What the FUCK!!!!

     My daughter is a tomboy.  She likes to watch Avengers, Jurassic World and Dr. Who (not that it's a boy show).  These paticular shows usually attract boys.  She is also a fan of anything that is shiny, sparkles and fluffy and cute. All of this gender neutral talk is really confusing me as to why this is a thing.  I write this after hearing a story on the Today Show that highlighted Target's new marketing project to take down the boy and girl toy aisles. Why?  I will tell you why because one whiney little bitch of a mom decided that she couldn't pull up her big girl panties and walk down the aisle that says Girl building toys.  Come on!  I wouldn't be able to find the girl Lego toys if it weren't for the signs.  When did we become so politically correct that it is bleeding into daily life?  What else will we see and witness?  There are some things that are just wrong.  For example, Donald Trump attacking Megyn Kelly because she asked a valid question is wrong.  Calling people an offensive name because of their race is wrong.  The KKK is wrong.  Islamic Terrorism is wrong.  The signs that tell us where the boy and girl toys is not offensive.  How else am I going to try to find what my tomboy daughter needs?  Seriously, WHAT THE FUCK?

Yes I tweeted the mom who was offended by the girl aisle.

https://twitter.com/NatalieFLee/status/630718354341298176

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/style-blog/wp/2015/08/09/target-will-stop-separating-toys-and-bedding-into-girls-and-boys-sections/

My Blended Blessing

My childhood was filled with the fantasy that I would meet Mr. Right, get married, have children and live happily ever after.  In my extremely high expectations I married the man that said all the right things and sweet talked me down the aisle.  In my prayers I was blind to what God was showing me.  Thinking back with the blinders off I can now see the through the charm and the lack lustered effort that was being put forth within my marriage.  I am not blaming everything on my ex-husband because there are things that I could have done and situations that I did not like that I allowed to happen.  I am being honest when I say I am not easy to live with.   We are not going to go through all that because that is the past.  The Bible has a wonderful way of keeping the past in the past because we are a new creation.  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  The past is certainly in the past and I have a new life that is full of joy.

            I believe it was 2012, (I will confirm with Barry) that Barry and I met.  We met online, talked on the phone and later met for dinner.  I have another blog about the whole experience.  In order to stay on track I will keep this short.  Barry: “Wow your short. (Pats me on the head) Me: “Free meal.” (all in my head of course)  The first date was full of conversation that one should not have on the first date.  We talked about politics, religion, kids and ex-spouses.  We were awkward on the first date, but I knew that I was about to embark on something special.  As we became close as a couple it was clear that kids would soon met and be involved and our family would begin.  How did we blend this family?  The process was slow and we wanted it that way because we knew that we were on a path to marriage. 

            My first meeting his sons was with Matthew and I was blessed enough to join his birthday celebration.  I asked Barry to join myself, William and Abigail at skating party and then dinner at McDonalds.  Then we brought all four of the kids together and they were meant to be brothers and sister.  We had continued conversation about who Barry is in my eyes and what the desired outcome of the relationship we were expected.  When Barry asked me to marry him and I said yes the children were always involved in the planning as well.  They were ever part of the wedding ceremony.  Abby was my flower girl, William walked me down the aisle along with my dad; Triptyn was the ring bearer and Matthew Barry’s best man.  The wedding was perfect and as we found out the blessing became apparent in all the hard work we did to make everything work as a family.

            In the beginning Barry and I not only had to work on a marriage that is obviously always a work in progress, but we also needed to bring two families into one family.  The experience of Barry’s childhood being part of a blended family that didn’t work out well was used as an example.  We had to decide the rules, boundaries and the idea of who we were as a family. 

Rules

1.      Honor the Parental Units

2.      Respect others property and personal space

3.      No Attitude

4.      Life’s not fair. 

5.      Do your best

6.      Think about others

7.      We are a family that has chosen to be a family

8.      Help everyone to keep the space we live in clean

9.      We are not your slaves.

10.  God is in control. (Very Important)

The boundaries basically thought of as Barry and I thought it important that our bedroom was our sacred space.  The kids were allowed in when we decide to let them in when they knocked and asked permission.  This was something that as a single mom I didn’t give myself permission to allow myself to have a sacred space.  Who are we as a family?  The idea of who we were as a family came from the idea that Barry learned what needed to happen of who we thought the other’s kids were to us.  He took the lead and said that having a blended family only works if both of think of the other’s children as our own.  His kids are my kids and my kids are his kids and we are a family.  There have been trials and tribulation because when kids argue and they will it’s hard not to come to the defense of our own children.  This has slowly gotten better.  Things smooth out because of honesty.  Our faith in God and being honest with one another of how we feel, even though it may hurt is the only way to keep this family on the move towards.  It is with our faith that holds us together.  If you are a reader that is in a blended family or starting the journey remember three things that will help you through.  The blended blessing will come to maturity with God, Love and Wine.  Lots of Wine!

