Trigger warning…this is sensitive and may not be easy for some of you to read but it is important to discuss.
Unless you never look at social media or listen to the news, there is no way you can avoid hearing about sexual assault this week. If you look at your Facebook or Twitter feeds, you may notice “Me too.” posted. No explanation. Just…“Me too.” If you are a woman in this world, you have been subjected to…or at the very least, exposed to acts of a sexual nature without your consent. My very first memory of something inappropriate was at my babysitter’s house when I was maybe five years old. She had teenagers and I was exposed to the daughter and her boyfriend having sex. There was also a boy there who exposed himself to me frequently. Sure…there was normal sexual curiosity as a child. We played “doctor”. This was beyond that.
Today is a day I’ve been looking forward to for months. I’m attending my first college football game…EVER! West Virginia takes on Texas Tech at home. Milan Puskar Stadium is a couple of hours from the farm so we’ll be up early. We’re tailgating so I need to get the food assembled early since it’s a noon game.
Mr. FixIt is a seasoned Mountaineer Fan. One of his three degrees came from WVU and he is a rabid fan. Ra-bid. We listen to the game on the radio when we’re driving and he’s a hoot to watch. He’s bought me three WVU shirts. So far. Yesterday afternoon he announced we needed to go wash my truck to take to Morgantown. I didn’t get it till we got home and he stuck two big WVU magnets on my tailgate. Ahhhhh….it’s going to be one of THOSE days! I’m excited, actually. I had such a good time at the basketball game Mr. FixIt took me to. The football game is a sellout so there will be around 65,000 people there!
Disclaimer: This may be a trigger subject with some. It is dreadfully sad but it touched my heart and I wanted to share with you. It is about the Holocaust and Forgiveness.
Eva Kor was a young child when she and her twin were torn from their family upon arrival at Auschwitz, never to see them again. Under the direction of Dr. Mengele, they were both subjected to medical experiments that nearly killed them. By sheer will, they fought to survive and were liberated by Russian forces.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I have always been prompt at getting my mammogram done every single year. I always had it at the same place for consistency. Still, even though it always niggled in the back of my mind that time was slipping by, I went a full three years without one. The fact that I am fairly diligent in doing breast self examination regularly was at least some consolation. But not all lumps and bumps can be felt. An exam and getting the tatas compressed is your best advantage for early detection of breast cancer.
Much of my life was spent trying to conform…to not be too loud, too big, too much. To fit into the mold of who I (and others whose opinions I valued over my own) thought I should be. I was a doctor’s wife. I was supposed to fit in, entertain, volunteer. I converted to Judaism. I smiled, a lot. I had a perky voice. I did the best I could. And still, things unraveled, my marriage fell apart, and it darned near killed me.
Filicide. It’s something we don’t want to talk about…something we don’t understand. How could a mother kill her own children? It’s beyond our comprehension. How can someone be pushed so far that they would break like that? It goes against every grain. Yet, it happens.
There was a tragedy in West Virginia last week. A woman shot her two young children, then herself. The little boy was hanging on by a thread last I heard. The little girl and the mom are gone. I just learned last night that not one, but both children have/had special needs. I don’t know what they’re challenges are/were, but I do know what it’s like to grow up in a family with a special needs child. My brother was born with cerebral palsy and mild mental impairment. I will never forget the day the doctor gave Mom the prognosis. They told her he would never live a normal life. He wouldn’t drive or be able to take care of himself or hold a real job. She was devastated. Add to that a troubled marriage and it’s no wonder she suffered from migraines, anxiety, and depression.
We awoke to the sound of rain gently falling on the tin roof yesterday. What a welcome sound. Something else grabbed my attention. It was stuffy and still in the bedroom. I picked up my phone to check the temperature. No wifi. The power was out so the fan was off. This happens frequently here at the farm. I keep thinking I’ll get a generator but haven’t yet.
It’s going to rain today…thank God. We haven’t had measurable precipitation in a month and its dreadfully dry. Since yesterday was such a gorgeous day, chores were put on the back burner yet again and we went gallivanting all over three counties. Our first stop was to finally get some pictures of these magnificent long horned cattle. Seems there’s a wealthy oil man in our county who likes them so he bought himself some. I believe these are a cross between longhorn and the watusi. I must say, you do a double take when you drive down a two-lane blacktop in West Virginia and come across these big boys! I had an uncle who had white-faced cattle simply because he liked looking at them through the window when he ate breakfast…so, I get it.
It took two days to empty TOW-Wanda, clean her up, and winterize. It took an hour to empty both pickups, twice, into my itty bitty farm house. It took forty-five minutes to make pancakes, eggs, bacon and coffee yesterday morning. It took me approximately two minutes to convince Mr. FixIt to take me on a ride in the country instead of sorting through all that stuff and putting it away. Two minutes. Not bad!
