immediate family
Blood makes you related, loyalty makes you family.
Caring for Our Mothers
Recently, my mother, age 52, has undergone two spinal surgeries on her neck since March 8. The first was to correct bulging discs that were pinching nerves, causing numbness in her fingers, and after waking up in excruciating pain at 10 days post op she was admitted to the local emergency room for pneumonia and they also tested her TWICE for the flu, now, if you've never had the flu test before you should hope you never have to! She was given these tests once in the ER and once after being admitted and taken to the pulmonary wing. These tests made her jerk her head back so hard that we are convinced this caused her to move too much after her spinal fusion operation and it pulled the hardware loose from its position. We were not able to make it in to see her surgeon until she was four weeks post op from her first surgery; he was very upset that he was never notified about her being admitted, and was concerned that her hardware had shifted. Come to find out after several appointments with primary doctors and pulmonary doctors, she actually did not have pneumonia or the flu while she was in the hospital, and was formally diagnosed with sepsis, which she had no symptoms of while she was admitted.
By Carrie Hranac8 years ago in Families
Joseph Holland of Somers Keeps Perseverance in the Family
A 125 pound Pop Warner Football player probably feels pretty good about his chances on the gridiron. But when a league weight limit is leveled and permanently sidelines that youngster from participating, hopefully the disappointment is managed into an enduring life lesson. The school-aged child was Somers' Joe Holland and becoming an Academic All-American at Cornell, graduating Harvard Law School and having numerous professional successes shows that the right man was definitely in his corner.
By Rich Monetti8 years ago in Families
My Favorite Men
On January 2, 2018, in the early morning hours, my wonderful father took his last breath. This man was our family patriarch. He took the role of father and husband seriously. He was hard-working, faithful to the love of his life (my mother), devoted to his children, respectful to his parents, sacrificial for his students, and committed to his Savior. My daddy was not perfect, but he was pretty close. He instilled, in me, a love for education and a passion for family. Integrity and morality was of the utmost importance to him. Men like my daddy are rare these days. His passing has left a great void for many who loved him.
By denise knight8 years ago in Families
Childhood's Worst Nightmare
Thinking back to when I was young, my childhood wasn't the greatest. It was more like Hell, but on Earth. I was young and fragile, I wasn't supposed to see the things that I've seen, not at a very young age. They say your parents are supposed to be your protectors but not mine... they were cruel. What do I mean by when I say cruel? Angry, abusive, alcohol addicts cruel. Most of the time they drank until they passed out and when they were out of alcohol my dad would take it out on me! They didn't have a care in the world when it came to me. I felt alone, scared, rejected, and used. I did all that I could to get love from them and all I got was nothing but hate, from my dad especially.
By Emma Shelley8 years ago in Families
Growth: In & Out
Is a four-year difference in age too big of a gap for some? Perhaps. Let's say in a perfect world that this is the absolute ideal age gap for all pairs of people: couples, parents, friends, colleagues, and even siblings. Eventually, something would break. The paradigm would shift and no one would be challenged, no one would be uncomfortable, and no one would grow. This is what has been on my mind lately.
By V O I C E | Omniverse8 years ago in Families
Two Sides of the Same Coin
Prologue Any psychologist or sociologist will explain a "normal" family unit as being a mother and father with two children, preferably a boy and a girl, who coexist peacefully together in a house with, maybe, a family pet. However, "normal" in our society no longer exists. There is now the idea of step-family, mothers and fathers getting re-married to people who may also have children from a past marriage. This sprouts new family, bigger, wider variety of family that joins the unit to create a complicated web of a family. "Normal" was wiped out when it came to the family unit.
By Jade Varley8 years ago in Families
Seven for What Used to Be Ten
He stood at the entrance of the massive roll up doors, telling my mother that there were seven items on the list and only seven. We had already flustered his feathers by letting me tag along, then my mom, then we had to go to lunch; after all, driving thirty minutes to Costco was an outing, not a chore. The drive itself stretched along like a map. The land outside exposing flat fields of uneven corn or orchards. You only turned twice the entire way; besides that it was finding ways to entertain yourself for the half hour as the drive continued on loop.
By Helen Brower8 years ago in Families
