To be Worthy
by KK Sierra
Many men had sought her.
In that wild western time.
Drawn to beauty and survival.
Seeking naught but selfish gain.
Lazy, deceitful, unkind, perhaps cruel.
A means to their wishes.
Skilled hands for hard labor.
Cooking, cleaning, laundry, and dishes.
Or for personal pleasure alone.
For none she spared thought.
To none she gave consent.
She desired only a hero.
A man of self-sacrificing worth.
To be important to him.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Responsible Parenting
The subject of the post found here today sparks my annoyance due to the implied black and whiteness of it all.
The ads and comments upset me because they're designed, in my opinion, to make a parent feel like they're bad, wrong, or evil for choosing to co-sleep with their children.
It's called responsible parenting. Know the facts, the advantages and the potential dangers, and make decisions based on what is right for you and your children. Smart, informed decisions that will help your children to reach their full potential in life.
I ended up co-sleeping, at some point, with all my kids (now ages 15, 10 and 7), but not by explicit choice. Except for brief periods of time at the beginning of each child's life (a few months) I have worked full time throughout their childhood. Whatever amount of sleep I could get was important. It kept me sane and capable of being a good parent. If that meant bringing a crying child in need of parental comfort to bed with me, that was what I did. If my child had a cold or fever, guess where they felt comfort? That's right, in mom's arms.
Co-sleeping is not for everyone. If someone asked, I wouldn't tout it as the end all, be all sleeping solution. As often as possible, I wanted my children in their own beds, however I wasn't going to listen to them cry and attempt to "self comfort" while I tried to sleep peacefully in my own bed, when it was clear they needed me.
I think these facts about children dying due to co-sleeping are misleading because no one has the facts on the number of children who have co-slept without incident to compare them to. Only the tragedies make the news, not the successes. (For positive information on co-sleeping, you might read here.)
The death of any child is tragic. A preventable death, even more so, but let's not vilify parents that co-sleep.
The ads and comments upset me because they're designed, in my opinion, to make a parent feel like they're bad, wrong, or evil for choosing to co-sleep with their children.
It's called responsible parenting. Know the facts, the advantages and the potential dangers, and make decisions based on what is right for you and your children. Smart, informed decisions that will help your children to reach their full potential in life.
I ended up co-sleeping, at some point, with all my kids (now ages 15, 10 and 7), but not by explicit choice. Except for brief periods of time at the beginning of each child's life (a few months) I have worked full time throughout their childhood. Whatever amount of sleep I could get was important. It kept me sane and capable of being a good parent. If that meant bringing a crying child in need of parental comfort to bed with me, that was what I did. If my child had a cold or fever, guess where they felt comfort? That's right, in mom's arms.
Co-sleeping is not for everyone. If someone asked, I wouldn't tout it as the end all, be all sleeping solution. As often as possible, I wanted my children in their own beds, however I wasn't going to listen to them cry and attempt to "self comfort" while I tried to sleep peacefully in my own bed, when it was clear they needed me.
I think these facts about children dying due to co-sleeping are misleading because no one has the facts on the number of children who have co-slept without incident to compare them to. Only the tragedies make the news, not the successes. (For positive information on co-sleeping, you might read here.)
The death of any child is tragic. A preventable death, even more so, but let's not vilify parents that co-sleep.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
The Hunger Games
I am rarely excited for books turned movies, but the Hunger Games series was AMAZING, and the movie looks like it may actually be its equal. Can't wait. If you haven't had the opportunity to read the series, I encourage you to pick them up ASAP.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Until the End - a short
Until the End by KK Sierra
Crimson red, it runs down.
Staining the earth beneath him.
Life ebbs with each heartbeat.
Weary, the fight leaves him.
A whisper, a gasp, "Ana."
The wound will take him.
No heroics can stop it.
Offer comfort, peace, and love.
Vengeance is yours; you'll repay.
It shan't be in vain.
Crimson red, it runs down.
Staining the earth beneath him.
Life ebbs with each heartbeat.
Weary, the fight leaves him.
A whisper, a gasp, "Ana."
The wound will take him.
No heroics can stop it.
Offer comfort, peace, and love.
Vengeance is yours; you'll repay.
It shan't be in vain.
Friday, November 11, 2011
11-11-11
This may be a mistaken impression, but I think that often the term Veteran is only associated with those that have retired.
A Veteran, as I understand it however, is anyone who has served in the armed forces, especially those who have served in combat or completed a tour of duty. As such, many men and women are still serving today who are Veterans. Sadly, those who have served in unpopular wars are frequently berated and discriminated against. I recently blogged about the outrageous comments some post online. This is absolutely wrong.
No matter your personal beliefs, religious or political agenda, all of them deserve respect.
So today, to all who have served and are presently serving, thank you.
A Veteran, as I understand it however, is anyone who has served in the armed forces, especially those who have served in combat or completed a tour of duty. As such, many men and women are still serving today who are Veterans. Sadly, those who have served in unpopular wars are frequently berated and discriminated against. I recently blogged about the outrageous comments some post online. This is absolutely wrong.
No matter your personal beliefs, religious or political agenda, all of them deserve respect.
