It’s Full Confessional Friday . . .

               Put down your pail and sit a spell.

                  Photo courtesy of Flickr/Commons

             [Native girls, Marken Island, Holland]
                  [between ca. 1890 and ca. 1900].

Comments

[Denise]

I confess that I love what you have written this week. I do. It is funny and insightful. My favorite was the post about the notes you gave your studens. That is amazing and I am going to be cheering on the girl who is all about the guys and her appearance for a long time. I feel the same about Aaryn's and Kizz's sites. (I have no idea how to get to Mrs. G's site.) I just miss it all being under the same roof so to speak. I will keep looking and reading. It just won't ever be the same.

[ms_teacher]

My confession is that I'm completely addicted to the "Real Housewives" series on Bravo. As I watch these women with all this money, I agree with the Countess in her new song that money can't buy you class.

[L]

My daughter has some friends that slept over in our newly renovated small house last night. Freshly painted walls and grimy little hands are not a good combo. Time to go!

Thanks for preserving this bit o' Colony, Jenn!

[unmitigated me (m.a.w.)]

Mrs. G. has a site???? Sorry to interrupt the confessional, but, WHAT?

[Kay]

I am totally not "working" today at work. Counting down the hours until the weekend begins!

[anon48]

I am really, really tired of taking care of my 3 pets who are either really, really old, or getting older. I love them but I am looking forward to taking a break from pets when these guys are gone.

[busy bee suz]

Looking forward to another weekend alone. Kinda weird...but kinda good too. :)

[Ashley]

I'm losing my faith. This has been slowly building for a couple years and I'm scared it will keep building until my faith is completely gone. I would like to go back to the way I was but I'm not sure I can.

Funny - I almost feel as though if it turns out I'm wrong, that God would forgive me. I guess I still have enough faith to believe that. Right now I think I'm more scared of my friends and family and what they will think. Certain family members (namely, my in-laws) would turn every phone call and visit into a sermon & prayer session (even more than they do now), but others would understand. And others would understand but be scared for my soul. My faith has been such a part of my identity and has been such an important commonality between my closest friends that I don't know what will happen to our relationships if I ever got to the point where I flat out said I didn't believe anymore. They love me, they wouldn't stop being my friends. But things would be different. Some of that connection would be gone.

I've been open with those in my life when I am angry at the church, angry at God, questioning things. I'm not scared to disagree or doubt and I think there is room for that in faith. I think I'm further than that, though.

This is the only place I feel safe talking about this right now.

[jenn]

I'm pretty sure that the foot I thought I'd sprained is actually broken, but I'm putting off going to the doctor because of how much I know it will cost. I hate that finances are even a consideration when deciding whether or not to seek medical care.

[JP]

I am a long time lurker but never comment. Is it possible to be shy even on a blog? My soon to be 21 year old son just left on vacation...driving...with a 7 month old...to the mountains. I am scared and glad to have them out of the house all at the same time! Does this parent thing ever get any easier??

[Becky]

My confession?? I really hate my husband at this moment. He knows just how to piss me off and make me want to drink a bottle of Jack. Not the way I was planning on kicking off my weekend....

[cariba]

This friendship thing is no easier at 40 than it was at 12.

[gina]

I'm pretty sure I should not have had children. Lately I can't figure out how I am going to survive another eight years of parenting. I need a break or a new life.

[Denise]

Ashley: I want to hold your hand and just be quiet with you until you are ready to talk.
Jenn: I am so sorry about your foot and why you can't go to the doctor. Do you have a friend or neighbor who is one who could just "check" it for you?
Cariba: Amen, sister!

My confession has to be a silent one this week.

[anon today]

I started to write it down ... but I just can't ... silent confession for me too ...

[june]

My confession is that my daughter, a single mother, is about to start an affair with a married man and I can do nothing to stop her or change her mind. I worry about her, her reputation but mostly about my small grandson who has already endured the split between his beloved parents. The thing is that she lives with us in our guest apartment so it's under our noses. I refuse to allow him over our gate but they meet elsewhere. And then I wonder if I'm interfering too much...

