I have a say because my parents never denied the gift of life to me or any of my nine siblings. We grew up on Long Island in a humble Levitt house with one bathroom for a family of 12. We donned the huge passenger bus. We wore hand me downs and drove clunkers. We could not be happier with the way our lives turned out!
Our parents sacrificed long and hard to ensure that we were raised in a stable home. Of course, with a family that size, there were ups and downs. We didn't have cable, we didn't have the new designer clothes....we didn't even have last year's designer clothes! But what we do have cannot be measured with a swipe of a credit card.
I have a say because my parents didn't believe in picking and choosing who would live and who would die before birth. We were all placed in the care of a patron saint on our birth certificates and brought into our faith through Baptism. We were all educated in Catholic schools. We were all raised with the faith in Christ and as grown children, we now raise our kids with that same faith and devotion. I know the fight is long, the battle seemingly never-ended but Christ will endure and His Mother shall crush the head of the serpent.
We must stay true to humility but at the same time, fight the good fight! And while not all of us will submit emails or create blogs, the tenacity that we all share is strong and powerful! We began to recognize the vitriol that is Planned Parenthood before we could even receive Communion. We picketed their evil before most people recognized what the clinic was.
We learned that being Catholic is different than being a practicing Catholic.
We were taught to always be on the lookout for the wolf in sheep's clothing.
We will stand true to morality, no matter what any president deems necessary for 'collective salvation'.
We are part of the Catholic Church and we will not be silenced!
A collection of voices expressing thanks that their parents chose life and are thus able to stand up and say "I have a say!!"
I Have A Say Thanks to My Mom and Dad!!!
Being the oldest of 11, I am so thankful, especially now, for my Mom and Dad saying "yes" to life! Growing up, we never had a ton of money. My Dad was a high school chemistry teacher and my parents decided from the beginning that they wanted to have one of them home with us. My mom gave up her teaching career, and raised me, followed by 10 others! My Mom also taught all 11 of us at home for part of our childhood before we would head off to Nativity Catholic Grade School. My Dad worked long hours, eventually earning other degrees so that he could first become dean, then principal, and finally, when I was a sophomore, he was named Roncalli High School's first president. My Dad and Mom both sacrificed SO MUCH for us.
I remember, even as a young person, getting stared at by people, and I remember the comments they would make. I can still hear a dental receptionist asking my Mom "Are these all yours? You know how children are made right?" followed by a real insidious but ditzy chuckle, followed by a secretarial gum crackle. My Mom and Dad were always tight budget wise, and I'm sure at times ached with a desire to not have to take bags of clothes from other families so that we could have clothes. I'm sure my Mom and Dad had desires to simply go to Nordstrom and buy us and give us all our own new clothes and Gameboys and Reebok Pumps etc. I'm sure they at times really wished they could just get a new car and not have to drive a fifteen passenger van around. I'm sure at times they wanted really badly to just go to a restaurant and sit back and enjoy a big expensive meal instead of having to cut coupons and craft together economic meals on the stove.
But they chose life for us, and they chose sacrifice for themselves.
I often think about that ditzy secretary now when our family gets together almost every weekend for dinner to laugh and hang out. Some of the siblings might be out of town or busy with other obligations, but inevitably, all weekend long, every weekend, our family gets together. Sometimes, when we're out at a restaraunt, I see the couples who are alone with each other. They hardly talk to each other and the loneliness is palpable. A part of me feels bad that we're having so much fun with our 8 tables shoved together, telling stories, laughing good hearty and healthy laughs. Sometimes I wonder if one of the couples sitting in the restaurant quietly and solemnly is that dental secretary - who now has piles of money and can eat wherever she wants, but doesn't have hardly anyone to share it with. My heart breaks for the people who are alone, especially the ones who are alone because, when they could have been having children, they instead bought into the contraception lie and lived for themselves only.
I have a say today, and so do my ten younger brothers and sisters, because my parents chose life. Mom and Dad - thanks a million!!!
I remember, even as a young person, getting stared at by people, and I remember the comments they would make. I can still hear a dental receptionist asking my Mom "Are these all yours? You know how children are made right?" followed by a real insidious but ditzy chuckle, followed by a secretarial gum crackle. My Mom and Dad were always tight budget wise, and I'm sure at times ached with a desire to not have to take bags of clothes from other families so that we could have clothes. I'm sure my Mom and Dad had desires to simply go to Nordstrom and buy us and give us all our own new clothes and Gameboys and Reebok Pumps etc. I'm sure they at times really wished they could just get a new car and not have to drive a fifteen passenger van around. I'm sure at times they wanted really badly to just go to a restaurant and sit back and enjoy a big expensive meal instead of having to cut coupons and craft together economic meals on the stove.
But they chose life for us, and they chose sacrifice for themselves.
I often think about that ditzy secretary now when our family gets together almost every weekend for dinner to laugh and hang out. Some of the siblings might be out of town or busy with other obligations, but inevitably, all weekend long, every weekend, our family gets together. Sometimes, when we're out at a restaraunt, I see the couples who are alone with each other. They hardly talk to each other and the loneliness is palpable. A part of me feels bad that we're having so much fun with our 8 tables shoved together, telling stories, laughing good hearty and healthy laughs. Sometimes I wonder if one of the couples sitting in the restaurant quietly and solemnly is that dental secretary - who now has piles of money and can eat wherever she wants, but doesn't have hardly anyone to share it with. My heart breaks for the people who are alone, especially the ones who are alone because, when they could have been having children, they instead bought into the contraception lie and lived for themselves only.
I have a say today, and so do my ten younger brothers and sisters, because my parents chose life. Mom and Dad - thanks a million!!!
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