So today, to all who have served and are presently serving, thank you.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
With the Old Breed
Since today is the Marine Corps birthday and yesterday we were talking about must read books, I must recommend With the Old Breed by E.B. Sledge.
In it Eugene Sledge, an officer candidate turned mortarman, tells of the battles waged at Peleliu and Okinawa. The thing I most enjoyed about reading his story is that it was told without judgement. He doesn't throw any political twist on it and glorify in his own self-importance. Nor does he vilify the war. Rather, he gives a matter of fact narration of his boots on the ground experience. There is no acrimony in his description of mud, blood and decaying bodies.
I am not a war buff in any manner. This was in fact the first, outside of high school, I'd read on the subject of WWII. It's extreme honesty really impressed me. As this is a memoir, E.B. Sledge could have injected his story with facts and stories he learned after the fact, yet he did not. Other than a few clarifying details, he refrained and instead told the story with the sparse information he had at the time he experienced it.
Reading it touched me deeply and I've considered what I read in it many times since. The atrocities that humans will inflict on other humans is very sad. At times I was horrified by what I read. At others, tears ran down my face. Mostly I was struck by the tragic loss of life, not only then, but in the battles that have ensued since then, and those that continue to rage today.
E.B. Sledge's story was used in part for the HBO mini-series, The Pacific. I encourage you to pick up the book and the follow up memoir, China Marine, which tells of E.B. Sledge's experience immediately following Okinawa.
In it Eugene Sledge, an officer candidate turned mortarman, tells of the battles waged at Peleliu and Okinawa. The thing I most enjoyed about reading his story is that it was told without judgement. He doesn't throw any political twist on it and glorify in his own self-importance. Nor does he vilify the war. Rather, he gives a matter of fact narration of his boots on the ground experience. There is no acrimony in his description of mud, blood and decaying bodies.
I am not a war buff in any manner. This was in fact the first, outside of high school, I'd read on the subject of WWII. It's extreme honesty really impressed me. As this is a memoir, E.B. Sledge could have injected his story with facts and stories he learned after the fact, yet he did not. Other than a few clarifying details, he refrained and instead told the story with the sparse information he had at the time he experienced it.
Reading it touched me deeply and I've considered what I read in it many times since. The atrocities that humans will inflict on other humans is very sad. At times I was horrified by what I read. At others, tears ran down my face. Mostly I was struck by the tragic loss of life, not only then, but in the battles that have ensued since then, and those that continue to rage today.
E.B. Sledge's story was used in part for the HBO mini-series, The Pacific. I encourage you to pick up the book and the follow up memoir, China Marine, which tells of E.B. Sledge's experience immediately following Okinawa.
To my friends (& their friends) who are presently deployed and will be deploying soon, stay safe, you're in our thoughts and prayers.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
"Must Read" Books
I read a post today about 25 classic books everyone should read. I consider myself quite a reader, but here is my results for said list:
25. Great Expectations Charles Dickens -- NO
24. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee -- NO
23. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley -- NO
22. Call of the Wild by Jack London -- YES
21. The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison -- NO
20. Art of War by Sun Tzu -- NO
19. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- NO
18. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain -- YES
17. Something, anything by Edgar Allan Poe -- YES
16. Fences by August Wilson -- NO
15. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte -- NO
14. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston -- NO
13. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway -- NO
12. Moby Dick by Herman Melville -- NO (Started, never finished)
11. The Bible -- Sort of (Never in its entirety from beginning to end.)
10. Hamlet by William Shakespeare -- YES
9. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller -- NO
8. Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde -- NO
7. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald -- NO
6. Lord of the Flies by William Golding -- NO
5. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson -- NO
4. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger -- NO
3. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe -- NO
2. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare -- YES
1. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck -- YES
So, I've read six of twenty-five "classic" everyone-should-read books. Honestly, I'm not sure I care. What do you think? Do you agree that everyone should read these twenty-five books before college? Or at least at some point in their life? Have you? Is there one of these books from your own experience you think I should add to my must read list? I'm curious to know.
25. Great Expectations Charles Dickens -- NO
24. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee -- NO
23. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley -- NO
22. Call of the Wild by Jack London -- YES
21. The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison -- NO
20. Art of War by Sun Tzu -- NO
19. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne -- NO
18. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain -- YES
17. Something, anything by Edgar Allan Poe -- YES
16. Fences by August Wilson -- NO
15. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte -- NO
14. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston -- NO
13. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway -- NO
12. Moby Dick by Herman Melville -- NO (Started, never finished)
11. The Bible -- Sort of (Never in its entirety from beginning to end.)
10. Hamlet by William Shakespeare -- YES
9. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller -- NO
8. Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde -- NO
7. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald -- NO
6. Lord of the Flies by William Golding -- NO
5. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson -- NO
4. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger -- NO
3. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe -- NO
2. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare -- YES
1. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck -- YES
So, I've read six of twenty-five "classic" everyone-should-read books. Honestly, I'm not sure I care. What do you think? Do you agree that everyone should read these twenty-five books before college? Or at least at some point in their life? Have you? Is there one of these books from your own experience you think I should add to my must read list? I'm curious to know.
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