family-affair

As a blogger I enjoy reading others’ blogs.  They inspire me.  Many things inspire me.  Heck, even a day without poopy diapers inspires me!

But this blog really got me thinking about what sorts of things bother me and why.  The author was writing about reality shows about children’s beauty pageants.  I have actually watched a couple of these shows which is very unusual for me because I do not care for reality TV.  It is anything but.  I was wondering if they were going to show how sick “beauty” competitions are.  They did, but not intentionally.  They were trying to justify pageants as another form of healthy competition, like sports or academic endeavors.  YUCK!  Not even close.

But do I waste my time venting about it?  No.  This would be a waste of my energy.  That doesn’t mean I don’t waste my energy getting worked up about things.  I used to be extremely passionate about natural childbirth and breastfeeding.  I would frequent websites with discussions about childbirth techniques, feeding choices, etc.  I tried engaging in intelligent debates with other mothers about healthy versus dangerous procedures but I usually got so upset by the ignorance of others that Matt would restrict me from these sites.  I still feel very passionate about these topics but now that I don’t get to make these choices for myself anymore I have found better ways to share my opinions without putting people off.

Another pressing issue to me is teen motherhood.  I am openly against abortion and I don’t try to hide my feelings on the subject.  I am encouraged when a single mother decides to go through with the pregnancy.  This is a reason to rejoice.  My passions become ignited when it comes to giving assistance to teen mothers.  I wish more unwed mothers would consider adoption.  I know how difficult it can be to convince a teenager to make the unselfish decision not to kill her unborn child in the name of convenience.  So to ask her to go through the difficulties of pregnancy and childbirth only to come away with nothing seems like a lot.  I say it can and should be done.  I have nothing but admiration for teen mothers who complete high school and get a college education while working to support a family.  But what is wrong with adoption?  Why must people wanting to adopt go overseas to find available children?  Not that those children don’t deserve families too.  I would just like to see adoption as a first choice, not a last resort.

This leads me to another area the gets me hot under the collar.  Why is adoption so expensive?  I know there are plenty of people who would love to adopt older children.  But the cost of adoption is outrageously expensive.  When we were first looking into our options of adoption and IVF it turned out that it was cheaper to undergo fertility treatments than it was to adopt.  What does this tell us about the states’ desire to place all children in homes with families?  What are all the fees about?  Wouldn’t it save money, in the long run, to cut out some of the costs of adoption so that children don’t remain in the system (at the state’s expense) until they age out?  

I feel passionately about these things but I refuse to get riled up anymore.  I will pray for change and share my passions with others.  If enough people share their opinions then they can join voices.  The tiny squeak can become a mighty roar.  Together, with faith, we can move mountains.

So, what passions do you have to share?

Trackback URI | Comments RSS