 

I am Worthy

This September I will be married to my husband for two years and I can honestly say that my life has been better for it.  We have blended our two families, yet it has been the spiritual that drew us together closer.  When we were married our spiritual growth became wrapped up in the pagan community.  Barry was studying Buddhism and believed that the way of science only proved that there was a God.  I grew up in the church with the belief that Jesus was the son of God, all religions were valid and nature was the evidence that God existed.  If I have to be perfectly honest with myself I have to admit that I have fun with the bonfires, drumming and dancing under the moonlight.  The mystic, hippie and we tolerate everyone crap only last for so long because once we embedded ourselves within the community we began to notice that not all things are not what they seemed.
            Barry and I love our family and country.  When we began to let our guard down the “Everyone is Welcome” sign began to look a lot like “You are Welcomed but only if you believe and think like us”.  This isn’t me because there is no filter in my brain because if I think it the spoken word has made its way to those who have chosen to listen.  Yes, in hindsight I should be more sensitive to others, but I had already read the “Everyone is Welcome” sign which gives me the permission to speak my mind.  My patient husband who often shakes his head when he is thinking “Why did she just say that?” loves me unconditionally.  Now that I have had my squirrel moment let me give you an example.  In the mist of hippie heaven I have learned that shouting proudly that “Obama sucks and I am voting for Mitt Romney” is not exactly the words one wants to say in hippieville.  If the pagan community resigns it to be tolerant isn’t my declaring statement ok to say and can’t we respectfully disagree.  I have heard Dana Loesch say on her television show that freedom of speech doesn’t give anyone the right to be offended. (Paraphrased)  
It wasn’t the pagan community that was all welcoming.  It was the Christian community that invited us to church, prayed for us and loves us.  The over whelming calm that I feel every Sunday morning is truly love of God and these wonderful people that only want to share this love.  Many of the members of the pagan community see Christianity as restrictive.  It is in those “rules” such as the Ten Commandments or the family structure laid out in Ephesians 5 that proves to be the greatest freedom.  “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”  What a big responsibility for the men of this nation.  God has purposefully chosen roles for each of us, so as not to wonder what we as his children are supposed to do in this life.  Not only do man and wife have their roles, but children under this protection as well.  “Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” (Ephesians 6:1) I am not Barry’s slave.  He lifts me up and I lift him up we support one another with everything that we have to give in this family.  If we do not seek God first then one another the family will break down and be destroyed.
The pagan community only seeks to build with each individual first.  There is not a family oriented structure.  If there has to be an adult oriented festival then something is wrong.  The idea that I was not welcomed within the pagan community and that a person I considered a sister said that I was more of a “friend of convenience” set me aside drove me to tears.  My investment was no longer worth the pain.  I have read scripture after scripture that God’s truth is that I am worth it to him.  I have a husband, children and a church family that sees me as worthy.

Tree Huggers Love God and Vote

     I am a tree hugging, God fearing, Tea Party sympathizer, gun toting Libertarian.  What does this mean?  This means that I love nature and along with studying scripture I can find God by standing in the middle of the woods.  I can be at home in a church, fellowship with others or hanging out with my husband around a bon fire banging on a drum.  We all must go by our own drum as God has made us perfect in his own way.    My worship of God combines all things with in my life.  My spiritual belief also drives how and who I vote for to help drive the country. 

     My political beliefs have changed with in the last few years.  This is true because I have opened my eyes to where the government has gone in the last Presidential election.  We are a country that fought for our freedoms from a government too far away to tell us how to live our lives.  This is why the United States government must stay small and the states should be allowed to continue to govern themselves.  In both the Tea Party movement and Libertarian Party small government is essential to the liberty of the nation’s people.  We enjoy the Freedom of Religion, Speech, to keep and bear arms, the right of due process, to not quarter a soldier during war without owner permission, shall not be subject to double jeopardy, speedy trial, right of trial( common law) excessive bail, rights by the constitution shall not be denied and state rights.  If we as a nation allow for the government to become too big then our rights given to us by God and the Bill of Rights seen fit by the founding fathers will soon disappear.   

