1) Pictures from an evening walk...
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| On the way out to the hurricane barrier |
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| Lots of cracked shells via hungry seagulls. |
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| Heading back. |
I love my town. I really need to take more pictures of it - maybe we could do a "stroll through your town" linkup soon.
2)
How do you all feel about Angelina deciding to get a double mastectomy to drastically reduce her risk of breast cancer? How about removal of her ovaries? Is it a moral dilemma or just a medical decision? Phil and I keep discussing it and I would love to hear your thoughts.
3)
I'm sure you've all seen this clip, but in case you haven't, it's so funny!
4)
It is so hot out. It's going to be 90 today. I do not like the heat, hence why I live up North and keep a nice layer of insulation on my body.
5)
I am struggling with 7 takes today, I'm gonna go ahead and blame the heat.
6)
My friend, Michelle, wrote about her struggles with raising an autistic son and how the little things can mean so much. Go read it. I am so impressed with her family, they are raising such smart, nice, holy, funny, and wonderful kiddos.
7)
And another link to Rosie's hysterical kids. Boy oh boy do I wish I had recorded all the funnies my kids said when they were younger!
Have a super duper three scooper type of weekend y'all! And visit Jen and the gang for more :)
I hadn't heard about the ovaries, but as for the mastectomy, I don't really see what the big whoop is about. I don't think it's a heroic move, I think it's a smart move. My mom has the gene (her mother died of colon cancer after a bout of breast cancer, and her two sisters had breast cancer) and she had a preventative hysterectomy a few years ago (in her mid 50's, well after childbearing years). I was tested for the gene but thank goodness, I don't have it. If I did have the gene, it just would have meant more frequent screenings, and after my childbearing years were over, I would have discussed getting a preventative mastectomy, hysterectomy or something of the like.
ReplyDelete1) I really REALLY want to live in a town by the ocean :) I keep trying to convince Aaron to relocate, he says we cannot consider for at least five years :( Sad.
ReplyDelete2) We live in a crazy world.
I have NOT seen that nail clip, and that is me so many times! My nail just changes from week to week, that is all.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the idea of the link-up, your town looks so charming!
Like your idea about walk-about pictures.
ReplyDeleteNot sure how I feel about A. Jolie's decision morally, though as a mom I can certainly understand the desire to do anything you can to not leave your children early in their lives.
I love the "stroll through town" idea. Count me in if you do it!
ReplyDeleteBeen wondering about the ethical implications of a prophylactic oophorectomy as well...not exactly the same as a mastectomy. It would be great to have someone like Fr. Tad weigh in on that.
We really haven't gotten much heat yet. Just tons and tons of storms and rain. Last year we were dry as a desert and this year it's like monsoon season! go figure.
ReplyDeleteI am too hit to think up 7 takes too!
ReplyDeleteWow, I meant hot..
ReplyDeleteI think that Jolie's decision is just a medical decision. If having a tubal pregnancy removed is not considered morally wrong by the Church, then I don't think having ovaries removed because of the presence of potentially cancerous genes is.
ReplyDeleteIt's odd to me, though, that a woman who is arguably the most famous contemporary example of fertile womanhood would have the very things that mark her female removed, but I don't think it's a moral issue in this particular case.
Interested in seeing what other people think!
*sigh* What a beautiful place you live in! I would give anything to see the ocean on a daily basis ;)
ReplyDeleteI think we live somewhere around the same parts.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I do not see a problem for a woman to have her breast tissue or ovaries, etc. removed if there is a medical issue at hand. What is the difference between taking care of yourself before something is likely to happen (and in her case the odds are huge) than in taking lets say chemo for cancer? Is it only OK to receive treatment AFTER you become ill? I don't think so. I am Catholic too and I can not believe that our God would give us medical knowledge and then tell us, "Hey, Don't use that knowledge." I don't see any commandment being broken, despite whether Angelina is Christian or not, since I have no idea. And I don't believe women should be scared to make a medical decision because someone is holding a "God" card over her. God made women and loves them, no matter what. No one can say what God would prefer. It's a different decision for everyone, no right way or wrong way.
