A celebration of parents!

I've had a couple of suggestions for what to blog about today, so I've decided to take them. One of my best friends(and Quiet Company manager), Paul, told me a while back that becoming a parent made him realize how much his parents must love him. I'm starting to see that now, as well. I've never had any doubt that my parents love me, but having a child of your own makes your understanding of that love that much more tangible. You start to appreciate all the little things you know they did for you but you never saw, the sacrifices they made and whatnot. Seeing Leah go through her pregnancy so gracefully makes me appreciate all mothers, but mine especially. The knowledge that someone wanted you enough to put their body through pregnancy is humbling, to say the least.

I think my earliest memory is of my mother's love for me. I couldn't have been more than 4 years old and I had just woken up from a nap. My brother Seth, told me that Mom had gotten me something while she was out and he would show me where it was hidden. She had bought me a Superman action figure. Now, I wasn't a fan of Superman, necessarily, but I distinctly remember thinking, "she didn't have to get me anything." I was really moved then just by the fact that Mom was thinking about me when she was out and got me something she thought would make me happy, just because she loved me. It wasn't my birthday and I'm sure I hadn't been exceptionally good that day. Its such a small thing but hey, it stuck with me and as cheesy as it is, it still warms my heart when I remember it. But that's what life is, a series of little things. I love my parents and my memories are full of little things they did to show that they loved me, and sacrifices they made for me, and tough decisions that they made that pissed me off at the time but in hindsight were good ones and always made with my best interest in mind. I think its also a kind of evolutionary process. You look back at how you were raised and say "this was good and this wasn't" and try to do a little better when its your turn. Well, good luck, Harper.

Since I'm on the subject of mothers, there's something else in the news that is heartbreaking. A doctor in Kansas has been murdered in his church. Dr. Tiller was killed because he performed abortions. I understand this is polarizing, but bare with me. Tiller had already been shot in both his arms in 1993 and had his clinic bombed as well. I'm not trying to build a pity case for him but at the same time I don't think I should have to. Everyone is making a huge deal out of the fact that Tiller performed "Late Term Abortions" which I agree is disgusting, but what no one is saying is that late term abortions are used in cases where the mother's safety is endangered and its not a form of birth control. I'm just really saddened by all the people saying things like "justifiable homicide." I don't like abortion, I don't think any person in their right mind would say that they're a fan. Being a parent, its almost impossible to imagine. That being said, I do consider myself pro-choice because there are several situations that could arise where I would rather have an abortion than risk the birth. While I'm pro-choice, I'm also pro-responsibility. I don't believe abortion is an acceptable form of birth control, especially when there are so many couples that would love to have children and can't for one reason or another. I don't know, it just makes me feel disheartened to see anybody rejoicing in a man's murder and acting like he got what was coming to him. I'm sure that Dr. Tiller was doing what he considered best for women's health, and its especially sad to see yet another person making Christians look so un-Christlike.


Paul would also like me to mention that the newest Star Wars game looks amazing. It really does.