I am only creating this blog as an outlet for my thoughts. It is not called the blog that I don't want family to see because there will be anything shameful or embarrassing on it, although there may be; I wanted to create a safe place to express myself.

I have a lot of opinions and I am surrounded by people that have a lot of opinions. Unfortunately, a lot of the people that I am surrounded by also have no clue how to treat people with differing opinions with any sort of respect. I don't like conflict, but also don't see why there has to be conflict when people don't share the same opinions. I wish that people could treat each other as civilly in political and philosophical debates as they do about menu choices. I realize there is a little bit more at stake in politics and philosophy than what one likes to eat for dinner, but I still wish they could be treated civilly.

I am a mother, a wife and all sorts of other roles in a family. I relish my roles in the family, even if sometimes they (family and my roles) drive me crazy. I also like to think that I am a fairly decent friend. At any rate, I try to be.

I have not yet met a person that I can not find something about them that is positive. That is not to say that I like everyone - I like most everyone that I have met - it is to say that I believe that everyone has something I can learn from and appreciate. I may not agree with them, but I can learn something from them and become a better person from having known them.