Looks like you get hurricanes too.. We are way south in the Gulf of Mexico... and we are probably expecting a busy season cross our fingers we don't get hit.. Love to take a stroll down your town.
ReplyDeleteXOXO MARISSA.
If you start a "stroll through your town" link-up, I'd definitely participate. I love my town!
ReplyDeleteI don't blame Angelina for the choices she's made, and it doesn't seem like they're morally wrong--although perhaps she could have postponed the surgeries until she was just a bit older?
And that nail video is a hoot! My husband has learned, after alll these years, that his job is not to fix everything. So now he listens quietly, but I 'm sure he 's often champing at the bit with advice he'd like to share!
Hmm...hadn't heard about the ovaries. Not an Angelina fan so therefore kind of get sick of hearing about what heroic thing she's done. Yup, but Mary Jane down the street who did the same is not? Ah, Angelina...
ReplyDeleteI chuckled at the link up for walk around my town. Only because you all would DIE laughing if you really saw what it was like here. Heck, I'd really laugh actually looking at it thru the lens. lol.
A three scooper weekend!? YUM. Count me in!!
I've tried to comment 3 times today and I have been derailed by the children each time. The lunatics are running the asylum over here!! Now I'm just back out of sheer stubbornness and not because I have anything good to add. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard that AJ was going to remove her ovaries as well, all I heard about was the mastectomy. For the double mastectomy, I don't think there is any kind of moral implication with that. If she has an over 80% chance of getting breast cancer in her life and the surgery can reduce it to less than 5%, well that's some pretty good odds. She has 6 young children to care for - reducing your odds of cancer like that seems the way to go.
Plus, it's not like she needs those breasts to reproduce. It's not immoral to bottle feed if you have no breasts.
As far as the ovaries, I don't know how that pans out for Catholics. Her mother died of ovarian cancer, right? And she has a greater than 50% chance of getting it? That's pretty high.
I can see what Cari is saying in that the removal of a tubal pregnancy is not morally wrong in the church. But in that case the pregnancy is already there and the tube and the mother's life is already in jeopardy. You know for a fact that that pregnancy will never come to term and the only outcome is death for the baby, whether you remove that tube or not. That baby will never be able to grow fully in that tube. And refusing to operate to remove the tubal pregnancy will lead to major health problems/death for the mother (if the tube ruptures, etc)
That would be comparable to having already cancerous ovaries -- you know that cancer has to come out. But in the case of ovaries that are not yet cancerous and are removed prophylactically, I really don't know. I am inclined to say that it would be a licit removal, especially in light of the fact that her risk is so high and that's what killed her mother.
Interesting conversation!
Umm, yeah, what Amiee said.
DeleteI think it's immoral and unethical for Angelina to remove her healthy ovaries. That's basically getting neutered...it's what they do when they spay a dog or cat...remove her ovaries (and Fallopian tubes) and I don't think it's justified simply because she has a high risk of cancer.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a different case if she currently had cancer in her ovaries..then removal might be warrented and could be a just and moral treatment, but I do think it is wrong to remove them before hand simply because she has a high risk of cancer.
As far as the mastectomy goes, well I don't necessarily think it is immoral..but I don't think it is necessarily wise either...a mastectomy is a major, major surgery to recover from and to me it just seems like "eh, you have the surgery and then you could just as easily die from being in a car accident or getting a different type of cancer or whatever." While, I think staying alive to care for your children is important, I do think many people in this day and age have an unhealthy fear of death and go to very extreme measures to "cheat death" (ie very, very restrictive diets, stressing over health, never letting anything unorganic pass their lips)...we're all going to die someday and while we want to be as healthy as possible, I do think one can go to pretty extreme measures to avoid one possible cause of death.
