Well, that was kind of my point

What a kind post..sm [2008-11-16]
I am a very caring person. I have an extreme soft spot for animals. Dogs especially. I have a stray that was apparently dropped off here, and he is a big dog. My husband said he is a Catahoula Kur dog. He is such a sweetheart, but he can aggravate you to death. He is bad about running in the house when you open the door, and he is so big I can't hardly get him out. I have had to literally drag him by his feet out the house. As annoying as that is I can't be mean to him. I feed him everyday and talk to him and pet him. I don't need another dog but I feel so bad for him. I feel like he needs a home and and someone to care for him. So I guess I am stuck with him. I don't have the heart to take him to the pound. I just can't do that. My husband loves dogs too but he says I am just ridiculous. He thinks I treat them like people. I just see it as they are living breathing animals and they feel. There are some people who say I wouldn't feed the dogs that belonged to the guy. I could NEVER let those dogs starve. That is the thing, I think the guy knows what a softie I am and he knows I will not let them do without and he takes advantage of it. This guy, by the way, is single and fully capable financially of feeding and caring for the dogs. He just is lazy and doesn't want to be bothered when he gets home from work. It isn't my place to care for his dogs but I can't let them starve either. I don't know. I am caught between a rock and a hard spot.

Right, kind of weird and she lost a lot of weight, she looks frail.... [2008-11-14]
and every movement is rigidly calculated, as if she were a doll. Sometimes I get the impression that she does not dare to move.

a kid's point of view ...sm [2008-11-14]
I just had conversation with a fellow Sunday School teacher about what GIFTS would be good to give this kids this Christmas. At one point this gal asked her son (12 yrs. old) if he had any ideas what the kids would like to get. His response gee, mom, I thought Christmas was about GIVING, not getting. Out of the mouth of babes, right? !! Maybe it Bet your children are just glad to have a good mom !!

Thanks for your suggestions and kind words. [2008-11-12]
I am a very old fashioned person and generally speaking have the ideals that you speak of above. Making gifts, thinking outside of the box because it means more, putting aside the cost and really putting effort and thought into the gift - for any occasion. I know I have a short fuse right now with the hormones and it makes me not want to even try. Really my MIL is the only problem. Everyone else would love a thoughtful, homemade gift. I guess you sort of have to know her personality too. Generally speaking, she rubs me the wrong way but I try to just let things go. I just get tired of hearing the we are really going to cut back this year! when they said the same thing last year and it was a normal Christmas, then when I offer a suggestion she looks at me like I just cut someoneretired and bored. I did stand my ground this year though and tell my husband to deal with her on the Christmas morning doings. In the past Santa only comes to her house...so all the kids and grandkids have to cart their stuff over there to put under the tree and then wake up and drive over for presents in the morning. Screw that. In what fairy tale book did they read that Santa doesn't come to the house where the child sleeps?! Crazy how different families can be. Oh well, I'm getting off subject here but I thank you for your kind words and I'm going to try to change my attitude. I can only do what I can do. I suggested my homemade gift ideas to my husband and he then went through a catalog and picked out gifts. Granted they were $15-20 a piece but still. Every dollar counts these days. HI'm trying to look at it as one less thing I have to do or think about - I'm sure that's where he is coming from anyway. Men just think backwards sometimes.

Not mandatory because it is for girls, at this point sm [2008-11-12]
I have wondered for some while if there is not a connection between HPV and prostate cancer. Given that males are infected at the same rates as females (with HPV), it should be given to boys too...who give it to us! Now, if there is ever a proven link between prostate CA and HPV, you will see it be mandatory so fast it will make your head swim. All you have to do it look at the procedures that are done for HPV infections of the cervix. I do them all the time. Girls at 16, 17, 18 in for their 2nd and 3rd conization of the cervix. The first one may cause an incompetent cervix, the 2nd one sure will and after a 3rd you won't carry a child to term. Did you know that a standard conization procedure removes the ENTIRE transformation zone and about 1/3 of the surface of the cervix? It does... The reason it is treated so aggressively is the extremely high rate of recurrence. Vaccinate your daughter, do it now, do not pass GO and collect $200. Just so you know, I see more HPV in the under 20 group, but there are plenty of married women in their early 20s with it and trying to get pregnant who have cone after cone.

