Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Before I grew up

When I was little, I wanted to be a nun.  Go ahead, laugh, take your time.

I had some very catholic grandmothers, and I went to catholic school, mostly because it was the only way to go to French school.  Though my mom was not religious at all, she fully supported that I loved going to church.  I loved learning about the saints and reading the bible stories.  I used to beg to go to Sunday school, and my mom would always find someone to take me.

I also had a lot of faith in God, though I do suppose that since I really only had one notion of God, it was by default a catholic one.  I remember how peaceful it was to sit in mass, how much the repetition and ritual of it all was soothing compared to the chaos at home.  I said my prayers every night like a good little girl, and when I learned that in addition to the peacefulness of it all I would probably get to spend my life learning, well then it was settled.

Then when I was 12, that all changed.  When I was in 7th grade, we did our confirmation at school.  I started my first real crisis of faith.  If God loved me so much, why didn’t he help me with all that was going on at home?   I said my prayers, ad did my charity, helped others, and yet my suffering worsened.  About a week before my confirmation I told the priest that I didn’t feel comfortable going up in front of everyone and making a promise that I didn’t feel in my heart.  I loved God and believed in him, but I just wasn’t ready. His reply was that since it was a part of the school curriculum, I would receive a fail grade if I didn’t do it.

I couldn’t believe my ears.  He was telling me that it was preferable that I lie, that I just go through the motions, than wait a year or so and really mean it.  I was devastated.  My faith was shattered.  I stopped going to church except when it was mandatory.  My mom was supportive, she told me I would either find my way back to the church, or I would find God somewhere else.

That year I changed schools, and the new school did their confirmation in 8th grade.  I told my teacher that I had already done all of this, and asked if I could have extra work in English since it was the subject I needed improvement in.  I got the same reply as the priest the year before.  I would not have to perform the actual ceremony, but I still had to do the rest or else my grades would suffer.

That was the last nail in the coffin; I lost faith in the church.  I still believed in a higher power, but not a church that placed more importance on appearance than belief.  People who know me find the idea that I wanted to be a nun quite hilarious, especially seeing the person I’ve become.  I am far from the traditional idea of a nun, I’m known for being a rebel and non-conformist who questions authority.


And when I look at the church now, and what it’s become, I kinda feel sorry for them, they could have used some nuns like me, nuns who would modernise.  I look at the group of nuns in the US who protest for readily available contraception and I can’t help smiling to myself, that was probably the kind of nun I would have turned out to be.

Inspired by Mama Kat's writer's workshopSomething you wanted to be when you grew up


Mama’s Losin’ It

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Crest Pro Health

I have never admitted this publicly before, but I am not a oral hygiene enthusiast.  I’m very lucky in that I have a good set of teeth that don’t seem to need any special care, I don’t floss or go to the dentist regularly.  This is one behaviour that I am currently trying to change, mostly because I feel I should set a good example for the kids.  So when I saw this campaign come up I thought that it would be a great opportunity to change that.

The evening I got my kit, I tried it all out for the first time.  I’ve never been brand loyal about tooth products in the past, so I can’t even tell you what brands I was using before other that it was the brand on sale at the time I needed to buy stuff.

The toothbrush is interesting; it has these rubbery massager thingies that I am not yet sure how I feel about yet.  The toothpaste was not too strong, which I really like, and the mouthwash didn’t leave my mouth feeling dry after.


My mouth felt clean for sure, cleaner than with any other brand, that remains to be seen.  According to the info, the full results will be seen after four weeks, and since four weeks is usually how long they say it takes to form a new habit, I’ll be setting a good example in no time.

***Please note that I am a BzzAgent, which means that they send me new products to try and I give my honest opinions about it ***