.
Have a great day.
Shannon
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Thoughts About My Two Dads
Father's Day and Mother's Day present me with mixed emotions. All of my parents are gone now and it is a reminder that they are not here with me physically. I am an orphan.
Orphan. According to the Canadian government I became an orphan in 1973 at the age of 7 when my first dad, Nelson Nutbrown, passed away. He was in an accident at work and died when a trench he was fitting pipes into caved in on him. The date was Sept. 10, 1973 and I had just started grade 2. My mom was still living, but at that point the Canada Pension Plan gave her Widow's benefit and she received orphan's benefit for me. When she remarried two years later her widow's benefit stopped but my orphan's benefit continued until I graduated from high school. So I was an "orphan" even then. I do not know if it is the same now or not. That was a long time ago. I do not consider that I was an orphan until my mom passed away in 2011. At that point I had no parents left here in a physical form.
Back to my two dads. My first Dad was a good man. I was adopted basically at birth by him and my mom. He was a hard worker and a kind man. He wanted to be and was loved by many. He was fair and considerate of everyone. I have exactly three memories of him. One memory is of me sitting on his lap watching Grandpa Sneezby (a host for kids cartoon shows) on tv on Saturday morning. It was my favourite thing to do with him. Another memory is of sitting in my sister's basement room and again, on his knee in a rocking chair listening to Johnny Cash on her stereo on a hot summer day. The last memory I have of him is riding with him in his back-hoe. He would let me and my nephew work the levers sometimes and sometimes we rode in the shovel (kids would NEVER be allowed to do that today). Other than that there are just snippets of memories, or smells (like the smell of his pipe and the brown amphora pipe tobacco) or songs that remind me of him. My sister and my brothers were all in their late teens and early 20's when he died. They have memories.Many more. And they miss him. I know they do. I miss him too. He was my Daddy.
My mom remarried in 1975 to Beverley Murdoch. He was a good man too. Whereas Nelson was really outgoing and liked to kick back with his friends and have a few drinks, Bev was much more serious. He didn't drink at all, but he did have friends and he and his friends could talk for hours. I think he preferred talking to them one on one rather than in a group. For the first few years I slept in what had been the spare room at his house, and that was where the second phone extension was. And he would talk for hours with some of his friends. Usually at my bedtime. I remember my mom getting so exasperated because I couldn't go to bed because my dad was on the phone. Eventually I got a room in the basement and then that wasn't a problem. Though my love for him was never the same as the way I loved my Daddy, I did love him in a different way. He was kind and gentle and put up with a lot from me while I went through adolescence. He was Dad, Dad passed away in 2000 from a heart attack followed by a stroke. I miss him too.
I am so blessed to have had two amazing Dads. My mom did a good job picking her husbands. I know that the type of father they would be went into her decision about marriage, both times. Both of them took the responsibility of their family seriously and did a good job of it. Dad had been a bachelor and had no children of his own when he married my mom, and suddenly he had four kids (3 grown ones), a grandson and a dog. But he handled it. And I know when he got to Heaven, my Daddy was right there to thank him for taking care of his family.
So on a day like today I miss my dads. And I feel sad for all the kids who never even had a chance to have a wonderful dad in their lives. Some of them have awesome moms who have a dual role. But some don't have anyone. Or the dad they have is a deadbeat dad or one that thinks other things are more important than their children. I feel sad for those kids. I am blessed.
And now I look at my husband and how he is with our son. He is an amazing Dad too. And once more I feel blessed. I didn't just pick out a good Dad like my mom did. I dated and almost married several who would not exactly fall into that category for one reason or another before I met Kevin. I am so glad that I finally got it right. And our son is the one who benefits the most from my decision. And I think that up in Heaven are two men, sitting together looking out at the man who supports me and our son and they are nodding in approval.
And my son, Jesse, and I are blessed.
Getting off my soapbox now
Shannon
Orphan. According to the Canadian government I became an orphan in 1973 at the age of 7 when my first dad, Nelson Nutbrown, passed away. He was in an accident at work and died when a trench he was fitting pipes into caved in on him. The date was Sept. 10, 1973 and I had just started grade 2. My mom was still living, but at that point the Canada Pension Plan gave her Widow's benefit and she received orphan's benefit for me. When she remarried two years later her widow's benefit stopped but my orphan's benefit continued until I graduated from high school. So I was an "orphan" even then. I do not know if it is the same now or not. That was a long time ago. I do not consider that I was an orphan until my mom passed away in 2011. At that point I had no parents left here in a physical form.