To add to my answer, I just asked my husband (who has taken bioethics and all those good things) and he disagrees with me and says the removal of her ovaries is licit because the intent is to prevent a disease, not to avoid pregnancy and the whether it is morally licit or not has to do with intent and proportionality. He says that since the intent is fine (to prevent cancer) and the proportionate risk is great, its likely licit.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I would never admit it to him, he probably is right and I'm probably wrong. LOL
Oh, I agree with your smart hubs. It isn't about her fertility, it is about disease. However, it would not be the same matter if she were roving her ovaries to avoid a pregnancy that could harm her life. The intent can never be to avoid a pregnancy, because, well, there is a way to prevent that.
DeleteWhat Rebekah said.
DeleteI'm late to the party. I have not heard of the ovaries either...but I DO think she's heroic to remove her breasts. She is in a position where her looks mean so much. It's heroic, because she's a role model, and this decision will help others, it just will. The lady down the street who does it, is heroic to the people she knows also. It's a humbling thing to remove part of your body. These are maybe the things that will bring her back to faith, back to God.
ReplyDeleteBut, I like Angelina. Maybe I'm biased.
Oh do I miss it out there! ahhh the ocean!
ReplyDeleteand I love reading all the comments on the angelina thing. I can really see both sides. blah for the heat, it's been raining and humid here...
AND I'm sure it will be humid when you come out! Since it's june, and you guys will be here in 2 months, i'm already thinking of activities for the kids!
Your town is so pretty! I wish I lived somewhere picturesque - we're in a pretty generic suburban town... But there are lots of pretty towns around us!
ReplyDeleteThat nail clip is pretty funny - other people keep posting it but I never bother watching videos until now. It even got Andrew to laugh!
And I'm so glad I'm keeping track of what my kids say with the blog! Soon enough I know Xander will be cracking you all up with some pretty excellent toddler humor. I think the newly-verbal but with no filter is one of my favorite stages, because they'll just say ANYTHING that's on their mind!
That video had me smiling this am!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I think it would be so cool to do a stroll through your town link up!
ReplyDeleteI read an interesting post here:
ReplyDeletehttp://designsbybirgit.blogspot.com/2013/05/angelina-jolie-and-me-preemptive-strike.html
I found it through this Catholic Evangilist monthly thingy I do...I thought it was interesting to read from someone who KNOWS.
Just in case you are interested....
obviously late to this commenting party--I guess its fine with her removal of the breasts but its just not something I would do personally. I guess I am the odd one but I would rather just have move frequent screenings than a surgery. Like above comment--surgeries have risks too and I would just want to make sure for myself that I would be making the better decision.
ReplyDeleteAs for the above comment about the tubal removal--I must clarify-just in case someone stumbles upon this later on--that whether the baby is going to die has nothing to do with why its ok to removal a tubal pregnancy. Many people know their baby is going to die in utero for a variety of reasons. But, it is immoral to end the baby's life in pregnancy. The baby must come to their own demise naturally in such cases. The only reason that the tubal removal is OK is because it is an imminent threat to the mother and does have a high likelihood of killing the mother. Tubal removals are for the mother's health.
But --I am not sure if it is totally Ok to remove the ovaries just because they might become cancerous. Possibly yes--probably yes--- but this seems like a slippery slope type of thing that I could see some people abusing for their own selfish reasons in the future. It just seems like it could lead to evils-- It could lead to a lot of possibilities such as--ohhh its Ok to remove the ovaries because I might have a child with autism one day or might have a child with xy or z one day so its better to remove them now--- the potential is there for manipulation of this argument and that is what strikes a chord with me.
of course--I had a friend that died of aggressive ovarian cancer in her 30s, named Dawn. She was a pediatrician and left 3 babies under 10yrs. It was a horribly sad thing to watch her die. And she did have the cancer gene.... So, if they can say for 100% that you have it and you will die eventually than it should be removed. At some point they probably will be able to get more precise.