More Fans

Cathie jogged my brain the other day. How could I be a fan of the Soles' girls and not be a fan of the mother and father who produced them??!!??

Here's to Cathie and Grant, the proud parents of the Soles girls mentioned in my earlier post of Cheryl's Fan Club. Cathie is one of those people who you don't see for a while, but with whom you can pick up precisely where you left off last time you saw her. She is also the one who has taught me to appreciate animal lovers if not the animals themselves. She faithfully exhorts, encourages, rebukes and prays for me when needed. I need more friends like her.

Dawn -- Dawn has played a very influential role in my life. I am apparently a slow learner. It took me seven births in the hospital before I had finally had enough of the unnatural, sterile, medicalized and sometimes inhumane way they have of helping new little people into the world. I was only 8 weeks away from giving birth to my eighth child when I connected with Dawn. With her help, I had a successful homebirth and went on to have three more with her.

Dawn opened up a whole new world for me. I don't know if it was just me or the circles I had travelled in, but prior to Dawn, I had a very gnostic view of the human body and female sexuality and my experiences in the hospital did much to confirm those views. I have since re-educated myself to a more Biblical frame of mind and my hope is that my daughters will learn this from me and pass it on to their daughters. My granddaughter has already benefited from this since she too was born at home with Dawn's able assistance and Grammy Grenon there to help. Lord willing, she and I will work together again when the next grandbaby is born, hopefully here in my home next January.

With Dawn's influence, I became a doula, or labor attendant, and have assisted other women in having their babies their way. I think it is also safe to say that Dawn's influence has spread so that a number of my girlfriends in the church have either had her or had a midwife and homebirth as well. I and they owe her a debt that is huge. She has been my mentor, my shoulder to cry on, and my encourager. She has empowered me as a woman in the right way, and helped me to see that the role of "mother" is an honorable role worthy of far more respect than it currently receives. I sometimes wish I could become the midwife she would like to see me become, but I don't think that is going to happen. I'll content myself with labor attending when I can.

People I appreciate are not limited to those I know in real life. With the internet now in place, you can now develop friendships or at least come to admire people that you may never meet in real life. Here are a few people I have gotten to know and enjoy via the net and vicariously through othe friends who have actually met them:

Jerry -- We don't correspond and we have never spoken, but I am still a fan of his. Read his blog to find out why. Join his Covenanted Reformation Club and see a good example of how to moderate a Christian discussion list with grace, humility, and humor.

Brother John -- He's exceedingly brainy, has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Covenanter History, and likes bunnies. He writes some of the most thoughtful and thought provoking posts that I have read.

BTW, it goes without saying -- if you are listed in my Favorite Blog sidebar, I am your fan.