I just wanted to post a quick note to let everyone know that our dear friend Lu (cindylouwho1966, and she of the fabulous [Link Removed]  ) is dealing with the sudden death of her father on Christmas Eve.

She and her husband have joined her step-mother in making final arrangements, and my heart goes out to them as they deal with their loss.

Whatever you do, whether it be to pray, to light a candle, or whatever, please include Lu and her family in your thoughts as they cope with their sadness. The funeral has been scheduled for tomorrow morning.

If you are interested in sending flowers and/or cards, I have contact information. Just send me a private message and I will respond with the details.

Feathermaye, Your links have been removed, please consider upgrading to premium membership.

Today I’ve been researching the controversial world of Bioethics for a project I am working on. The deeper I dig, the more questions I have.  

I don’t yet know how I feel about the goals of this medical and philosophical marriage of theories. I can see both positive and negative aspects to this, but I sort of feel that way about a lot of medical theories and practices anyway, so that’s really not anything new.

[Link Removed]  is representative of a bioethicist's goals in regards to assisted suicide. In the case of the man in this article, he actually prefers to die rather than never regain the quality of life he once had (and he won the legal authorization to make that decision himself).  

But on the extreme side of the spectrum, some practitioners of bioethicism believe that even in cases where the patient does not choose to die (or is incapable of expressing any choices at all) that an administrative decision should be made to terminate the life. Even more extreme is the idea that depressives with suicidal ideations should be encouraged and counseled to commit suicide.

The rough logic here (with the key word being 'rough', since I'm simply regurgitating the information I've been introduced to and don't claim to fully understand it) is that the planet, and the human race as a whole, should be purged of those who are terminally ill, disabled and/or otherwise will never achieve a full quality of life in order to make room for those who can or already do experience that richer, fuller life.

I know, without needing to read further, that I do not in any way agree with the idea that if I am paralyzed in a car accident tomorrow, someone else working from a platform of a “purer population” should get to decide if I live or die.

But it’s the flipside of that coin that I can’t make a decision about:  

Should a terminally ill or grossly disabled individual be allowed a legal, assisted suicide if they choose one, and are proven to be of sound mind in their decision-making?

And, really even a more pressing question to me, can someone who is suicidal be considered of sound mind ?

Feathermaye, Your links have been removed, please consider upgrading to premium membership.

While listening to Laurie & Lu’s BlogTalk Radio Show tonight, I mentioned in the chat this video that I had recently watched that portrays so well the differences between how men and women operate. I promised to share it both here and on Facebook, so here you go.

I just received a belated birthday card in the mail from the mother of a former friend.

Some time ago I blogged  about the 'break up' of this friendship, and how I'd had to get over 'being dumped' by someone who claimed to love me like a sister. With no explanation, my calls and emails and snail mail were ignored. In the end, I resolved myself to the fact that whatever purpose we'd been meant to serve in each other's lives had come to an end, and I moved on.

After about 6 months of no contact, this former friend resurfaced with a casual email that basically said “Hey! I lost your phone number. I’m getting married this weekend and we‘re going to Vegas for our honeymoon. Call me!” No explanation for the absence of contact for the months preceding, nothing. I did not respond to her email, and other than the standard forwarded email messages that I still receive from her, we have not communicated.

So, fast forward to today when I received the birthday card from her mother. Inside the card was a hand-written note that apologized for having mailed the card late, and explained that there has been a lot going on that had just gotten in the way. Namely, the fact that her daughter, my former friend, was recently diagnosed with kidney cancer. She is having her kidney removed this Friday at MD Anderson hospital in Houston.

Nothing was asked of me other than to forgive the lateness of the birthday card, which is a no-brainer. I was not asked to pray for their situation, or to hope for the best, or to even get in contact with them.

To be completely honest, I don’t know that I could handle stepping into the situation at this point. I don’t believe (at least right now, within an hour of having read the card) that I am motivated enough to pick up the phone and see if there is anything I can do. I know for a fact that I could not just push aside the hurt and anger that this person’s treatment of me caused, even though I know that’s probably the right thing to do.

Basically, I have no idea what in the hell I’m supposed to do in this situation. I want to do the right thing, but the self-defense mechanisms that I’ve had to establish over the years (not just in this friendship, but in life in general) are telling me to protect me first. Quite frankly, I just don’t know that I have anything to offer her anymore.

I’m open to discussion and thoughts (even if you think I’m being callous and hard-hearted) on how a situation like this would would effect you, and what you would do (if anything).

Feathermaye, Your links have been removed, please consider upgrading to premium membership.

Since we don’t get to spend as much time with Hailie as we’d like, we are thrilled that our daughter-in-law records many moments along the way. This, so far, is my favorite to date.

Need a Monday afternoon pick-me-up? This should do it!

 
[Link Removed]

Feathermaye, Your links have been removed, please consider upgrading to premium membership.

All right ladies. The time has come to ‘fess up.

I’ve already encountered and/or recruited several of our fab friends in YoVille. Surely there are more out there!

What’s YoVille, you ask?

Well, it’s a fun little game that you join and play through your Facebook account. Everyone starts out at pretty much the same “level” in that you‘re given some default items. An apartment (living room, bedroom and kitchen), basic furnishings, and a few ways to earn some money so that you can upgrade your decor to more suit your tastes. Or buy a pet! Or a house!

The more friends you have, the more money you can make.

There’s even an option to actually spend real life money to hurry along your YoVille wealth. I won’t name any names, but the only Fab member I know of that has actually done that is writing this blog.

So anyway, are you a YoVillian? I am!

Here are some pictures of my YoVille home: