Journal # 7

There are two very important men in my life that I admire equally. They are my father and my husband. My father is a man that puts his family and religious beliefs before EVERYTHING else in his life. Even though now as an adult I don't agree with many of his religious beliefs, I admire his dedication in how he has not wavered in his belief system through the years. My father's placement of family as an extremely important life attribute spilled over into my choice of a mate as well. My husband has a very close family and he now places his immediate family, the boys and me, above everything else in his life. Money is not that important and family and time spent with them is everything that is important in life. I knew that when I decided to settle down and have a family that my choice of a partner would have to include a strong family tie. This tie would be shared with my family and theirs, yet with the balance of placing our new family unit as important in that structure of family. My husband has been through a lot, and as a family we have gotten through those hard times and gleaned a much better relationship on the other side. Both Bobby and my Daddy are the most important men in my life and I am an extremely lucky individual to have them and hopefully they realize how important they are to me, every day.

Journal post #6

There are many times that I have to lie to my Grandmother to make sure that she is happy and healthy. They are usually little white lies, but they keep her happy and calm. I am primary care giver to my Grandma and I do whatever it takes to make her have a healthy and prosperous life. She is from a generation that worries a lot about her family and if they are happy. When Grandma asks about certain things I often have to lie to her and tell her that everything is ok when perhaps it may not be allright. Yet her knowing that my family is doing allright makes her happy and less worried. She worries constantly that I work to much, study too hard and have too many friends. So to keep her calm, I might lie to her about how much homework I have and it continues from there.

"Which Historical Event I Would Have Liked to Have Witnessed"

There are many historical events I would have liked to have witnessed; however, I think the one that I really would have appreciated the most would be when women were fighting for the right to vote. In the early twentieth century, our country was complimenting itself on its technological and industrial advancements, yet the women in this country still had no say about who their lawmakers were. I find it profoundly ironic when I read period literature set in this time era, how arrogant so many men were by keeping the vote from American women. One of the best books that I have read that made a profound mark on me about this accomplishment was, "Falling Angels" by Tracy Chevalier. I highly recommend all women to read this to experience a small inkling of what women were subjected to for us to have just the simple right to vote.

"Journal Entry #4"

When my mother was pregnant with me, of course there were no ultrasounds, at least not clear pictures and the Doc told my Mom I was a boy. She had the name of Damien Frederick picked out, which I think is a very cool name and then I was actually born and a girl. My parents had not really prepared a name so my cousin, Kim, who was very close to my Mom and Dad's age and close friends with them, came up with my full name of Angela Nicole. I actually have never liked my first name, I don't mind Nicole, and named my youngest Nicolas after me. I kind of wish that my Mom had still named me Damien, even as a girl, because I think that would have different and original, just maybe Damien Nicole. I always wanted to try that theory if I had a girl, but had two boys so was never able to try it out. The ironic ending to this story is that my youngest brother, who is now a 28 year old nurse, was born the Doc told my Mom he was a girl and she had the name Amber Elizabeth picked out, but ended up being a Ryan Frederick, who we called Bubba up until he was almost 25:)