Thank you, Jenn, for providing a place to let off steam.

[Marms37]

It must be affair confession day. I've been waiting all week to write this. My very dear friend (married) is having an affair with a married man. They have already been caught once by the man's sister, the wife has left her a voicemail saying that "there will be trouble." I have tried to convince her that the smart thing to do is break it off, but she's right back in it again. This is all going to end in a very ugly way, I can feel it. However, I will not stop being her friend and I will continue to tell her that she is out of her mind. For the record, I hate affairs and think people should keep it clean if they don't want to be with their partners.

[cardinal]

@Ashley, I'm in a similar spot. I haven't lost faith, per se, but I've become unable to tolerate church. I'm Episcopalian, and although on paper my church is tolerant, I'm tired of all the hate. I just can't listen for that "still, small voice" when there are so many angry people around me. It makes me so sad.

[Shelley]

My confession is that I'm scared...very, very scared...that my husband isn't going to find a job before his unemployment runs out, which is only two more payments. Scared right outta my mind.

[Annie]

I'm scared too - but for a completely different reason. On Sunday, I'm going to see a man I haven't seen since 1971 ... yes, 1971! I'm equally terrified and excited. It was serendipitous how we reconnected ... but I keep replaying various scenarios in my head. Why can't I just relax and take it for what it is? Truth is, I'm not really sure why I'm doing it ... on the other hand, why not?

[Jocelyn]

My confession is that I'm feeling bitter that my kids are the types that other parents say "should give lessons to children about how to behave"--yet they no one (exception: my aunt, once a year! She's great) ever offers to watch them for us, even for an afternoon, so we can pack up our damn house to leave the country for a year. So I'm bitter and trying to get over it.

Let's just say I look at all our friends and the grandparents their kids have, and I'm envious.

[take me away]

I confess that we're only a couple weeks into summer vacation and already I've had enough of my kids. They are blatantly breaking rules (bedtime, on computer longer than allowed, not doing chores, or bitching while doing so) and I'm too tired to do anything about it. Tired of being the bad-cop. Need a vacation alone on an island.

[Nora]

I think way too much about an acquaintance who just purchased a $1 million home. Her husband makes around what mine does, she stays at home (I don't), and we have great credit--but we could never make a purchase like that.

[bramble]

Take me away I am feeling you! I've got the teenager thing going on and it's about to kill me and we are only a week into it. Husband is too tired to deal with it PROPERLY so...I am the b-tch and I do not appreciate being saddled w/ the role.
Thanks Jenn for the avenue to blow my top!

[Kate]

I'm cat and bird-sitting for a neighbor, who is away with her hubby and 3 kids, all girls, for the weekend. I am apalled at the condition of her home. It's filthy. There isn't a clear surface anywhere in the place that you can put something down. The place is shabby, yes, but they can't help that, but it is just also dirty - the floors, everything. So much crap stored everywhere. I feel for these young girls and the example their parents are setting for them. It's beyond just messy. When they leave the house they are all, especially the kids, nicely dressed and turned out, so I never imagined what the inside of the house looked like. I'm really skeaved by it, and I feel guilty for feeling this way.

[green girl in Wisconsin]

I'm so so so sad about the Women's Colony. I'm glad glad glad you're keeping a piece of it alive. I hate that my husband is getting thicker and balder. Thick like Alec Baldwin, but without the hair to compensate. How shallow of me, no?

[Lisa]

@Jocelyn. Wish I lived where you are to help with kids and packing. Or just bring dinner so you didn't have to deal with it.

[Elizabeth]

I just spent gads of money on plane tickets to go visit our parents. The husband will be so ticked. But, worse yet, the stupid parents (all of them) can't be satisfied with the amount of time we are giving them. They want more and more.

Plus, I think my brain is drying up from lack of intellectual stimulation. Ironing, cooking, chasing babies. I need more right now and it's hard to come by. I really don't have the time to sit down with a good book without a baby crawling on me and my friends aren't much help in this area.