Moved

This blog has moved.

Uh, birth control please?

It was 11pm, TheMarriedSage and I were at Wal-Mart with one very awake Miss Munchkin in tow. I don't like shopping at Wal-Mart, but it was the only store still open and we needed groceries. It had turned into one of those days.

First on the list? Condoms. Why? Because we're responsible adults.

When we first arrived in this town they were near or in the "Feminine Needs" aisle. (Ever wonder what they would put in a "Masculine Needs" aisle?) The Married Sage says they were in the aisle next to the pharmacy counter. In the end we checked both places.

Then we checked all the other aisles. TheMarriedSage decided Wal-Mart is part of the conspiracy for him not to get any and that they must be favor of abstinence. Which is why they keep moving them. Only serious, desperate people can find them.

Searching the aisles for a second time, I decided they were Catholic. They didn't think you should be having s-e-x without wanting to conceive, so they no longer stocked them, period.

I finally gave up and asked one of the zillion restockers where they were.

"By Register 22."

...

The tobacco counter. They have put the condoms behind the counter with the cigarettes!

Supposedly, they were having to many people shoplift them. I know it happens. Personally, I don't get it. Why be ashamed you are trying to be responsible? Or that you're intelligent?

If you can't afford them, fine. You still don't have to steal them. Newsflash! Lots of places will give you condoms for (get this) FREE!

For starters, your local health department. When I was working at McHell and making next to nothing, I went to the county health department . They gave me std test, pregnancy test, a pap smear, a years worth of "The Pill", and a whole bag full of condoms all for around twenty dollars! The bag of condoms are free and you can just walk in, get them, and walk out!

Check your local churches. It may seem odd, but I'll bet somebody gives them out. Especially if you are in a bigger city.

If you don't want anyone seeing your face or knowing that you're "doing it" or whatever the problem is try here for FREE packs or search for yourself.

Just, please, stop shoplifting them. I'm not to embarrassed to tell the cashier I want xyz brand from before the counter in front of my toddler and the ten people before me in line. A tad annoyed, but not embarassed. But what about all those people that were buying them with a half a dozen other things, just so they could pretend condoms weren't in the mix. How many people (young and old) are now walking out without their only source of birth control, because a) they just can't find it and b) if they could they're not gonna ask permission to get from behind the counter!

C'mon people! Wake up!

Sanctuary

My home is not my castle. It is my sanctuary. It is my little safe place tucked away from everybody else. It is my natural habitat.


I don't mind venturing out into the world. In fact I (usually) quite enjoy it. But after just so long I get overloaded, tired, and cranky. Even doing something I like, with people I like, when I'm done, I'm done. I need to go home to my quiet abode and recharge.


I don't mind entertaining either. I quite enjoy having friends over, whether it's a chaotic group with lots going on or a quiet just chilling night.

I don't know why prolonged exposure to groups drains me so. But it do. At the end I need to come home to my sanctuary and decompress. If it was a particularly stressful event, it can take days to recharge.

Am I just meant to be a hermit? Or if I thrust myself into a much more socially active lifestyle, will I adjust? Or is it just in my blood? My mother is much the same way...

The Rebel Cause

If you don't live in the South you probably aren't aware how alive and well the American Civil War still is. It's hard to believe that almost 150 years later Southerners are still flying Confederate Flags and complaining about Yankees and Damn Yankees. (Yes, there is a difference between the two.) They seem oblivious at times that the rest of the country has moved on. It's not that they are actively ready to go back to war or anything. They just remain vexed about the whole damned thing.

To the rational mind it remains a mystery as to why... Why can they not just move on and let bygones be bygones?

Once you experience summer in the South you understand that any semblance of a rational mind goes out the window. Or it would if you dared to open the window, but that would let the precious air conditioned out and the a/c is barely keeping up as it is!

You see, the heat does something to you. One day is fine, two okay... Sometime after two weeks of 90 to 100 degree heat with 60% humidity something in you snaps. Or maybe it just deserts you, headed for cooler weather.

While just walking from your house to your car you are instantly drenched in sweat that cannot evaporate. If you venture to get your mail, you may drown before you get back inside.

You watch the sunset in the evening and think,"It'll soon be better," but it's still 85 outside at midnight and you swear it's more humid.

If your air conditioner can keep up, it's cool inside. But in your mind you know it's still hotter than blue blazes outside. You're trapped inside your house until it becomes a prison. Sure, you can leave and go somewhere else. But to do so you must venture into the heat, get to your car and then realize even though you left your windows down it is still close to 300 degrees inside and there is no way it's going to cool off before you get where you are going.

After several weeks of this you are ready to snap at anyone. The smallest slights stay with you for days, baking in the heat.

Then the greatest insult hits you. You realize it's only been a month of summer. It's only June. This will last until October, maybe even November. Another five months, at least!

Don't insult anyone living in the South; they've enough injuries already.

What Is The Box?

The Box to me is anything anyone follows blindly without question.

For example: I was in public school through fifth grade. Public school was a Box for me and my parents. It was never questioned; I was of school age so I went to school. That's just what happens. Right?

Why? Was I learning things in school that I couldn't learn at home?

Hm... Probably not anything good that my parents wanted me to learn.

The summer between fifth and sixth grade The Box was questioned. My mother jumped out of The Box with my father, my two brothers, and me in tow. But our journey wasn't through. We weren't in public school, yet we were recreating it at home.

Why?

Did we need tests and grades to prove we were learning to a "teacher" that already knew what we knew because we learned it together or had a conversation about it. Did we need a lunch hour? Snack time? Recess? An hour for math? What if we grasped the concept in ten minutes? Or what if we wanted to dig really deep into it? Could we keep going while we were on a roll? Or did we have to stop and move on to something else, hoping the passion would still be there tomorrow?

It didn't take long for us to leap completely out of the public school at home box we had put ourselves in. We soon discovered how to learn again. Maybe more importantly we learned to love learning again.

Anything can be a Box, not just public school. There have been many Boxes in my life - religion, schooling, jobs, love, marriage - just to name a few. There have been Boxes I questioned and leapt out of. There have been Boxes I questioned and not leapt from, but in the questioning they became something different.

Everyone has Boxes whether they admit it or not. Everyone's Boxes are different. Not everyone will find the same answers when they question them. I questioned Christianity and left it, others questioned and kept it. We are all different people, with different Boxes, different questions, and different answers. The only truly important thing is that we recognize the Boxes in our lives and question them. That is life beyond the box.

The Next Step

This is a sequel of sorts to my mom's website and blog. (LeapingFromTheBox.com) Although, it is no longer about homeschooling it is still about unschooling.

LeapingFromTheBox.com is there is help those who'd like to begin the journey of teaching their children to love learning and ask questions. Usually by homeschooling them, but not necessarily.

LifeBeyondTheBox.com is the continuation of that journey into adulthood. Whether you were raised, leapt, or were pushed out of it; I hope you find something here to keep you thinking and questioning. After all that's what LifeBeyondTheBox is really about. Isn't it?