Choose your cause.....
One month for this cause, another month for that cause. Pick a ribbon color ~ red, yellow, rainbow, orange, pink, purple. There are a million "causes" to support, it has become the new "in thing" to support one. Most people go with the main stream advocating for something that has millions of dollars in revenue each year, yet there still is no cure. Feed the starving in Africa, start at home, help the homeless. For cents a day you can adopt a child in need. Support our troops, find a cure, out and proud, don't drink and drive, LiveStrong. All worthy in their own sense.
I could choose to support any one of these.. I could justify it by associating part of my life with it. My life experiences would fit into quite a few causes.
I could be a strong advocate for the homeless,
like others rallying to collect desperately needed items for those without a home. For at one time when I was a young teenager, my father and I didn't have a home. We lived in a borrowed travel trailer parked next to the church we attended. I spent my nights cleaning the church, polishing everything possible because that is the only place I felt safe while my father worked midnights. I knew what it was like to not have a bed. Popple and I were in fact homeless, but we made it through that fall, winter, and spring just fine.
I could wear pink till I felt like a gum ball. I could sport my "race for the cure" t-shirt and don my pink ribbon hat in which proceeds go to find a cure;. I could name my Dear Grandma Belle as the one I am running for. I could say that I will never stop wearing pink till a cure is found, or should I say released to the public. I feel sympathetic for those who have to go through such things as a mastectomy, I feel sad that findings in this multi billion dollar industry are not released.
I could go to many candle light vigils for someone killed by a drunk driver. I can put up make shift memorials along side the road. I could get MADD. I still think of a dear friend each and every time i drive down rt 8 who was taken away when she was just 15. I cringe when I flash back to the drunk and high driver that hit me one night when my infant son was in the car (we were lucky). I cry every time I see "Charlies Angels" because if the one I had loved would have just gone to the theater to see that with me rather than go to that party a man would still be alive, and 7 years later we still would not be wondering who of the 3 intoxicated persons was actually the one driving. I would not be wondering if my childrens father is going to end up in jail for DUI manslaughter.
I could tie a yellow ribbon around the oak tree.. I could place a trendy magnet on my car that states "support our troops". My father was in the Air Force. My oldest brother has been sent over sea's more than once to fight for our freedom. I respect those young men and women who willingly give of themselves to defend their country even when they might not agree with the war.
Since may 2004 I have donned a yellow bracelet around my wrist. The original one given to me when I was going for treatments in Philadelphia. People wear the yellow silicon bracelet for themselves, for family, or just to join the fad. Slowly they are fading away, but the foundation is still there. The treatments take a lot out of you, they wear you down, you stay strong, you don't give up, you don't let the diagnosis be what takes away your quality of life..
I could let my voice be heard about abortion. I could go on marches, I could speak about experiences. I could write a book and sign petition. I could say I was "pro life" and I could say I was "pro choice". I could go a step further than that and say what is most important is that these women and these girls get the emotional help they need before and after such an experience. I could hope that....yea...........
I could show my support for that "cousin" who has downs and because of this genetic disorder she now has to endure so many gruelling surgeries. I show my compassion for this strong and beautiful little girl, and so many smart, intelligent, wonderful persons just like her.
I could get one of those puzzle ribbons, I could join Jenny McCarthy in her cause to raise awareness for Autism. I live with the joys of Autism every day in the form of a active 8 year old little man. He amazes me one moment and makes me cry the next. I love that little guy, no matter how quirky he can be.
Yet, time and time again I go back to the little Purple Ribbon that has been on my computer desk as long as I have had a computer. That little purple ribbon is what I struggle with the most. So few know what that little purple ribbon is for, or that October has long been the month for the cause that has affected my every being. Four hospital visits, countless other instances that went unnoticed. The PFA's the restraining orders, the court hearings. The insecurity, the pain, the feelings of deep regret. The scars never really heal, not the ones on the inside. The "monsters" are real, they show up still in dreams. The monster that you are scared has been passed on to you, the one you fight to keep inside. The cycle really never ends. You try and try, but all you do it suppress it for a period of time, the cycle comes back. I made a phone call, last month in my small hometown alone over 400 cases reported, and so many more that go under the radar out of fear and insecurity. It happens every day on your street. It has many causes ranging from drugs and alcohol, to stress, to the affor mentioned cycle. It ruins so many, and never really heals.
I choose to donate my time, my limited resources, my experiences to a organization that assists those who have had to courage to get out of that situation. The items that sat in my trunk for months recently went to this organization along with other things that were noted as needed by the victims in the shelter. More than anything I hope to give me, I hope to in some way give strength to these women, children, and men who think so little of themselves. I hope to show that you are not a victim of the monster, you choose to be a victim of yourself. That you just have to find the strength inside to move on, to make yourself a better person, to learn and strive and work to not let the cycle continue.
For those who were unaware... October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month , depicted by a Purple Ribbon (the color of a bruise).
