Dru’s New World

I broke a date this weekend… It would have been my first date since my divorce 2 years ago. (Yes I am pathetic)
I sat my daughter down and talked to her about my date. I explained how I met this lady and what we were going to do. My daughter started to cry. Now she is 11 years old. I am a firm believer of never lying to my daughter. The truth I tell her is more in depth than the Truth I tell her half-sister who is 8 years younger.
When I explained everything to her she cried and said she didn’t want a step mother again. My divorce was the case of Step mom abusing my daughter. My kids are number one to me and she was upset that she wasn’t number 1 so she would abuse my daughter. I tried to explain to my daughter that it was just a date and it wouldn’t end up in marriage. She didn’t care. So I broke the date.
Am I being a wuss? Should I have not told her what I was doing? Should I have said, “Deal with it I am going?”
I put my kids in front of a lot of things in my life and I am very happy doing that. But 2 years without a date is really starting to stress me out…

I keep hearing people yelling, “Bring our troops home”
My question is: Bring them home from where?
We have troops all over the world and have not left after every military action.
Germany
Italy
England
The Netherlands
Portugal
Korea
Japan
Guam
Iraq
Turkey
etc…

When ever we have a major battle with someone we stay. That is what the US does. Why stop now? Why stop with Iraq? Bring all troops home.
How many countries have you been to and were afraid to admit you were American? I have a hard time in Canada. That is only 15 minutes from my house.

I am a firm believer that Marijuana prohibition should come to an end. I have researched and talked to lots of professionals to come up with my beliefs and which side of the fence I should stand on. I believe Marijuana should be legalized for medical purpose and legalized for responsible adults. I believe that with laws comparable to Alcohol and Tobacco marijuana would become a recreation that many adults could responsibly enjoy and will help society more than harm it.
I am not alone in these beliefs and I am not ignorant to believe that everyone believes the same thing as me. I have discussed my beliefs with many people and have come across my fair share of debates. I have made posts in many places challenging people to debate me on the issue.
The main debate I get is about the children of a community.
“Legalization will make it easier for children to have access to Marijuana.”
To this I have one main point that needs to be made. All organizations for the end of Marijuana prohibition have all agreed that no one under the age of 21 should be able to gain access to Marijuana when it becomes legal. I am also going to add in there that in some states where Marijuana has been either decriminalized or legalized for medical purposes have special penalties in place for underage use and possession near or on school grounds. This is like Alcohol and tobacco in many ways. Here in New York Smoking on school grounds in prohibited. Selling or giving cigarettes or alcohol to a minor can land you a fine or incarceration. Why would this be any different than Marijuana.
No one is saying that marijuana use should be encouraged when it comes to the children. Marijuana has been on an increase since 1972 among High School children while Smoking has been decreasing over the same time frame. Why is this? Smoking Cigarettes has become monitored and taxed by the government for years. In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s I was able to walk up to a machine that was taller than me and put three quarters in and get a pack of cigarettes. No one would look twice at me or tell me I wasn’t allowed to buy them. There was a sign everywhere that said you must be 18 to buy tobacco. No one cared. Years later people were fined for selling cigarettes to minors, television ads were showing the lungs after years of smoking and children were taught about the hazards of smoking cigarettes. This is because of years of research and tests that have proven smoking is bad for you. There have been many people researching the benefits of marijuana for medical use there has also been research that has been reaccomplished since the early 70’s to prove that Marijuana does not cause cancer, does not make you schizophrenic and will not make you want to grab a needle full of heroin.
This is the time on information. Children grow up learning how to search the Internet to learn about what ever they want. Children go to class to hear how bad marijuana is and then search the Internet to realize that they were taught inaccurate and embellished information. This is a discredit to our school systems and to our teachers. You gain a lot of respect from the young of a community by teaching them the truth.
Well then how do you teach your children not to use Marijuana?
My first response to this question is always another question, How do you teach your children not to drink alcohol? This usually gets the response that they teach their children that alcohol is illegal until they turn 21. Why not teach children that marijuana is illegal until they turn 21? The people that I run across that do not understand this way of thinking are those that have never done a minute of research on their own about marijuana. I hear things like, “All stoner’s are lazy and can not hold a job.” or, “everyone I know that smokes weed is stupid.” I again have an easy response to these. “how many alcoholics have a problem holding down a job?” then there is the, “If a stupid person is stupid and you see them smoke marijuana you blame the marijuana, is it possible the person was stupid to begin with?”