Well you do have a point there... [2008-11-12]
I'd love to be waited on, pampered, spending their money...yeah! But I'd probably be the one on the other end who gets the crappy, nasty family. couldn't handle that...

Aww! I just love dogs. Any kind. [2008-11-12]
The one on the right looks like she/he is smiling.

Oh my gosh!! What kind is she? sm [2008-11-12]
She has some pretty black hair.

my point... [2008-11-09]
And MY POINT IS that it doesn't matter what the breed of the dog is! Could've happened regardless of the breed of the dog. And just about ANY dog would growl, bark, nip, bite if it was abused.... wouldn't you if you were the dog being abused??? And who leaves an elderly frail person with 3 large dogs??? That's like leaving a toddler with 3 large dogs REGARLESS OF THE BREED! We have always had large dogs, but when my grandfather got elderly we had to watch the dogs around him cuz they would get caught up playing and trip him & he would fall to the ground and hurt himself, so leaving an elderly person by themselves is not a good idea with 3 large dogs, and that's my point also!

What kind of college degree? [2008-11-09]
I can't believe a degree would be useless!

Tx for your kind words [2008-10-29]
I do feel better. His brother has always felt as though he is superior to all his brothers because his mom keeps pumping that up, telling him how smart he is and wishes his brothers were as smart as he is (it sure is amazing what parent would say such things right in front of you). DH and I do realize they are just ignorant. DH said they are like strangers to me. The moving comment was kind of idiotic. DH would have had a career (and retirement) from the service but when it came time to re-enlistment he was getting ready to sign up to go to officer training, but his parents conned him into a job. They even had a freind who was some executive at a company who offered him a job paying 2 - 3 times as much as what the military did, so we opted for that. They did that so we would move out to live near them. DH showed up for the first day of work and the guy asked him what he was doing there. He said reporting for work. The guy said what work. There is no job opening here. It was at that point he should have turned around and re-enlisted but didn't. After that we moved 5 times in 20 years. Anyway...thanks for the kind words. DH & I are past it....too much going on in our lives to even think of him anymore.

Kind of in the same vein as favorite movies threat below SM [2008-10-27]
Name your favorite holiday songs. I absolutely love anything by Karen Carpenter, love her version of all the Christmas songs. I also love Carol of the Bells.

Why is it that when confronted with a different point of view, [2008-10-16]
passages from the bible? That seems to be some people's answer to everything they can't (or won't) understand. The bible (like the I-Ching, the Torah, the Quran, etc.) is merely a fundamental of one's belief, and passages and ideas can be tweeked and quoted in different contexts to come out meaning pretty much anything you want them to. That it why not of that can be taken literally - it's merely a rough draft, if you will. The thing is, you have every right to your beliefs, but you have no right to force others to conform to them so as not to offend you. You all need to grow thicker skins and realize that not everyone is going to want to limit themselves to a small, small way of thinking.

Excellent point! [2008-10-16]

Ok, I agree with that too. I guess I just wonder at what point you tell them they have sinned? (sm) [2008-10-16]
What if you were not a Christian, just non-religious, and someone of another religion came up to you and said that you were living a sinful life (if you were doing exactly what you are now) and that if you don't pray to their God for forgiveness you are going to suffer a terrible, painful eternity. Would you be inclined to listen to them? That's all I'm saying.

This is true scripture. However, I made a point [2008-10-16]
when the parishioners in Sunday School elevated themselves as better than the people who were not at church that day. I pointed out there are many reasons, such as having to work, or having to tend to a sick person, or being ill, including emotionally challenged. THey had no clue what I, as the Pastorus versus them disgusts me. Truly it does. BTW: I have to transcribe on Sundays, because my husband's Pastor job does not pay enough for me to quit and guess what, as MTs we have to work weekends. I work because I have to. And not because I am avoiding regular church, which BTW our denomination does not offer services other than Sunday morning.