Choose your cause.....
One month for this cause, another month for that cause. Pick a ribbon color ~ red, yellow, rainbow, orange, pink, purple. There are a million "causes" to support, it has become the new "in thing" to support one. Most people go with the main stream advocating for something that has millions of dollars in revenue each year, yet there still is no cure. Feed the starving in Africa, start at home, help the homeless. For cents a day you can adopt a child in need. Support our troops, find a cure, out and proud, don't drink and drive, LiveStrong. All worthy in their own sense.
I could choose to support any one of these.. I could justify it by associating part of my life with it. My life experiences would fit into quite a few causes.
I could be a strong advocate for the homeless,
like others rallying to collect desperately needed items for those without a home. For at one time when I was a young teenager, my father and I didn't have a home. We lived in a borrowed travel trailer parked next to the church we attended. I spent my nights cleaning the church, polishing everything possible because that is the only place I felt safe while my father worked midnights. I knew what it was like to not have a bed. Popple and I were in fact homeless, but we made it through that fall, winter, and spring just fine.
I could wear pink till I felt like a gum ball. I could sport my "race for the cure" t-shirt and don my pink ribbon hat in which proceeds go to find a cure;. I could name my Dear Grandma Belle as the one I am running for. I could say that I will never stop wearing pink till a cure is found, or should I say released to the public. I feel sympathetic for those who have to go through such things as a mastectomy, I feel sad that findings in this multi billion dollar industry are not released.
I could go to many candle light vigils for someone killed by a drunk driver. I can put up make shift memorials along side the road. I could get MADD. I still think of a dear friend each and every time i drive down rt 8 who was taken away when she was just 15. I cringe when I flash back to the drunk and high driver that hit me one night when my infant son was in the car (we were lucky). I cry every time I see "Charlies Angels" because if the one I had loved would have just gone to the theater to see that with me rather than go to that party a man would still be alive, and 7 years later we still would not be wondering who of the 3 intoxicated persons was actually the one driving. I would not be wondering if my childrens father is going to end up in jail for DUI manslaughter.
I could tie a yellow ribbon around the oak tree.. I could place a trendy magnet on my car that states "support our troops". My father was in the Air Force. My oldest brother has been sent over sea's more than once to fight for our freedom. I respect those young men and women who willingly give of themselves to defend their country even when they might not agree with the war.
Since may 2004 I have donned a yellow bracelet around my wrist. The original one given to me when I was going for treatments in Philadelphia. People wear the yellow silicon bracelet for themselves, for family, or just to join the fad. Slowly they are fading away, but the foundation is still there. The treatments take a lot out of you, they wear you down, you stay strong, you don't give up, you don't let the diagnosis be what takes away your quality of life..
I could let my voice be heard about abortion. I could go on marches, I could speak about experiences. I could write a book and sign petition. I could say I was "pro life" and I could say I was "pro choice". I could go a step further than that and say what is most important is that these women and these girls get the emotional help they need before and after such an experience. I could hope that....yea...........
I could show my support for that "cousin" who has downs and because of this genetic disorder she now has to endure so many gruelling surgeries. I show my compassion for this strong and beautiful little girl, and so many smart, intelligent, wonderful persons just like her.
I could get one of those puzzle ribbons, I could join Jenny McCarthy in her cause to raise awareness for Autism. I live with the joys of Autism every day in the form of a active 8 year old little man. He amazes me one moment and makes me cry the next. I love that little guy, no matter how quirky he can be.
Yet, time and time again I go back to the little Purple Ribbon that has been on my computer desk as long as I have had a computer. That little purple ribbon is what I struggle with the most. So few know what that little purple ribbon is for, or that October has long been the month for the cause that has affected my every being. Four hospital visits, countless other instances that went unnoticed. The PFA's the restraining orders, the court hearings. The insecurity, the pain, the feelings of deep regret. The scars never really heal, not the ones on the inside. The "monsters" are real, they show up still in dreams. The monster that you are scared has been passed on to you, the one you fight to keep inside. The cycle really never ends. You try and try, but all you do it suppress it for a period of time, the cycle comes back. I made a phone call, last month in my small hometown alone over 400 cases reported, and so many more that go under the radar out of fear and insecurity. It happens every day on your street. It has many causes ranging from drugs and alcohol, to stress, to the affor mentioned cycle. It ruins so many, and never really heals.
I choose to donate my time, my limited resources, my experiences to a organization that assists those who have had to courage to get out of that situation. The items that sat in my trunk for months recently went to this organization along with other things that were noted as needed by the victims in the shelter. More than anything I hope to give me, I hope to in some way give strength to these women, children, and men who think so little of themselves. I hope to show that you are not a victim of the monster, you choose to be a victim of yourself. That you just have to find the strength inside to move on, to make yourself a better person, to learn and strive and work to not let the cycle continue.
For those who were unaware... October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month , depicted by a Purple Ribbon (the color of a bruise).