Now I figure I should start my story back to when I was like my brother is now and he was like I am now. Yes there was a time that I had no faith and believed that what I got had nothing to do with God. I believed that those who relied on God was in for a large disapointment. On the other hand my brother was just released from the Army right after the first Gulf War. He had faith that he made it though the war because there was something planned for him. He was getting what he needed to survive after the war and was enjoying College and a nice apartment.
I remember that I was staying at my Mom’s house between semesters waiting to go to the Dorms and move my stuff to the Dorm room my best freind was going to share with me. We were two of the three guys in the Early Childhood Education Program at our school. We had almost every class together and we pretty much went out to the bars together. It was going to be a great semester. He had a TV and I had a Stereo. We had a full size refrigerator and one of the largest rooms. I was just waiting for the day I could go up and make the move. But first I had to get the letter saying the move was authorized. A few days into the Vacation I got a letter with the return address of my college. I was so excited. I tore it open, ripped the letter from the envelope and started to read.\
“We regret to inform you that you have not maintained the requirements needed to stay in the current curriculum. We also regret that you do not maitain the requirements to hold a position in our college. Please report to your Resedeint Assistants office so they can assist you in getting all your personnal belonging out of your dormitory room.”
WHAT… I could not believe it. It never occured to me that dropping half my classes and not doing any of the homework would give me a 1.1 average and get me kicked out of the school. All I could do is blame everyone else for my problem, “My psych professor didn’t like me. My Teachers didn’t like having a man in their class. They don’t think that a Man should be in Early Childhood Education. They think I am just taking the classes to meet girls.” I never once said, “How could I have avoided this,” or, “what can I do to remedy this situation?” The first person I called was my brother.
At this time in my life I only had the one brother, my parents were both dating people that had sons but this was my brother and he was back from the Army. He will know what to do.

My oldest brother can not understand how I can possibly have the faith I have. He doesn’t understand how after the pain and anguish I have been though, I can still believe it will work out. I will admit that my lows in life are very low but my highs in life reach Heaven everytime. My Highs happen more than my lows. My lows hurt but I have learned to bounce right back and most of the time there is a High right around the corner. My brother focuses on the lows and thinks that God is punishing him, to the point where my brother’s heart has hardened and I do not think he can see the High’s in life anymore.
My brother called me yesterday asking me how I can have a smile when I make less than him and live with less than him. My response, “Dude, I got my kids in the front yard playing with a ball that my neighbor gave them. I have food in my cupboards that the Girl Scouts donated to us and I have a job that I learn something new everyday. How can I not Smile.”
My brother can not understand the beauty of faith. He thinks it is luck that I have what I have. He does not understand that I prayed for something to bring my kids joy, My neighbor’s son got a new soccer ball, He gave his old one to my kids. The Girl Scouts Den mother saw me at church everyweek with two kids but no other adults. She asked around and found out that I was raising them on my own. She could see my faith and her faith led her to bring us food from the donation boxes. My faith makes me happy and gives me energy, my boss see’s this and takes advantage of it. He knows if there is something new that comes up he can give it to me and I will work on it until I figure it out.
I know what my brother used to pray for, he prayed for a new car, he prayed for a bigger house, he prayed for a higher paying job. My brother doesn’t understand that I pray for God to do what he thinks is best for me and my kids. He can see in my heart that I will handle what ever is dished out to me. He see’s that there are wants and desires there for me but I am willing to sacrifice every one of them. My Brother blames God for not having everything he doesn’t have. I thank God for the things I do have.