Judgement and Gossip

"We can never judge the lives of others, because each person knows their own pain and and renunciation. It's one thing to feel you are on the right path, but its another to think yours is the only path." Paulo Coelho

"The best ammunition against lies is the truth, there is no ammunition against gossip. It is like a fog and the clear wind blows it away and the sun burns it off." Ernest Hemingway

I was reminded today that I live in a small town where judgement and gossip are the bible and the truth is ignored. People talk to you so they'll have something to gossip and giggle about later. For some reason I feel the need to clear the fog even though I couldn't really care less about what other people think. The only people that do matter to me are my husband, children, and extended family (and not even some of those).

Ryan and I have an old house. VERY old. The people that owned it before us did not take care of it to say the least. I do my best to keep it clean...as clean as it can be for the shape its in. Ryan and I met shortly after he bought the house. He and I have put in a lot of work and effort to get it to where it is now. We've also gotten married and had 2 children in the process of it. Ryan and I plan to rebuild. We've tried a few times but the economy sucks, the housing market is in the gutter, and the banks are conservative as heck. This makes it really hard for us to do anything without a gigantic down payment. So for now we're happily plugging along, paying off the few debts we have, and doing basic maintenance to keep this house livable. Its not an ideal situation but hey...the house is ours. We're not "throwing money away" renting and we have 40 beautiful acres. We're not going to put out $20K to replace the rotted wood siding on the house only to tear it down in 3 years. Instead we'll replace the bad pieces and put a fresh coat of paint on so it doesn't get any worse.

We have a variety of animals here. People poke fun at our "petting zoo" but you know what? My monthly grocery bill is $200 dollars for 5 people. Sometimes its less. My meat is raised all naturally and humanely. My food doesn't have additives and preservatives. Its also much better quality than store bought. My kids are outside helping me with chores. They're learning responsibility, the values of hard work, and having fun at the same time. They're staying fit and healthy too instead of watching tv and playing video games all day.

I use cloth diapers. Not because I can't afford diapers but because 1 child goes through 1 ton of diapers from birth to potty learning and that ton of diapers takes 200-500 years to decompose. I care about what I'm leaving behind for my kids...I sure as heck don't want it to be dirty diapers. Not to mention the chemicals in disposable diapers and how unhealthy they really are. I'm not putting that stuff near my kids sensitive parts unless I have to so I do it as sparingly as possible. I save some money by using cloth diapers but it is very easy to spend considerably more on cloth diapers than you would on disposables in today's cloth diapering market. There are diapers out there that go for $30 each!

I'm a stay at home mom. I had serious issues with putting children in a daycare. I didn't want someone else to take care of and see my kids more than I do. I feel bad for moms who don't have any other option. Ryan also feels that since he can't be home because he drives truck, one parent should be. Before Ryan and I got married I had a full time job that mandated me to work overtime. On the days I had to work extra Landon had to go to daycare. I researched and found one I thought I could trust. The second day Landon was there he caught rotavirus and ended up in the hospital for 3 days. Rotavirus is spread by the ingestion of fecal germs. During that hospital stay Ryan and I both decided I'd quit my job before any of our kids ever had to go to daycare again. Add to that it would cost us more for daycare now that we have 3 chidren than I would actually make working so it doesn't make any sense to begin with.

So in closing *a.k.a. stepping off my soapbox* We don't do the things we do because we have something to prove, because we think it makes us better than anyone else, or because we're poor. We do them because we feel its whats best for ourselves and our kids.

As Montgomery Gentry says. "You do your thing, I'll do mine"