First, I shouldn't have to explain myself to anybody. The decisions I make with my husband and family are nobody else's business. So, in no way am I obligated to defend myself to you. But for blogging's sake, let's give it a whirl!
I find it quite interesting that you choose to hide behind anonymity. By the eloquence and intonation apparent in your comment, it's evident that you are very proud of your opinions. Therefore, why remain anonymous? If you have such a strong opinion, claim it!
But even more interesting, you are obviously a close acquaintance of mine. Let's face it. My blog is not that popular. So, you're either a family member or a friend. Which brings me to wonder, if you are my "friend," why couldn't you simply relay your frustrations directly to my face? Instead, you post them anonymously on my blog. How very impersonal, Friend.
And speaking of taking things personally, how dare you render judgment on something so intimate as having children. Where's the merit in attacking Robby's very personal decision to have children just because he does not agree with your stance on something so public as politics?
Regardless, how Ryan and I decide to spend our money is not up for public debate. True, we go on vacations a lot and have nice things. However, you don't know the circumstances under which these event occur. We don't go out and spend money superciliously. Cruises, trips to Lake Powell, babies playing in money, and nice apartments? Well...
We went on a cruise because it was Ryan's graduation and birthday gift, our anniversary getaway and Valentine's day celebration all wrapped up in one. A trip that I actually saved up for and decided to do since I didn't have enough funds to celebrate each event separately.
Our recent Lake Powell trip was actually something we were invited to attend by our cousins. We simply went along for the ride and meekly provided 2 meals for everyone on the boat. Every other expense was covered so generously by our hosts, for which, we are very grateful.
The picture of Lolli playing in money, which I actually never posted on my blog along with details of my trip to Lake Powell, was actually taken as I was making a money lei for my husband to wear at commencement. All the sixty-two $1 bills used to make the lei were given to my by my mother, grandmother, and sister-in-law as a gift for Ryan.
The townhome we just moved into is very nice. I love it. And we wouldn't be living here if it weren't for the support of my father-in-law. He helps us with the rent each month because we can't afford to make the payments on our own due to all the supercilious spending on insurance, medical bills, utilities, car payments, tithing, exam fees, groceries...
Entitlement you say? Well, I guess I do feel entitled to a few things, but only because my husband and I have worked so hard to have them. And when we just can't seem to make ends meet, we have the loving support of family members who are there to pick up the slack. But I guess from your high horse, it's easy to judge our lifestyles.
Good luck finishing school. When you graduate and are required to begin repayment on the thousands of dollars you borrowed in student loans all the while providing for the needs of your family, perhaps then you'll finally understand why Ryan and I have no money.
3 comments:
I'm sorry to hear someone made a harsh judgement. I'm guessing it was regards to you being on medicaid or something. Mark is finishing up his masters program at BYU and I can totally relate because we have medicaid, WIC and food stamps. They have also been a life saver to us and so I know exactly what you mean. We live in a nice condo that my parents own and we pay as much of the morgage as we can which has fluctuated over the years. We occasionaly go on a great vacation but they're usually gifts, complimentary of family or something we had so save up for for a long time. Anyways you go girl for speaking your mind. I'm right there with you.
Apologies. I owe them to you, Cali & Ryan, and to Robby & Stephanie. It was my intent to neither judge nor insult you. Upon review of my comment, it is clear that I have done both. I also apologize for the mistakenly anonymous posting; my previous comment-arguments on your blog have demonstrated my aversion to internet trolling. I clearly let my frustration turn me into a jerk from time to time (maybe I’m a jerk all of the time), which is especially unfortunate when it coincides with a moment of lapsed judgment in determining what is appropriate to post online at all (let alone on other people’s blogs).
I am glad that you use these programs to assist your families, and I don’t accuse you of doing so inappropriately because I am sure that you would accept almost any other feasible solution that didn’t involve them. My frustration stems from opposition to these programs, which I have probably inappropriately associated with Cali and Robby because of your previous comments in opposition of the political parties that support them. I am very much a supporter of social welfare programs because I don’t believe that anyone (or their children) should have to suffer because chance had it that their economic situation was less favorable than others, but not for want of effort. Cali, I know that you and Roy work your butts off to make ends meet, your family deserves to be provided for as well as anyone else’s; I also applaud your efforts and diligence at continuing education. Stephanie, I commend you for putting your family and motherhood before your career. Robby, I’m sorry for being an ass to you.
My problem is that I grow weary of propaganda laden terms like “socialized healthcare” because even if current ideas are not the ideal solution (which they probably are not), I respect that people are looking for real solutions to our society’s problems. I suspect that my gut reaction was mostly to Robby’s comment, which really had nothing to do with either of your situations, and by his own admission was sarcastic.
I also apologize that I insinuated that my situation is any better than yours (or anyone else’s). I have incurred a huge amount of debt to pay for graduate school, living, and other things like health insurance while here. My loans would not be possible were it not for government assistance programs that recognize that I, like you, intend to repay my debt to society by later contributions back into the system when my economic situation improves. Were it my position that I am better than you, I would be a hypocrite by my own judgment.
I am jealous that you’ve been fortunate to have opportunities to vacate and relax from time to time. My failure to do so is indicative of my taking myself too seriously. I tend to think that my line of reasoning is the only valid one and that deviations from decisions I would make are inferior. Obviously, this is false and narcissistic, and I should not suppose to know anything about your situation in the first place. I’ll climb off of my horse now and eat some pie. I’m sorry for offending you and your families, and ask your forgiveness and continued friendship.
Jimmy
Good for you Claire - Certainly we can all guess who Anonymous really is - and you're right - friends don't make rash judgments without knowing the full story. Usually people judge others when they hate their own miserable lives!! Your blogs crack me up - they're tongue in cheek and are what they are! Obviously Anonymous doesn't get your delightful sense of humor. He should take your FB quiz and see how well he really knows you! If he scores below 50 knock him off your friend list!!!
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