     I have seen that all political parties have persons that express the small government rule of thumb.  It has been most prevalent in the Tea Party and Libertarian side of the Republican Party.  We as citizens have a responsibility with in the next couple of years to once again come together and remember our roots.  Yes, this country has made horrible mistakes, but we have fought both violent and non-violent to heal not only the land but its people.  For example, we went to war with one another with the country’s only Civil War to end slavery.  A man of God in name of Martin Luther King jr. fought with words to end segregation and to teach that we are all equal in the eyes of God.  It has taken men of God to heal this country.  We must go back to our faith to bring America to her exceptionalism once again.

Autism and Working Moms

     There are many parents who find that raising children can be stressful.  The stress can come from lack of sleep, eating habits, vaccinating, being a working parent or education.  Then parents might add another challenge that can prove to be stressful above all things.  The family stress may also come from having a child with Autism.  This stress may stem from siblings feeling unimportant as in the case of my daughter.  She often didn’t understand the extra parent/teacher conferences and the meltdowns.  As I have experienced myself with a child who has Autism.  It was stressful enough as a stay-at-home mom, yet when I divorced from my first husband I did not expect that my working relationship would interfere with my son and his battle with Autism.  For instance, in my personal situation my employer understood as long as it didn’t hurt the bottom line, but it was the policy that hurt the bottom line.  My former workplace had a policy that stated if the employee were absent then it was a point.  If the employee only worked half of the day then it was half the point.  The only person this hurt was me, although I had FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) to cover the missing days it did not take away the points that I had gathered up.  It came to a head that I basically had to make a decision on whether or not keeping my job was more important than my son needing my help.  I chose my son.  It gains to reason that the FMLA law needs to state more specifically that employer policy cannot hurt the parent with a child who has special needs.  This is also true for parents whose children are often ill.  In my personal opinion if the employee is happy then so is the employer.  A blog by Melanie Schrader goes through the process of wanting work, but because of her many absences she eventually lost her job.  What do parents do?  Can there be other protections other than FMLA?  Do employers really follow the FMLA law?  The FMLA law is to truly protect the mom who is caring for a child with special needs.  There is no way around it as a single parent they have to work, but also want to do the best for their child who needs a little more care than an averages normal child. 

     One of the challenges for working moms who have children with special needs is leaving their job to deal with many of the problems that come with a child with Autism.  This was true for me as a former single mom.  One reason that myself and other moms had to leave work early is because of our children’s meltdowns or bathroom issues.  Autistic children will sometimes meltdown due to sensory overload or their brains cannot process that it’s time to potty.  Although, there is one safety for a working mom in FMLA which only provides temporary help in order to keep working.  It is not a long term fix.  It doesn’t protect the employee from the employers’ policy on being absent.  Melanie Schrader, who wrote a blog on the website Autism Speaks about her experience, knows all too well about trying to balance work and taking care of her son with Autism.  Melanie lost her job from being away from work too many times.  She picked her son up from school with illness or meltdowns as I have many times.  It would be helpful if employers would be compassionate for their employees with children, but they are only thinking of their productivity.  I was told by my boss that if I wasn’t as work the pharmacy wasn’t getting anything done.  This simply wasn’t true.  He was more worried about productivity than me as parent with FMLA and my stress levels were constantly up.  I worried constantly about my job, but I also needed to help my child.  This is where employers need to be more flexible.  For example in an article written by Zeyneb Ilgaz on the Forbes website she states that not only should employers provide child care, gym memberships to reduce stress, but also if a parent is being productive to trust that parent with flextime hours.  This means that the added stress of worrying about job placement because of not being at work for family obligations the parent can have a respectful balance.  It is important that parents working or not working understand that their Autistic child isn’t going to grow out of being Autistic It’s the first thing to understand when trying to balance family and working life.  I myself had to come to this realization early on in my family’s experience with Autism.  William is improving and growing, but he will always have Autism.  Aleva D. Martin sought advice from B.J. Freeman who said that as a parent she needed to stop rearranging her child’s schedule for the parent’s needs but to fit that child into the parent’s schedule.  It may also be a good option to be in business for one’s self in order to have more flexibility.  Although, both of these options are viable there is the question about single moms or those who don’t have the resources to go part time.  What happens with those parents who need to work a full time job?