Thanks for the kind words and advice - sm [2008-10-15]
I think I will look into CCCS. A friend of mine used them 8 or so years ago, though she did not have to pay a monthly fee (asked her about this yesterday), but things are probably different now especially with so many people using them now. Luckily my DH is not on any of my cc accounts, though I am on one of his as a user, but that one will be paid off in full in about a month or less, once we get the money from the loan. We woke up yesterday to finding out my daughter had lice again so I think that distraction is actually helping things, he stayed home with her while I had to go out, had a school committment I could not get out of, and re-treated her (after I had already done Rid, he did olive oil as he could still see critters). So he got a taste of what I did 5 weeks earlier. So I was glad, kind of afraid to leave him home alone in case he ended up getting really depressed and doing something to hurt himself. Obviously he is not happy as a lark or anything but at least he is talking to me. Got the loan paperwork all filled out and mailing in today. Once his are taken care of he will be a bit more happy, though not about the loan, but it is really the only way as we don't want to do a home equity loan/line, and that would be a worse thing to do financially. Yes, I do feel a lot better though at his expense. At least he got up and went to work today, so that was good.

They are so cute! What kind of dog are they? - nm [2008-10-08]
:)

This kind of stuff happens every day in school... [2008-10-01]
You people overreact to everything... I understand the mother is upset over the puncture wound, but this will be the first of many hurts. Yes, the child that did the poking needs to be told she did wrong, but expelsion and calling her special needs is just plain overreacting. Of course that girl Are you all that paranoid?

The point is this should NOT happen every day - [2008-10-01]
The fact that some people think this is okay is why a lot of these kids are so out of control. Do you want everyone to wait to take action until itmad. IMO the only way to change that is to STOP making it okay.

I'd kind of have to agree here. [2008-09-26]
need to scrimp. How about selling one of those??? I think we need to count our blessings and stop being so negative.

Sounds kind of whitewashed & boring. [2008-09-26]

And your point is what? I've been hanging out SM [2008-09-25]
with Sarah Palin and she has all kinds of tips. I hear moose if pretty plentiful and one or two should last you through the season. You might have to charter your own private plane, though. Happy hunting!

Exactly my point ! [2008-09-24]
I'm sick of the negativity about this job - if you don't like it,don't come here to p*ss and moan, go somewhere else.

Exactly my point [2008-09-24]
If you don't like it, you don't have to come here and read it either! You aren't going to change the way the hundreds of posters are here...you'd be better off changing what you do rather than complaining about others. Looks like you are just asking for an argument, I won't be providing it any further.

I think I spend less at the store when [2008-11-18]
we eat out/order in. Of course, then our entertaining budget increases. But some things are cheaper to just order in. For example, pizzas -- I can get 2 large pepperoni pizzas from the local pizzeria for under $20. If I buy them in the store, I spend about $15 and then have to cook them and my kids don The frozen kind are also smaller. I just got groceries this past Friday and spent $200. I had an entire cart full. In addition to the coupons I had, I also had a 20% discount on everything (one of those reward plans for spending so much the previous 2 months). I got value packs of skinless/boneless chicken breasts - buy 1 get 1 free -- $15 packs of chicken, breakfast sausage on sale, ham steaks on sale, plus my 20% off all that. Overall, I think I spend somewhere around $150 a week on groceries. There are 5 of us -- me, my hubs, and 3 boys -- ages 6 to 11. What I notice that I spend more on are school lunches. It costs $2.00 a day per child and I don I $2/day x 3 kids = $6/day x 5 days/week = $30/week x 4 weeks/month = $120 for lunch. YIKES!!! I think I can do better than that if I pack them.

Dogs v kids [2008-11-18]
I am a sucker for a pretty face & don't have kids, so I am at my dogs' mercy. You should see their stockpile of dog treats. It's ridiculous. School lunches. $2 a day! Doesn't sound like a lot for a meal, but it sure adds up...you would think they would give you some kind of deal because you have 3 kids. I guess I'm assuming they all go to the same school. Now I'm dating myself, but when I was in elementary school I think it cost 40 or 45 cents for lunch. A nickel for milk. Amazing!

Check eBay. I am a doll collector and restorer on the side sm [2008-11-17]
I am also into reborning, though I have yet to have any to ebay. I tend to do very personalized custom dolls. I also sew doll clothing, but I chose not to do that this year because I have not had the right kind of time. Save my email address because I will start to have some doll clothing next year when I am no longer on hiatus. I had to take the time off because I am landscape painting this fall, now I feel badly I can't help you!

Honda [2008-11-17]
I drive a 2001 Honda with 99,000 miles on it. I bought it used. The last time I had my breaks done, the mechanic told me this car was only at it's halfway point!! Sorry I know, it's foreign but what a dependable ride and great on gas. Next car will be a Honda as well.

