Day 13 For Terry

I've gone back and forth on this issue. I've now reached the sadness of it all. How can it be that a judge decides if a mother and a father can give nourishment to their daughter? How can it be that a husband who, it has been reported, wished for a speedy death for his wife and is now put in a position of deciding what she 'said' she wanted if she were unable to speak for herself? How do you just let someone go without really knowing what they want? On the other hand, I would never want to be kept alive for 15 years in the state she is in. Is this the same as "pulling the plug?" Definately not. Don't mistake a person's inability to express their will to live or die as the automatic right for some authoratative figure (ie a judge) to declare that she be deprived of food and/or water and allowed to slowly die. We must all learn from this horrible story as it unfolds for us on the news; we should all be rushing to our computers and downloading the appropriate papers to complete, outlining what we want to happen if the time should come when we can't express those wishes to our loved ones. Pay your attorney to draw them up or download them and save the money. Most importantly, talk to those who may have to tell a doctor what you want or don't want. Picture yourself in Terry's position. Even worse, picture yourself as her mother or father, helpless to do anything to help the daughter they love. Terry will die, but her parents will be left to know that as parents, they did everything they could....up to the point when a judge told them to stop.

Debi 

Change, Reunions and Travel

2005…a year of change, travel and reunions.

My adaughter is in the Foreign Service and has been in Angola for the last 2 years. Her next post will be Tokyo and she is so excited about it! She was there for a few months about 3 years ago and is looking forward to being there for the next 2 years.

My son lives on Kauai. I know…I’m jealous too! Recently, he got his real estate license and has embarked on a career in real estate sales on Kauai...well, probably all of Hawaii. I'm not sure. He has the gift of gab and I’m sure will have no problem selling those multi-million dollar properties!

As for the travel…that applies to me. In June, I fly off to Hawaii to spend 2 weeks with my son. The last time I was there was 1998 and way too much time has passed since I last cruised the streets of Kauai, finding red dirt , sugar cane and pineapple fields. I can’t wait. For Christmas, my daughter gave me 2 books. One was an introduction to Japanese and the other was a tour book of Tokyo…with a darling certificate that entitled the bearer (me!) to a flight to Tokyo in the Spring of 2006! What terrific kids I have…

The Birth Of My Blog

OK. So here I am, entering the first bit of information on my very own Blog. First of all, about the name...."Red Licorice and Jujubees." As a child, those were my very favorite candies. Now, some mumblemumble years later, I still can't resist buying either when I see them, mainly because of the warm fuzzy feeling I get enjoying the taste and memories they bring back.

I don't really have anything profound to say tonight. Well, I do, but I'll hold off for a little while. Maybe one night, with a glass of wine and a very direct attitude I'll ramble on. But for now, I'll just dip my big toe into the world of blogging and try to remember that people actually might read what I put here. Now, that's really frightening!