     There seems to be a lot of things a working parent can expect from an employer when balancing career and life.  Although, I didn’t have the most sympathetic boss I did take advantage of the benefits of being employed.  I would schedule therapy appointments, IEP meetings and doctor appointments in advance.  This would be taken care of through paid time off.  There were times when I didn’t have the paid time off, so I did use FMLA which did guarantee that my job would be waiting for me.  It wasn’t enough for me or as I have mentioned before Melanie Schrader.  She was fired because of the in between moments when her son’s struggle with Autism would catch up with her at work.  I chose to quit and become a stay-at-home mom with the full knowledge that my family was forced to make some sacrifices.  What can employers do to keep productivity up and keep employees happy?  For example in a blog written by Ilisa Cohen she highlights several employers that have gained respect for working with their employees because they know life happens.  One of the most common solutions I have seen and read would be flex time.  This happens with my husband who works for CMR, a contractor for Cummins, in Columbus, Indiana.  When my husband needs to go to a IEP meeting for my step-son he is allowed to leave early or take the day off in order to attend to his son’s needs.  His employer doesn’t mind as long as his work is completed.  This is not only true for Barry, my husband, but for all employees regardless of whether they have special need children or not.  It is also for the case of Ray Acosta, manager of food services for Baptist Health South Florida who offers a flex schedule for employees who may need it.  Another employer who saw fit that it was more important to have a well-adjusted employee than just a warm body is Darrell Dryer from Hallmark Cards.  He reevaluated the position of Jayna Todisco who became a single mother and found she couldn’t work a full time job.  Her hours reduced and Mr. Dryer never expected anything but the best from his employees.  As she grew in her position she also accepted a promotion.  Darrell Dryer support flexible working schedules.   It comes to conclusion that a flexible work schedule just might be the thing that helps not only that parent with the special needs child, but all parents.  Let’s face it the working mom is usually the person that will be picking up the sick child or the child who has a meltdown because Obama is President.  I speak from personal experience.  My son had a complete fit because Obama is President.  There isn’t a right answer.  Do we ask a society of capitalist to give up the bottom line or do we risk our free society in putting more regulation in FMLA or the Disability Act?  I choose to have employers be more employees driven instead of productivity driven.  There are two reasons the most obvious is a that a happy employee creates a happy employer.  The second reason is that the cost of replacing an employee is not cost effective.  An employer can look at the examples above and fall in line with those at Hallmark, but they can also revamp their policy at work as Forbes suggest.  Alice Walton who wrote a blog for Forbes cited a poll from the University of Michigan that parents not only worry about their sick child, but worry about kids returning to child care or parent’s losing their job.  This new poll said that 62% of parents said that their child was too sick to return to child care or school and 38% had to miss work for at least three days.  This included the 42% of parents having to miss and stay-at-home and the 26% missing three days during the year.  Alice Walton suggests a kid’s sick day.  This would be added to the already personal time that working parents are accustomed to in most companies.  In the New Hampshire University Carsey Institute that parents often use paid time off and vacation days.  I as a parent with an Autistic child know this all too well.  I didn’t take time off while my children were on Christmas Break because I didn’t have the time to take off work.   This kid sick day would be included with paid time off, short or long term disability and FMLA.  The article suggest not only would the parent be happy but also the employer.  The cost of firing and replacing an employee would drop dramatically. 

     In conclusion, it is my hope that I have shown that employers need to be compassionate when looking at the parent with a special needs child.  If employers used the ideas of flex time such as Cummins and maybe institute a kid’s sick day then it would not only benefit the parent of a special needs child but also all other employees.  I am a firm believer that capitalism is the best economic system in the world.  It is when companies add compassion to the productivity that employers’ value will trickle down into home life for the family. 

