Welcome Back!

Did everyone survive Christmas and New Year's? Aaron and I survived with a few bumps along the way. I started a new job with hours that are not conducive to my sleep schedule so it has taken some time for me to adjust. Hence the delay in posts. Honestly, it took a little bit of anger to get me motivated to get out of bed and write something. Here is a tip for anyone who is the recipient of handcrafted goods: Don't make the crafter mad or you will never see the requested item.

In this case though, the recipient didn't know they were a recipient. I will give you a little background first because otherwise it doesn't make much sense. Aaron and I met in some unconventional circumstances. His parents are "Christians" (I use the term loosely because his mother can't grasp the concept of agape love (or forgiveness) which I consider to be an integral part of having a relationship with Christ) and don't approve of divorce. Therefore she refuses to accept me as his fiance. She has never been to our house nor has his brother. Aaron's father and sister have spent time with us but not the other half of his family. Because we are sinners. I can live with the fact that they want nothing to do with me. Sure it hurts. But I can accept it. What I can't deal with is the fact that every time Aaron sees his mother he gets upset because of the way she treats him. I can tolerate a lot but seeing the people I love be hurt by people who should be the ones defending him just makes me want to kill someone. Aaron and I have been together for a few years and I have every intention of spending the rest of my life convincing him that he isn't the horrible person that his mom has convinced him he is. I can rant like this for quite a while so I will proceed to the point.

I have been working on some needlepoint that I had intended to give to Aaron's mother as an act of good will. It is a rather large piece and I have already spent hours on it. Today I told Aaron that he ought to go visit his mom because he hasn't been in a few weeks. She spent the entire time arguing with him and telling him how he has always been a bad child and how bad he is for not visiting her, etc, etc. I have no desire whatsoever to give her this needlepoint now. I am not sure why I encouraged him to visit her but I won't make that mistake again. I'll be damned if I am going to give her any more opportunities to completely ruin his self-esteem. She blames their lack of a relationship on him but every time he tries to talk to her she responds with bitterness and sarcasm. There are really two lessons that can be learned here: Don't make me mad. And more importantly, treat your children with love and respect and mercy because the confidence you instill in them today will shape their future. I am daily witness to the damage parents can do. Hug your kids today.