Back to my two dads. My first Dad was a good man. I was adopted basically at birth by him and my mom. He was a hard worker and a kind man. He wanted to be and was loved by many. He was fair and considerate of everyone. I have exactly three memories of him. One memory is of me sitting on his lap watching Grandpa Sneezby (a host for kids cartoon shows) on tv on Saturday morning. It was my favourite thing to do with him. Another memory is of sitting in my sister's basement room and again, on his knee in a rocking chair listening to Johnny Cash on her stereo on a hot summer day. The last memory I have of him is riding with him in his back-hoe. He would let me and my nephew work the levers sometimes and sometimes we rode in the shovel (kids would NEVER be allowed to do that today). Other than that there are just snippets of memories, or smells (like the smell of his pipe and the brown amphora pipe tobacco) or songs that remind me of him. My sister and my brothers were all in their late teens and early 20's when he died. They have memories.Many more. And they miss him. I know they do. I miss him too. He was my Daddy.
My mom remarried in 1975 to Beverley Murdoch. He was a good man too. Whereas Nelson was really outgoing and liked to kick back with his friends and have a few drinks, Bev was much more serious. He didn't drink at all, but he did have friends and he and his friends could talk for hours. I think he preferred talking to them one on one rather than in a group. For the first few years I slept in what had been the spare room at his house, and that was where the second phone extension was. And he would talk for hours with some of his friends. Usually at my bedtime. I remember my mom getting so exasperated because I couldn't go to bed because my dad was on the phone. Eventually I got a room in the basement and then that wasn't a problem. Though my love for him was never the same as the way I loved my Daddy, I did love him in a different way. He was kind and gentle and put up with a lot from me while I went through adolescence. He was Dad, Dad passed away in 2000 from a heart attack followed by a stroke. I miss him too.
I am so blessed to have had two amazing Dads. My mom did a good job picking her husbands. I know that the type of father they would be went into her decision about marriage, both times. Both of them took the responsibility of their family seriously and did a good job of it. Dad had been a bachelor and had no children of his own when he married my mom, and suddenly he had four kids (3 grown ones), a grandson and a dog. But he handled it. And I know when he got to Heaven, my Daddy was right there to thank him for taking care of his family.
So on a day like today I miss my dads. And I feel sad for all the kids who never even had a chance to have a wonderful dad in their lives. Some of them have awesome moms who have a dual role. But some don't have anyone. Or the dad they have is a deadbeat dad or one that thinks other things are more important than their children. I feel sad for those kids. I am blessed.
And now I look at my husband and how he is with our son. He is an amazing Dad too. And once more I feel blessed. I didn't just pick out a good Dad like my mom did. I dated and almost married several who would not exactly fall into that category for one reason or another before I met Kevin. I am so glad that I finally got it right. And our son is the one who benefits the most from my decision. And I think that up in Heaven are two men, sitting together looking out at the man who supports me and our son and they are nodding in approval.
And my son, Jesse, and I are blessed.
Getting off my soapbox now
Shannon
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Welcome to my world!
I am so excited to welcome you to my new blog. The Circadian Soapbox is where I will be actively voicing my opinions. It all started with some of my posts on Facebook. So many people comment that I should be a writer. Little do they know that I did used to be a freelance writer but life started to get in the way of me doing what I enjoyed doing most. Facebook became a captive audience for my ramblings and I began to write again. I love writing. I used to love fiction writing but as I have gotten older and more experienced in life, I realized that I really love voicing my opinion and writing my thoughts down. Of course I try to be respectful and "PC". I have opinions about a lot of different types of topics so I think this blog should end up being very dynamic. I also respect others' opinions as well.
My goal with this blog is to comment on whatever tickles my fancy each day. It may be a random thought. It might be based on a meme I saw on Facebook or some other social site, It might be based on something in current events. I do not often get political or overly religious because those topics can be fodder for real animosity and I don't want to rock the boat that badly. I just want to calmly express my opinion and encourage a discussion.
If you enjoy reading what I have to say, please share my blog with whomever you like, follow me, comment, or just come back yourself when you want to read more. :) I try to keep things fairly upbeat and positive, though sometimes I do get pretty passionate and ticked off too. I am human. Yes. Yes I am.
So on that note. Welcome. Welcome.
Getting off my soapbox now
Shannon
My goal with this blog is to comment on whatever tickles my fancy each day. It may be a random thought. It might be based on a meme I saw on Facebook or some other social site, It might be based on something in current events. I do not often get political or overly religious because those topics can be fodder for real animosity and I don't want to rock the boat that badly. I just want to calmly express my opinion and encourage a discussion.
If you enjoy reading what I have to say, please share my blog with whomever you like, follow me, comment, or just come back yourself when you want to read more. :) I try to keep things fairly upbeat and positive, though sometimes I do get pretty passionate and ticked off too. I am human. Yes. Yes I am.
So on that note. Welcome. Welcome.
Getting off my soapbox now
Shannon
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