 

 

 

 

Work Cited

Autism Society. “Stress-society.org” Web

Autism Speaks, “Your Child’s Rights” AutismSpeaks.org

Ilgaz, Zeynap, “Why Companies Should Focus on Working Parents Not Just Moms” Forbes.com 30, June 2014

Meyers, Seth Psy. D. “Pity Parents of Special Needs Children-Part One” psychologytoday.com

4, October 2013, Web

Maple, Sandy “Mothers of Autistic Children Suffer In the Workplace” Diacritical

Forbes.com 28, June 2010, Web

Shepeis, Carl, J. Dr. “Parenting a Child with Autism” Diacritical workingmother.com

Schrader, Melonie “Autism and Family Income: A Mom’s Story” Diacritical autismspeaks.org 19, March 2012, Web

Walton G. Alice, “Companies Would Benefit By Offering Better Kid Sick Days to Employees” Forbes.Com 31, October 2012, Web

 

 

The British Royal Family (The Firm)

     On July 29, 1981, I watched as the Lady Diana Francis Spencer married HRH Prince Charles the Prince of Wales.  The local news network played the coverage all day as I sat in front of the TV in awe of this beautiful and mysterious privileged life.  The research that I did on a group of people remind me of how I loved to read about each of the members and history of this family.  I never thought of the way this family lived.  I wanted to explore their spiritual, protocol and their sense of duty that surrounds this family.

     One of the first things that I included in my experience was what kind of meal the Queen of England and her family might eat.  I started with the obvious of Fish and Chips.  I went to a Scottish restaurant called McNivens.  I know that the Royal Family is from England, but the Queen of England is the constitutional Head of State of many countries.  A few of these countries consist of, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, (includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) Australia, and Canada.  Secondly, I went to the Christ Church Cathedral.  This experience was very personal to me because as a child being an Episcopalian meant that I was a step closer to Diana Princess of Wales.  The Episcopal Church here in America is the equal to the Anglican Church in England.  This experience was an important aspect because the Queen not only has her Parliament, but also is the head of the Church of England.  I was especially thrilled because the ceremony of the Anglican Church has a special significance to the faith of those who belong to the church.    In the Faith of the Anglican Church each part of the ritual means something to the Body of Christ.  The music provides for the congregation to come together as one.  The incense depending on the season provides the atmosphere that there is something important going on.  All of the smells and activity of Mass leads the congregation to a higher calling.  This may help those of the Royal Family to also look to a higher power other than themselves.  Maybe it’s a reminder that God put the Royal Family in their place of power. 

    One of the most complicated Monarchs to grace the throne of England was King Henry VIII.  He is controversial because of his six marriages.  These women either divorced from the King as in Katherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves.  Of course, there were the many wives of the King who suffered a fate of beheading.  It was the divorce of Katherine of Aragon, so that he can marry Ann Boleyn that created what we now know as the Church of England.  Henry VIII created himself the head of the Church of England in order to marry Ann Boleyn.  This produced strife between him and the Catholic Church in Rome.  The pope at the time excommunicated the King and his split with the church in Rome was complete.  The Monarch of today is still the Head of the Church of England.  She regularly meets with the clergy. The priest and bishops all take the allegiance oath to the Queen.  In her coronation as will Prince Charles and Prince William they will take an oath to defend the church.   The Royal Family today regularly attends church and it is part of their lives.  For instance, as seen in the Movie “The Queen” the clergy ask Queen Elizabeth II if he should mention Diana Princess of Wales, but because she was trying to protect her grandsons, Diana’s children, she said no.  Her thought was that it would only upset the boys and it was after all a private matter.  She takes her position seriously as head of the church, but maybe not as seriously as her ancestor.  The beheadings after all do not have a place in England.

     The Royal Family has been described not as a family but as “The Firm” as told by HRH King George of England.  I particularly remember this when watching the movie the “The King’s Speech.”  This is evident in the royal engagements that the royal family takes on sometimes on a daily basis.  Although, the Queen is almost ninety Prince Charles and Prince William have taken on more royal engagements.  Although, we as an adoring public see only the royal engagements the Queen has more responsibilities.  As the Queen of England is the head of the church she also is the head of Parliament and she is considered a Constitutional Monarch.  She is also the head of the England’s armed forces in which many members including her have served.  Her role in the Government is mostly symbolic.  She holds regular meetings with the Prime Minister and the Chief of Defense Staff and single service staff.  I was surprised to find out the Queen is the only person to declare war.  This is an old tradition, yet in this day in age it is done with the advice of her ministers.  The Queen and her family provide as central figures in the pride, unity and identity as a nation.   It may seem that they live a life that is spoiled, but they take the gift that Parliament and the British people provide for them and do their best to give back through military service and volunteer work.