Any chance you could visit family or a friend... [2008-11-16]
for a few days when he leaves the dogs? Or simply tell DH that you will only take care of your guys? Let hubby experience what a job it is. I have a cat and a large black lab and those two alone can keep me pretty busy. Can I believe in karma, and you have a giant reward coming your way one of these days, as domany of you other kind-hearted posters.

Yes, God bless Fred, and God Bless you in your kindness and love...sm [2008-11-16]
We had to put two of our pets, to gorgeous cats that had been our babies for 16+ years, in much the same story, they had gotten to the point where they were suffering and would suffer more. Horrible, heartbreaking decision, hurts like heck, but I do believe there have to be darling pets in Heaven, I cannot imagine how it would be heaven without them, they are so precious and give us so much love and happiness! So sorry for your loss!

American Girl Doll things [2008-11-16]
I posted this before and a very kind MT responded with American Girl dolls for sale for Christmas. I am still searching for Samantha, Kitand Nellie and I am also looking for extra American Girl outfits. Any suggestionswhere elseto look? I have watched Craig If any MT would like to sell American Girl doll things, please let me know. You can reach me by e-mail through this site. Thanks for any offers or adviceon getting second-hand AG dolls for Christmas gifts.

I agree, beans and all legumes are a great source for.......sm [2008-11-15]
plant protein and fiber. Great option for vegetarian. This is a great beanice dish: rice beans (any kind) onions (chopped small) olives turmeric spices Fry a little in olive oil or canola oil, then cook in water, 1:2, or 1:1/2, depending on kind of rice. You can substitute beans with lentils or chickpeas, or put all 3 together....

My thirst is Sjogren's disease! sm [2008-11-15]
I am always, always and forever chronically thirsty, but I don't have the polyuria to go with it. I have dry eyes, dry nose (to a point where it is usually pretty full of scabs), dry mouth with caries at the gumline. I have gastroparesis and proctalgia fugax which often go with Sjogren's just like the rest of it. Dry skin and feeling like you are drying out from the inside out is part of it. I even get a nasty, clay-like sludgy feeling in my mouth and throat from my stomach being too dry to digest. It is misery and even better than a gallon of water a day doesn't fix the dry feeling, but it keeps my kidneys from shutting down from being dry. Lovely huh?

I did buy the extended warranty last...sm [2008-11-15]
week when I bought my son's Playstation 3 for X-Mas. It was $400, and it is only under warranty for 90 days. So I said if something were to happen to this thing after I have paid that kind of money that would not be good. So for $30 I got an additional 2 year warranty. So for 2 years if it quits working or anything they have to fix it or replace it. When I spend that kind of money I want a longer than 90 day warranty. We bought the Playstation at Wal-Mart.

I need some advice [2008-11-15]
Ok this is the story: My husband is still friends with his first girlfriends family. This does not bother me. She did a couple of things to really disgrace her family when she was dating him but after a period of time he still kept in touch with them as we live in a very small community. When we met and got engaged they were all very kind to me and the mother even did the cake and flowers for our wedding. The ex is never around much so no big deal. Well this past weekend her great grandmother passed. My husband had known this woman for sometime and the mother asked him to come to the funeral and told me I was not to feel like I shouldnI. To which the ex rolled her eyes and looked at her HUSBAND. So we walked away. To tell you the truth, we didn't really care. Well we get a phone call about an hour ago from the exum we aren Well, knowing how immature the ex and her husband are, we knew they were behind this (plus we could hear them in the background). So my husband told the boy Look, it Well a few minutes later he gets a text message from the brother saying my mom can (which obviously is not true since we saw her Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon and she was obviously not mental). So my husband sent back a message saying Look, whatever issues your sister has with me and your mom having an ADULT friendship, she needs to take those up with your mom, but quit trying to start drama. Well a few minutes later the phone rings. My husband handed me the phone. Knowing how mad he was at the moment, I answered. It was the ex. She asked if she could talk to him, and I said No. This needs to stop right now, it She said well my mom is really going crazy and she can. She went on for about five minutes and I said fine, we won I'm just so angry right now! I mean this is high school drama! What would you do? I know the mom will be absolutely heartbroken if my husband and I just stop coming to see her and talking to her (since her lovely daughter never comes home). I mean except for the funeral, we never go around if she is going to be there, and we don't sit there and talk bad about her or anything. I honestly think she knows she screwed up by messing around on him SIX YEARS AGO and is just upset that he's married and happy and it sounds like her husband is a jerk.

