Lifestyle
For the lives that we love, and everything that comes with it.
One Eyebrow Doesn't Make You Friends
Yesterday, my father bemoaned his feminization over the last decade due to his constant exposure to me and my sister - his two loving daughters. His role as a single father meant the cannibalization of the maternal role, which resulted in a sort-of heightening of feminine characteristics. (I'm sure Stan Lee has written a comic about this, right?)
Adeline E. AndersonPublished 7 years ago in FamiliesComing Face to Face With Me
I still remember the day I met you. I was the bratty little sister of one of your friends. You were playing basketball at the fair grounds.My brother was so mad that mom made him bring me along. As I sit there watching you guys play while pretending to read my book, one of the two I brought with me. I finally started to get into one of them when you came up to me. Taking a seat next to me.“What are you reading?” taking a drink from your water bottle.I had no idea what to say, it was the first time you never talked to me. I just kept my head down. I didn’t even look up when you placed your thumb on the page I was reading to mark my place as you turned to read the title.“Out Stealing Horses,” you flipped the book back to the page I was on. “Sounds interesting.”We sat there for what seemed like forever. I wished that you would just leave, being around you made my head spin. The way you smelled made it so hard to catch my breath. I was so happy when my brother called you to come finish the game. You stood and winked as you ran off to rejoin the game. I knew that whatever just happened, was well I don’t know if you started hanging out with my brother more or I started noticing you more, but it was like every where I went you were there.My mind kept going to you sitting there in class, I would day dream about you. Thinking if you were thinking about me too. The age difference didn’t bother me at all. But back then I didn’t know you lied about that too.There were a lot of lies told. I still don’t know what I was to you. I think that is what bothers me the most. Was I just another mark? A score to settle with my foster family for not keeping you? There are so many questions I have and no one will give me the answers. That's another thing that bothers me, they say that they want to protect me from what is going to happen now. That I should not have to relive the nightmare. That’s not the case, every time I close my eyes I see you. I see all the good things that has happened between us. Even though there were more bad times than good, it's the good times that stay with me. It’s at night that the bad memories come.It has been six years since it has ended, and now I sit here wondering what is going on. From the next room, the only good thing that has happened between us is playing tea party with her stuffed animals. I know she hears me cry at night. She asks me why I am sad. I can’t tell her its because of you. She doesn’t know about you. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. It’s still to fresh in my mind to relive.But maybe it is time. To reach out to you at least. Maybe it will help me get over you and move on so I can start living again.
Lizz DeBowPublished 7 years ago in FamiliesIs Pet Insurance Worth It?
Pet insurance is one of the most rapidly expanding insurance industries in the world, and many people would swear that pet insurance is definitely worth every penny. In fact, many companies are now offering pet insurance as a perk to employees, too.
Riley Raul ReesePublished 7 years ago in PetlifeThe Fairytale Lie
Have you ever looked at your newsfeed and felt the bitterness and envy of seeing yet another engagement photo or extravagant wedding? Did you feel frustration that you hadn’t found a love like that? Or anger that your own partner hadn’t popped the question? I felt these emotions many times before and brushed it off as if it was normal, but it’s not. I stayed in a loveless relationship for 6 years because I felt the pressure to get married especially since we had a child together. I worried if I left what others would think, and I worried most about who would want me after a failed relationship. I thought that my fairytale ending would be impossible if I left. These are all premeditated thoughts I had, but never really questioned why those fears were so strongly present. I mean men don’t have that same pressure on them if a relationship fails right? If you admit to having felt any of the thoughts above, take a minute and question where are these thoughts coming from? And more importantly what is your definite purpose in life? Is it solely to find a partner? Or have you just been so distracted by society's pressure, you never got a chance to answer what else you want out of life?
Dear My Body
Dear My Body, We shy away from the camera; we always have. We are like the Sasquatch — rare sightings on FB. I am not interested in what you look like. I don’t want to see. I don’t need to see. I prefer the role of the observer, not the observed.
Kat ThorsenPublished 7 years ago in VivaWhat I Learnt About Death
My Grandfather was a good man. As a young man, he served his country in battle, fighting for the freedom of those unable to defend themselves against the tyrants who imposed their will on the world. As a working man he served his community, fighting for fairness and equality of those who worked alongside him, trading blows with the heavyweights of industry whose tanks and shells had long-since been replaced with cuts in wages and inequitable conditions, and where men who worked themselves into early graves for paltry sums underpinned the few who grew continuously richer from their efforts. As a family man, he fought to preserve the innocence of his children in a changing world which saw men walk on distant rocks and peer into the far-flung reaches of the galaxy; and as an Old Man, he served his peers, his church, and his community, offering shelter and sustenance to those in need of his Christian charity. A man whose honour and decency was well-represented by the hundreds who mourned his passing, and passed glorious platitudes to those who knew and loved him most, lining the wood-adorned walls, smiling solemnly and shaking hands with the well-wishers who wished him well in his passing. Those who knew him well, loved him well, and remarked to his widow as such. And through tear-stained dignity, she accepted each gracious apology for his loss, followed by his children—my father and uncle—then by the grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and countless nieces and nephews.
Mark WilliamsPublished 7 years ago in FamiliesWhen Your Cat Inadvertently Tries to Destroy Your Life
I am an owner of a cat called Dante (which my vet tells me is quite a common name for a cat…who knew?!). Well I say I am the owner, however I’m pretty sure Dante owns me. He has managed to manipulate all possible emotions to make me do anything for him. I even want him at my wedding (although my sister says this is a step too far).
Liberty KingPublished 7 years ago in PetlifeBearded Dragons
Looking for a new unique pet to add to your home? Want something quiet, yet playful? If you don't mind the scales when they try to cuddle up to you, bearded dragons are a great addition to the family.
Taylor ShipleyPublished 7 years ago in Petlife