     There are many ways I have found that we can take a look at what it means to be a part of this lifestyle.  This is through the veil of movies.  The two best movies are, “The Kings Speech” and “The Queen.”  In these movies while surrounding a serious part of the families’ life there is still protocol that must be followed.  For instance, the movie “The Kings Speech” dealing with the speech responding to Hitler’s attacks on England.  The speech therapist pushes boundaries of addressing King George VI.  He learns how to address the Queen Elizabeth, mother of the then future Queen Elizabeth II, as Her Royal Highness first then ma’am as in ham.  The king’s speech therapist pushes his boundaries while discussing the matter of his older brother, King Edward VIII abdicating his throne to marry Wallace Simpson.  It was treason to suggest that the then Duke of York could assume the throne.  In today’s world protocol may not be as ridged as in the late 1930s.  In this day and age how should one address a member of the royal family? 

     We all know that it is a curtsey for women and a neck bow for men. The official website of the British Monarchy says that it truly is just a curtesy. The official website of the British Monarchy says that it truly is curtesy.      As the blogger, Martin, for Royal Central points out   that there are certain things that the Queen of England herself has said needs to happen at all time.  What is the protocol that is used needs to happen at all time?  What do you do in the presence of the Queen of England? 

    The protocol that is used for just being in the presence of the royal family is part of the appeal. The history starts from the belief that God is responsible for the Monarch’s station in life.  This is a status that deserves reverence.   As blogger, Martin, for Royal Central points out that there are certain things that the Queen of England herself has done away with, but also has kept. For instance, the Queen has asked that the tradition of walking backward when one is leaving audience with Her Majesty is not observed.  Martin from Royal Central does point out that there is still some protocol that exists.  For example, one is to address the monarch as Your Majesty then later as sir or ma’am.  Another example is at a state dinner that if the Queen is finished then all plates including dinner guest are cleared.  It is known that she is a quick eater, so there is a side salad in order to give guest time to finish their meal.  Of course, if the Queen is your monarch you must curtsey or bow.  The Australian Prime Minister is said not to curtsey, even though the Queen is her head of state.  Then there is the controversy that Michelle Obama took some liberties and put her arm around the Queen during a photo op.  The younger royals observe less royal protocol than their elders.  The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, it has been told that he prefers to be called William.  This may change when it is his turn to be King of England. 

     In conclusion, the British Royal Family does live a life of privilege, but hopefully I have shown that it’s a life that is much more.  The Queen and her family are much more than just a select few that have the opportunity to a life of wealth.  They are servants.  “The Firm” as their former King George VI affectionately or not called the family serves the British people.  The Queen serves her government and volunteers her service to charities that are of importance.  She has also served in the military as well as Princes Charles, William and Harry.  My favorite royal is Princess Diana because of her charity work and it is her son Harry that has carried the torch.  It is especially true with his service in Afghanistan and to other service men and women.  This family is much more than royalty.  They are a service God and their fellow man.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                          

 

 

 

 

References

Martin (2013, January 1) “Is Royal Protocol Relevant” Royal Central.co.uk Morgan, Peter (Writers) Frears, Stephan (Director) Harris, Andy (Producer).  (2006)

     The Queen (USA)

Seilder, David (Writer) Hooper, Tom (Director) Weinstein (Producer) (2010)

     The King’s Speech (USA)

www.royal.gov.uk “The British Monarchy” “The Queen and Her Government” “The Queen and the Church” “The Queen and Royal Armed Forces” “Greeting the Queen”

 

Childhood Memories

     In my Communication class I have the opportunity to do research on the British Royal Family.  My task is to research this family and way of life as a sub-culture.  It has brought me closer to my faith with in the Anglican faith.  My husband and I went to the Christ Church Episcopal Church.  This experience started out as research, but I began to feel what I felt like as a child marveling at all that was going on within the service.  The ritual brought a spiritual oneness.  In the mass all movements from the bowing to the cross and the Holy Bible to the Communion of the body of Christ all has a reason.  The reason brings the parishioners to humble God.  This same ritual is shown through out the lives of the those who belong to the British Royal family.  This is only a part of why I loved the Episcopal Church.