For what it is worth, you are right on target sm [2008-11-15]
For one thing, this didn't come from the ex's mom, it came from the ex. You are 100% right in saying if she calls or comes to your home, you will not be rude to her or ignore her. Since you are included in things with the ex's mother, I doubt she is carrying any kind of a torch for your husband and her daughter. I think she is well over that, but thinks a lot of your husband and wants him to be her friend. It sounds like the mom takes people into her life as she finds them, which is a mature attitude...then again she is an adult and you and your husband are also adults. The ex is acting like she never graduated from high school! SUCH GAMES! You handled it with much more grace than I could have. My hat is off to you.

Not really that amazing, is it? [2008-11-14]
I wondered the same thing - is this the most interesting thing they could come up with? I mean, when I first saw the pictures of what looked like a man with a big pregnant belly, it kind of struck me, but once you know the story, it's nothing, really. How can they make a whole show about this? There HAS to be a better story out there somewhere. Almost anything would be more interesting than this. *YAWN*

Alternative Christmas celebration and [2008-11-14]
Does anyone here NOT celebrate the traditional Christmas with their kids...specifically I am referring to the Santa portion. I am thinking about doing this with our second child (currently pregnant). Our first child is now old enough to know the truths and it is kind of a relief to be honest. I have tried and tried to stress the importance of family and the true meaning over Santa but its really hard. Recently I have just been thinking that may be next time it would be easier all the way around to not follow that but wonder how it would work with school, people asking, etc.

They talked about this on The View for 2 days and [2008-11-14]
even to the point as to how they have sex and thatmake me sick, especially now that she/he is pregnant again and due in June! BW thinks she's doing the world a favor by doing this special report. The reasonit keptits female parts was to have kids. What gets me is they never heard of adoption? Why not adopt? Because they wanted to make money, that's why. I don't know how many times they pointed out that she is now a legal male on all records, SS#, birth (how'd they accomplish that?), marriage license, medical history, etc. If she/he is a legal male, she/he shouldn't have the reproductive organs. Period. I feel sorryfor the kids. They will be so confused because they are going to tell them as soon as they to speak and/or understand. This world is going to h---- in a handbasket.

Survival [2008-11-14]
My first suggestion is if you don't know how to cook from scratch, learn. My stockpile consists of lots of dried beans and blackeyed peas, rice, dry spaghetti, flour and cornmeal along with ingredients for making bread such as baking powder. You can freeze these things of they will last a very long time if stored in air tight containers. Lots of people say they don headed, I expect lots of people will think they're quite tasty when they're hungry. If you have any kind of yard, invest in seeds and grow your own garden. You don If you don Fruit trees take a few years to matureso start planting fruit trees instead of decorative trees. Fruit trees make good decorative trees anyway. Learn how to can like your grandmothers and great grandmothers did. Those who will be hit hardest are those who live in apartments but, again, pinto beans and rice, even if you think you don ike it, will taste very good if you don If anyone is interested, I They can be a delicacy if properly prepared. Everything you need to make plain old beans a delicacy can be stockpiled and will last just about forever.

IShe has been acting diffferent... [2008-11-14]
lately. I I wonder if maybe she needs to back off a little for a while. She's usually pretty professional, but lately she's acting kind of nutty.

Thank you for posting... [2008-11-14]
I haventhe smart one can weigh heavily on you. I still feel guilty for not being as successful as other people expected me to be at this point in my life. At times I think everyday life would have been a little happier if I had been a little more average or if I had realized that the only person I have to make happy right now is myself :)

a kid's point of view ...sm [2008-11-14]
I just had conversation with a fellow Sunday School teacher about what GIFTS would be good to give this kids this Christmas. At one point this gal asked her son (12 yrs. old) if he had any ideas what the kids would like to get. His response gee, mom, I thought Christmas was about GIVING, not getting. Out of the mouth of babes, right? !! Maybe it Bet your children are just glad to have a good mom !!

