this day...

Today I awoke at five thirty a.m. That in and of itself is unusual for me, but I took it as a good thing as I had many things I wanted to accomplish prior to heading out to the orthodontist office.

I got up, made coffee, and started the laundry. Jordon returned home from camp on Saturday and I had done up his clothes (or so I thought) and now it was time for me to do up Gabriel's clothes as both he and Jordon are going to BSA camp on the 6th of July. The laundry was swirling in the machine, the coffee had been brewed and Mel came through to start the day off with me a little before six.

A quiet morning ... and a quiet early day. At one point, I went upstairs to Jordon's bedroom and found; oh about a zillion dirty camp clothes that were piled in this corner and that corner and in the middle of the room and I was able to fill his laundry basket with wet, stinky, smelly clothes that he had not given me on Saturday afternoon.

Another load of laundry done and I was tired - gee - since the machine does all the work, why do I get tired?

I closed my eyes for about ten minutes, finally took a shower and headed off to Dr. Naumann's office. You may recall that I wrote about this wonderful doctor a couple of weeks ago . . .

At Dr. Naumann's office, one of his employees told me that Dr. Naumann was going to turn the big FOUR OH on Thursday!!! I asked if the staff was going to throw him a party and she said she did not think so but that he had a party scheduled for later on in the year for the dental community to celebrate his ten years in the business. Dr. Naumann is just a great person and I am truly blessed to know him. . . and we have been going to him for eight of these years!

Somehow, and I do not recall how, his employee and I started talking about abortion. She asked some wonderful questions . . . and these were among them -

1) If I really don't have a position, one time I am against abortion and another time, well ... do I have to have a position?

2) What do you say to someone who is considering abortion?

3) What do you say to someone who has had an abortion?

4) How does your family feel about you having had an abortion?

Answers:

1) Are you a Christian? Being a Christian does not mean that you are always going to be comfortable. Yes, you do have a position, abortion is wrong, and yes, you do need to speak out.

2) Ask them, during this emotionally charged time, what other alternatives they might be able to see regarding the life of their child.

3) Love them ... do not judge, for, as she also said, we do not judge.

4) Not a one of them speak to me - they are very pro - death, partly because it is so very difficult to look at abortion - the death of a child, grandchild, niece or nephew. When I started looking at my abortion, I fell into a deep pit of hell. It was not pretty - it was very difficult for me and for my husband - but through the Grace of God, we were able to overcome the sadness, frustration and sorrow of the death of my second conceived child.

We talked about the physical ramifications of abortion such as infertility, endometriosis, perforated uterus, cancers, death and we also hit on contraceptive pills and the dangers of those, too.

Dr. Naumann joined us and tightened my retainer - I asked him if he could tighten up my body parts as they were also getting old - - - unfortunately, it is not that easy!

After the retainer was tightened, I got up to get my purse to extract cards with my name, email, this web address and RV phone contact on it...plus a photo of my dear sisters, Esther and Leslie, and while doing so, I told Dr. Naumann that his employee and I had been having a conversation

and sat down again, telling Dr. Naumann (he is sixteen and a half years my junior...and still I call him Doctor....ha!) that I am a woman who has had an abortion and his employee and I had been talking about it. I gave him a card and told him that the other women on the card were also post abortive and between the three of us had aborted six children.

Dr. Naumann listened and then weighed in on how he was amazed how women can come back from something like this. I told him about Rachel's Vineyard and pointed out the number on the card - the 800 822 HOPE (in Washington State) for post abortion healing.

I gave several cards to his employee,* extended my hand and wished Dr. Naumann a blessed birthday and continued abundance of grace from God.

My day continued in Costco ... I met an employee there who is a convert to Holy Mother Church, but so wounded from a divorce and subsequent alnullment that she has not attended Mass in years.

I will write about that later -

I thank God this day for being able to bring awareness to abortion's aftermath, for Dr. Naumann and his good employee to be in a better position to help someone who may be facing a decision that could potentially end the life of their child and bring a world of regret and pain from abortion.

Oh - and I also got to visit via phone with my wonderful DJ!!!

I must admit, during the quiet part of my day, I was feeling unmotivated to do much - and was struggling to light a fire under myself. In retrospect, I believe that my quiet time was for my heavy duty emotional time that came later during the day ... Deo Gratis.



*I am not using her name as she is not a public person like Dr. Naumann.