This is the kind of doctor I would want to see for my medical care.
State-sanctioned rape… What has our nation come to?!
What a sad, pathetic state I live in (and not by choice, believe me!). Where is the logic? Where is the fact-based decision-making? Where is the compassion and care for our neighbors and friends? Not in Texas, apparently.
Check this out:
Wayne Christian, a Republican state representative said, “I don’t think anybody is against providing health care for women. What we’re opposed to are abortions.” He added, “Planned Parenthood is the main organization that does abortions. So we kind of blend being anti-abortion with being anti-Planned Parenthood.”
Since when is “kind of blend”-ing a rational basis for anything? By that account, why can’t you “kind of blend” Planned Parenthood with contraceptive counseling, breast and cervical cancer screening, and STI testing? Or how about flu vaccines, blood pressure screening, and support for quitting smoking? When you blend that, what do you come up with, Mr. Christian? Because inconveniently for you, those are also major services that Planned Parenthood provides.
If people are genuinely concerned about abortion and state/national finances, why do they consistently ignore research that indicates time after time that preventing unintended pregnancies is a great way to reduce abortion rates as well as save money in the long run? How is it that there are people who want every pregnancy to be carried to term, but at the same time are so short-sighted that they don’t see how cutting social services is making it even more difficult for some families to thrive?
Am I taking crazy pills?! It certainly feels like it.
I am not proud to be a resident of Texas. Furthermore, I am not proud to be an American if being an American means a lack of critical thinking and the denial of basic rights to women.
The title of this article doesn’t quite capture the tone and message of this article by journalist Andrea Grimes, a Dallas native. The “mess with Texas” part seems to imply that she wants to negatively act upon the state, yet the article is all about a self-deprecating yet deep love for her home state.
I’m not a Texas native by any means, but in the past year I’ve experienced a feeling akin to being pushed back into the feminist closet. Where I come from in the Northeast, it was perfectly acceptable to voice one’s proclivity towards feminism and liberalism. Now that I live in Texas, I’m only comfortable fully leaving the comfort of my feminist closet when I’m visiting Austin. Otherwise, I linger in the doorway; ready to jump in and shut the door fast in defense.
This is why Grimes’ article really touched me. It’s nice to be reminded that there are others like me *gasp* in this great big state and that although we might be fighting a losing cause, at least we’re doing something. I particularly loved when she wrote,
I am not trying to show off the feminist cross I am forced to carry uphill both ways in 115-degree summers, all the while crying jalapeno tears because I touched my eyes after I made salsa.
Way to capture Texas in that one simple sentence! But aside from the humorous writing, I believe Grimes makes a great point about loving where you come from while also working to effect change. Despite the large obstacles, we should all be working towards the betterment of our home communities for all.
A couple of weeks later, I am still getting used to life in Texas. It’s simultaneously everything and nothing I expected, and the adjustment has been harder than I had imagined. The good news is that the house is coming along and with it, so am I.
No thanks to U-Haul (will never be using them again!), I had a heck of a weekend. As we were driving into San Antonio on Friday afternoon, I got a call that my U-Box had arrived there. I had been told the day before that it wouldn’t be arriving till Tuesday, so Jack and I were going to get it the following weekend. In any case, this threw a wrench in our plans so we had to improvise. No wait, I need to correct that: Jack had to improvise. I cried and had a panic attack. Basically, the plan entailed us renting a bug U-Haul truck, loading it with my stuff, taking a trip to Ikea to get furniture, and then Jack driving the truck back to Del Rio while I followed in the car.
If you know anything about me, you know that I do not like driving. I can do local driving just fine, but I can’t do highways and especially that whole tricky merging part. Hence my nervous breakdown upon hearing that I’d have to drive (in a city, no less!) by myself.
Skipping ahead… Saturday morning we got up bright and early, got the truck, loaded it with my stuff, and headed to Ikea (another hour and a half or so away). We spent serious time there, and went on an epic shopping spree. It was fun/stressful, but it felt good to get it over with. Oh, and did I mention that we also went t Costco earlier that day? I had never been to one before, but now I have a card and officially feel grown up in a corny way.
We ended up taking more time in Ikea than expected, and got back to San Antonio as day turned to night. Then came the hardest part for me: the three hour drive to Del Rio. In the dark.
Since you are reading this post, you already know I survived. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it. More than two lanes freaks me out, but once we got out of the city, it was smooth sailing. We encountered few other vehicles and luckily there were no suicidal deer out on the roads that night.
Now we’re hard at work setting up the house, and will probably be doing for the next few weeks. Jack’s back at work, so that leaves me with a lot of time to clean, organize, and be a merry homemaker.
This might be hard to believe, but I think I forgot to post that I was married! You might have guessed from the references to my husband, but I figured I’d make it clear: Yes, I am married. Our wedding, held in northern Vermont, was on December 31st, 2009. It was a hectic, but fun affair and I am extremely pleased to be married to the love of my life!
Married life so far has been rough since Jack is still in Texas for a training while I’m still here in Massachusetts. The deal for now is that I will remain here for another two months, go to my Masters program on-campus requirement for two weeks, and then Jack and I will road-trip out to Texas where we will be living for the next few years.
I never, ever in a million years would have guessed that I’d end up living in rural Texas in my lifetime, but I guess it just goes to show that life is funny and will mess you up when given the chance. Since Jack has a ten year commitment to the Air Force, we basically go wherever they say we have to go, and right now they want us (well no, they want him) in rural Texas teaching other folks how to fly. I plan on spending this period of semi-isolation to really focus on honing my homemaking skills, decorate and furnish our home, and pursue some of my passions that have been put on hold these past few years.
Don’t worry, I’ll be posting about it all so you can keep up on my shenanigans!