Most are just hoping to have some joy for their kids sm [2008-11-14]
Wefantasy. They do put it together at a certain age and itWe had an older kid who spoiledour Christmas party because he thought it his business to out the Santa thing to the younger ones as he was, bless him, highly intelligent and was told the truth from birth. Had some kids crying at one point. I think the point is, do what's right for your own family and try to have something for the kids to look forward to in these hard times especially. There is no right or wrong, just all interpret things differently and we're all very tired of all this bad news going on in the world. Have to look forward to something! Happy Holidays, no matter how you celebrate! We adults know the reason for the season. Bottom line - be happy! Life is temporary, imagination is wonderful, it takes us away from the bad news for awhile. Joy to the world and to each his own. As long as the older kids keep the secret to themselves, they also should enjoy the excitement of watching the little ones have fun with it. It's all good.

I would not buy any extended warranties [2008-11-14]
That is a good point. I would be careful.

Be fair sm [2008-11-14]
I learned in journalism class that a reporter must be fair. So would you say the same for Pepsi? Just kidding - will have to look further into this. Water is very good for you. Donconsumption per day.Now if I could only drink the tea without sugar - that would be healthy. Try honey but kind of messy, usually give up on it, always in a hurry.

I do pity you...sm [2008-11-13]
It sucks when you have a parent who has chosen to put other things/people before their children. I donjob and not coming home to see his family for long periods of time. So you kind of feel like why should I feel guilty when he didn't? It is up to you if you want to see him more than the holidays and b-days. My dad has chosen another family over his family. I am 31 years old and my parents divorced this year because my dad was running around. Well according to bank statements he is paying not only the woman's bills but is paying her daughter's car note and her son's electric bill, etc. Anything they want they got it. This woman's kids are in their 20s. I have to work to pay my car note and I am his own daughter. Which I realize it isn't his place anyways. But it is the principal. He has NEVER payed anything for me and I mean NOTHING. He has never given me money at all. My mom has helped me when I needed it but not him. But yet he can give them anything. He doesn't know I have seen those bank statements so he doesn't know what I know. It kind of makes it hard to want to be around him when I know what he does for them and has never done for me or my sister. I kind of know where you are coming from in that I don't specifically care to be around my dad either and sometimes I feel guilty about it. But then again does he feel guilty for what he is doing? Apparently not.

Slightly different perspective. [2008-11-13]
So maybe I shouldn't post about this since I have not exactly been in your shoes but I think possibly I can lend a help perspective. I lost my father to cancer when I was 19. My FIL is an alcoholic. No I didn't grow up in a divorced family or without a father through my childhood and no I haven't experienced my father being an alcoholic. What I feel I can tell you is there is such a thing as being too late to say the things you wanted to say, good or bad. If it does come to that, you will never let it go. He is still your father regardless of the choices he has made in his life. You only have 1 father. After seeing my FIL, I believe alcoholism is an illness. Sure people can fight it and get help if they wan, but it takes a very, very strong person to overcome it and it is a constant battle. From the sounds of your post it seems as though you have some things you need to get off of your chest. Whether that means sitting down and talking to him or putting the past in the past and moving on with any kind of relationship - I think only you can figure that out. Even a relationship that is only on holidays and important events is still a relationship. Who knows, maybe talking to your mom would help her as much as it might help you. It certainly can't be a short conversation, it needs to be thorough to get through the surface feelings and to the nitty gritty. Maybe, just maybe, your mom could shed some light for you on why she has been able to forget the past to a certain extent and move on. If nothing else, this might make you and your mom even closer and it sounds like no one else (professional or otherwise) would understand better than her. With my FIL, we do not stay when he is drunk or starts drinking. The entire family knows we pack up and leave, regardless of the situation. It hurts his feelings sometimes I can tell, but he knows the circumstances and we have small children that we will not subject to that. It was difficult at first but over the years it is just the way it is and no one says a word anymore and respects where we are coming from.

My dad drinks a lot...or at least I think he still does... [2008-11-13]
but I am not really sure now because I live so far away...and I miss him terribly and I worry. Sometimes, just from my point of view, I think that we might not fully understand what makes people do what they do and we need to love them anyway. It doesn't make the bad things they have done or the disappointment go away, but it does make me feel better. Also, with the health problems, you might not have that long to see him, so why not take advantage of every minute. He couldn't have been all bad. I'm not saying you should buy him a 12 pack, but maybe try to accept him as an imperfect man. Everyone has faults, even our parents.