I do 15 - 20 loads a week!! If someone paid me, I'd be rolling in the dough...

Well, finally I may have found the right forum. I've posted a few in different topic areas and didn't get as many responses as I thought I would've. Couldn't believe my whinings or problems were unique. And thought that this would be a place to get the support I need.
Yeah, my life is so much the same as others and yet at times I feel so different. I think that we're constantly comparing ourselves and our situations to the ones we think are better. Making us feel less about ourselves. Though I know things can be worse, they can also be greater. And people are not sensitive to your issues. It gives them a platform to elevate their own lives.

You are right, scorpio......

quote:

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It gives them a platform to elevate their own lives.

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. I've also heard this after someone finding out about my childlessness: "oh, I don't KNOW what I would do without MY kids". BOING!! Talk about a punch in the stomach.

Di.. you spoke of feeling 'alone and lonely'...
Long ago, i read these words ..

"In everyone's heart
stirs a great homesickness".

I've always remembered those words, because they descriped that loneliness which seemed to be always deep inside somewhere, which may be the same as your describing. Now i accept the feeling as a treasure, because, i 've come to believe (rightly or wrongly) that it is a faint memory or hidden knowledge of where we each came from ... because so many have seemed to understand it, and how it goes when we're somehow involved with those we care about.

I dont know if that helps or not, but wanted to share it.

Di, this probably won't help you at all, but when someone gets onto the pity train because I don't have children, I just pipe up cheerfully, "No, but I have a lot of cactus!" Boy, does that shut them up in a hurry!

Decorate, decorate, and decorate! It's YOUR home, and if lack of decorations make it feel less like Christmas, then decorate to the rafters!

For most of my life I ignored Christmas because it's not my religion, but for the past few years I've "adopted" poor families or children and bought them gifts, because I know how much the holiday means to them. You can "adopt" a poor family, a child with no family, seniors whose families don't visit, or someone in a hospital or nursing home. You can buy them gifts or bake cookies or visit them. They will not care about your gray hair. They will just be so happy that you thought of them for the holidays.

When someone tells me they don't have kids, I ask them if they'd like to rent mine for a while!

Home is where the heart is. Whatever your heart wants, that's your home.

Strange but I was going to post about being afraid of losing my husband. Is it an age thing? He's 60 and I'm 58. He told me last week that he was afraid of the same thing.

You might consider adopting a battered woman and her children for Christmas. I do this and it's always done in secret. Just something to bring beauty and love into their lives.

Dianne,

That is tooo funny! I'm available to rent/lend mine out also!

What a great idea about adopting a battered woman...I WILL look into that!

Can you imagine what the world would be like, if each of us just reached out to one person in need.

See, this is one way I CAN do what you mentioned in the nabbw forums to share my passion with a battered woman.

TKS!

D.

Our church does this every year. They have an item listed on an ornament on a Christmas tree in church. The items needed are suggested by our Community Care organization. You pick off an ornament and buy the item the family is in need of. The gift is to be wrapped and the ornament with the item listed is then taped to the outside of the gift. Our men's club then delivers them back to Community Care who then distributes them to the needy families.

That's how it's done at my gym, only the recipients can ask for the gift they'd like. We can read their requests and choose the one we want to buy for.

It's a great idea isn't it, no matter how it's done?