Why Can't We Admit That Our Lives Aren't Perfect?

A post on the New York Times blog Motherlode is getting lots of buzz today. In it, the divorced mother of a young son writes very honestly about watching other family's lives around her, on Facebook and in real life, and wondering if they're as happy as they appear or if they're merely struggling to maintain a facade of perfection.
Amy Lawton writes:

Why is it so hard to have honest conversations about things that really matter? Not politics or books or current events – those things are easy to talk about. It’s our own vulnerabilities that get stuck on our tongues. Is this true just for me?

How would you answer her?
Lawton did a fantastic job of writing about this issue by being vulnerable and open in her post, admitting that she's not at all happy with her divorced status, that she envies the families around her, and that the nights without her child seem to last forever.
But the larger issue she writes about has bothered me for years. I know that my own life is far from perfect -- I struggle as a wife, as a mom, as a stepmom. I struggle with my purpose in life and my direction. I struggle mightily to find happiness. Yet people outside my home probably would think things appear to be just wonderful.
Is this true for you, too? Why do we all feel the need to constantly convince others that we're "fine?" We're "happy?" We're "okay?"
Even when we're not.
I think the uncomfortable flip side of this issue is that most people don't really want to be around a person who's down and openly admitting it. We call them whiners ... complainers ... Debbie Downers. We're shocked by the things they admit in the car rider pick-up line or on Facebook. We're judgmental. Everyone gets a pass to complain once in a while, of course, but when someone seems to be down a lot, that person is generally avoided by others. It's sad but true.
All this doesn't really make me want to run to Facebook and write about my troubles any time soon!
Those are my thoughts on the matter. What are yours? Are you a "creeper" like Lawton, watching other families who seem to be happy together and wondering if you'll ever have that kind of happiness as well? And why do you think we have such a hard time being honest with each other about our lives?

Whatever dream  you have, you can work toward it. It doesn't have to be perfect, but at least, you have something you wake up everyday to do. Do not let critics discourage you. You should be your own cheer-leader. It's good to take advice, but you must be happy with it before applying it to the project you hold dear.
No matter how much you try, you cannot please everyone; it's just impossible, else, you will live a very unhappy life pleasing others who won't acknowledge it.
Love yourself first before throwing your all to others, because at the end of the day, they won't see that you are sacrificing your time on them while looking less and less of yourself.
Live life to the fullest. It takes a lot of energy to be angry. It takes two to quarrel, so go for a walk and simmer down.
You deserve to be happy just as you make others happy.

Hmm! Nurses ought to be life savers.

Nurse Refuses to Perform CPR on Dying Woman & 911 Call Catches It All (VIDEO)

A chilling 911 call out of Bakersfield, California is making the rounds of the Internet today, and it's not good news for the nurse on one end of the call. If what we're hearing is everything that happened, the nurse at a nursing home outright refuses to perform CPR on a dying woman even as the 911 dispatcher begs her to do the right thing. To make the sad case even more confusing: the nurse had actually called 911 to get help for the woman!
By the time medics arrived, it was too late. Eighty-seven-year-old Lorraine Bayless died. Which leaves America wondering today: what should happen to this nurse? Should she be punished for letting someone die on her watch?
It's a tough call. We know that the 87-year-old did NOT have a do not resuscitate, but we don't know if CPR would have saved her life.
We do know that we expect our medical professionals to try life-saving measures when help is needed. Trying can make all the difference.
But that didn't happen here, at least not from what we can hear on the tape. On the unsettling 911 call, the nurse repeatedly tells the impassioned dispatcher, "we can't do that" when she's pushed to perform CPR or find someone who can, even if it was someone who wasn't employed there.
Sounds like she might have been following orders, and according to a release obtained by CBS from the Glenwood Gardens Retirement Facility, the incident is being investigated. The facility's practice "is to immediately call emergency medical personnel for assistance and to wait with the individual needing attention until such personnel arrives."
So it's possible the nurse was just following orders. But does that matter? When someone's life is on the line, do orders from your boss to stand by and watch supersede the moral imperative to act? Should it even be legal for a company to create such a rule?
A part of me can't help but feel for this nurse: she may well have felt that her job, her livelihood was on the line. In this economy, that's terrifying.
Then again, a job is a job. Can we really compare that to a life? I don't think I could. I certainly don't think I could live with myself after putting the one ahead of the other.
This woman is a nurse, she chose a job where she faces life and death, and she knew walking in that people were putting her loved ones' lives in her hands. Maybe there's no illegality here, but there's certainly a moral wrong that's been done.

When will it end?

12-Year-Old Bullied Boy Dies & ‘Bullying’ Becomes Much, Much Worse Than We Thought

This is the kind of story that makes being a parent so terrifying. A 12-year-old boy who was the victim of a bully attack died. Bailey O'Neill, who had just celebrated his birthday on March 2, was in a coma for weeks after being beaten up during school recess.
Bailey's family said he was jumped by two classmates at his Philadelphia school in January and had a concussion and a broken nose. The next day, he started having seizures, and doctors put him in a medically induced coma from which he never woke. It's just heartbreaking. Now the question is, what's next? A boy is dead. But this is no longer a simple case of bullying. It could be murder.
The bullies were suspended for two days, but is that really enough? As of now, officials haven't announced whether there will be any criminal charges as they try to figure out if the fight definitely caused the seizures. They are also interviewing staff and other kids who were on the playground when it happened. But if what they did led to another kid's death, shouldn't they be charged?
They are described as classmates of Bailey's, so presumably they are around the same age. It's sad to think that kids so young can do such horrible things to each other. But regardless of age, they shouldn't walk away with a mere slap on the wrist if found culpable. Their brutish act cost another kid his life. So this begs the question of whether they should be charged as juveniles or adults.
I haven't heard all the facts in the case, so I don't feel comfortable making that call just yet. But I understand why it will be a part of the debate. I just hope the prosecutors weigh all the facts very carefully and come to a conclusion that is fair to Bailey's grieving family. The O'Neills even had to take their younger son out of the school because they feared he would be attacked too. Unbelievable that they continue to feel terrorized as they plan a funeral, for which they've set up an online fundraiser to help cover costs. Heartbreaking, isn't it?

Dear Readers,
Without you, authors write in vain, and stories die, lying six feet below with writers. Authors try their best to entertain you, though, it can  never be full 100% satisfaction as obviously, you can't please everyone. I am opening a venue here on my blog for anyone to comment, and give a hint on the kind of stories that keeps you awake at night , and stories that satisfy you.

Keep nurturing your minds, and massaging your brains,

Rita Michaels.