I never knew what a middle class white American was….maybe until I got my first job and actually met some middle class white people. Still, it didn’t sink in. It took me several years at that job to see the difference between my life and theirs and then several more years to realize that they were actually the majority, not me.

Then, over say the past ten years or so I’ve had some time to think a bit more about it. My four years in dental school (2002-2006) were my real eye opener to what upper middle class white people are. I was officially out of my hometown and surrounded by “them”.

It’s a funny feeling. I don’t know if I feel cheated or not. People still mistake me for one of “them”. I still have problems interacting with “them”. I struggle with whether or not I should become one of “them”. But – I do know that I currently hate and deeply resent being mistaken for one of “them”. I try to view “them” objectively, but it’s tough. I find that I often don’t like “them”.

Now, because of this, I never tell someone that I think anything sorrowful was God’s will. You never know the reaction you are going to get even though your intentions are 100% good.

Maybe I’m weird, because I find the statement comforting. I even remind myself that everything, to me, is God’s will, when something awful has happened to me. People are perplexed by this. They seem to think I’m stating that I believe God wants bad things to happen to me. Not so. I simply accept that God has reasons for what happens to us and those reasons are, at times, beyond our comprehension. Sometimes, it’s up to us to try to find out what those reasons are and sometimes it isn’t.

I suppose that I attract quite a few visitors because I blog about adoption. My other main blog is more of a happy, fun “Mommy blog” and I only get about 30 or so visitors a day.

Anyway, welcome!

The book I’m reading is called “The Burning of Bridget Cleary” by Angela Bourke. Yes, this book has to do with the literal burning of a woman. The book is an attempt to analyze the reasons why this burning occurred, at the hands of Bridget’s own family, back in Co. Tipperary back in 1895. The author explores superstitious beliefs in fairies and attitudes toward “unconventional” women and childless women, in particular.

Had I been born in Ireland back then, I wonder if they would have burned me?

This woman is writing from a war zone.

Thanks for noting this blog Zuky