Cold Frame Gardening

Where I live in Michigan, winter weather gets to be a little overdrawn.  Winter seems like it is never going to end.  My way of coping is to dive into seed catalogs and gardening magazines.  It is like feasting on dessert after you have been on a starvation diet.  All of those plants with their lovely greenery and colorful blooms just lights up the soul and lifts the spirit.  Not only that, but when you are trying to buy fresh produce you quickly realize the high cost of fresh fruits and vegetables during the winter.  Cold frame gardening can help relieve the burden on your wallet if you build a couple of frames to supplement your produce needs.

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Which Came First The Abortion Or The Birth?

       Grrrr…I am a bit torn on this news item; whether to feel more anger or sadness.  It seems that a young 18 year old woman found out that she was pregnant.  She went to a clinic to have an abortion and was given medicine to dialate her cervix to prepare for an abortion procedure.  Before the doctor could perform the abortion…the medication caused her to deliver her baby daughter at just 23weeks of pregnancy.

       A clinic owner allegedly came in and cut the umblical cord and put the child who was struggling to breathe into a red plastic biohazard bag and threw the child in the trash…all as the mother watched in horror.  Allegedly a doctor came in and gave her some medicine to calm her down and sent her home in shock.  The police were called and the child’s remains were identified by DNA as being related to the mother.  Now the mother has sued the doctor and the clinic where the delivery/abortion took place; the doctor has allegedly lost his license.

         This procedure took the life of a human baby almost three years ago.  That child would be walking, talking, singing it’s abc’s , potty training…and maybe even going to pre-school now.  She would be making her mother or another mother figure (she could have been adopted by another mother) mother’s day cards in May…she was not a blob of flesh like so many of these clinics try to tell young women.  She would be a daughter, and a granddaughter; if she could.

        The mother allegedly has said that she changed her mind about the abortion, once she saw her daughter  alive; now she is traumatized by the memory of watching her child struggle for breathe and being tossed away like a bag of garbage.   I am sure that the legal question was did the abortion come first/or the birth…was the child actually born alive?  Testing supposedly revealed that the child did actually breathe, so that means that she was born alive.

        So, who is to blame for this child’s death?  Is it the clinic owner, who by the way did not have a license to practice medicine allegedly?  Or was it the doctor who was not present?  Was it the mother who went in for an abortion in the first place?  Is it society who allows abortion in the first place?  Do we blame the makers of contraception for possibly having failed the mother and father of the child?  Who exactly is at fault?  I say, it is all of the above; at least morally, if not legally. 

        First of all, I believe that abortion is wrong.  I think that if it is true that a clinic owner, who was not a medical doctor, did what has been alledged, then they are also at fault.  I think if the doctor perscribed the medication that caused her to go into labor and deliver a live child that was indeed tossed away in a plastic bag when it was struggling to breath…they that doctor is also wrong.  Was there contraception used in the first place?  I dont know.  I do know that if the teenaged mother was having sex..she should have understood the consequences of her actions that resulted in a pregnancy and that by going to have an abortion…that that child’s death was a direct result of having medication that was designed to result in the death of the child; it should not have shocked her that the child died as a result of taking medication designed to cause said abortion.  Is society at fault here?  Yes, because we allow these things to happen …because we don’t stand up and scream bloody murder that it happens every day around the world. 

        Which came first, the  abortion or the birth?  Does it really matter at this point regarding this particular child?  No, it died needlessly.  If that mother was truly horrified by this situation…then maybe some good can come out of it by her lawsuit, by her speaking out…maybe even by doing a special service announcement on television or in the schools. 

         It is outrageous.  Yes, that child was only 23weeks in the womb of it’s mother…and yes, it may not have survived even had the clinic called for medical help or intervention for that baby…it was pre-mature…not by nature’s designs but by mankinds design.  However, it may have had a fighting chance if it had not been aborted or if it had been taken to a neo-natal unit.  Life is precious…dont abort.  That mother will relive those moments for the rest of her life.  The child didn’t get to have a rest of it’s life. 

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Mother/Daughter Celebration Luncheon

        Today I went to a mother/daughter celebration sponsored by a church ladies group.  I celebrated motherhood with two of my daughters and with my granddaughter as well as my mother and one of my sisters.  It was great.  We had a good time, we took pictures, we played games had good music and food…but, the biggest gift was just the opportunity to spend time together.

      My mother has had a very difficult couple of years with health issues.  I was gifted with a good and loving mother.  I try to make it a point to say and show how much she is loved and needed.  I could have lost her several times in the last several years…so, i dont want to waste any time that i have with my mom.

        I think how fortunate I am.  Mother’s day is meant to be a celebration but sometimes it is very painful.  For those who have lost their mothers or for those from dysfunctional homes…mother’s day can be painful.  For parent’s who have lost their children…mother’s day..is a reminder of the lack of future and present time with their deceased children. 

       Fathers and husbands are parents because of their wives…the mother of their children…celebrate them—no they aren’t your mother…but you chose them to be the mother of your children so honor them.  It doesn’t have to be an expensive gift…just acknowledge the importance of what they do…day in and day out! 

        So, if you are lucky enough to have a mother figure in your life….feel blessed…share your day with someone who doesn’t if you know they are hurting.  Say a prayer for those who are lonely or sad  on this special holiday.  If you need to mend fences with a mother/step mother; and, it is a healthy or safe thing to do; do so (if it will cause no further harm to you or her) then, mend those fences.  Life is too short.  You never know how long you will have with the mother or mother figure you have in your life…dont find yourself with a plate full of regrets or should’ve, would’ve, could’ve  done this or that.  Most of all, connect with the special people in your life!  Tell them what they mean to you.

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