I suppose that is the kind of statement you’d expect to hear from someone who is celibate…

Before touching down for his first visit to Africa, Pope Benedict XVI took the opportunity to pontificate on the AIDS pandemic, saying that condoms are not the answer to the fight against AIDS.

I think we can all agree that condoms aren’t the solution to the AIDS pandemic, but they certainly are an effective preventative measure. Especially in a country with limited medical care and widespread occurrences of rape.

While the Pope views condom distribution as giving those with AIDS the green-light to have sex, I believe the intention is to protect those that do not have the disease from contracting the disease. Will some view the condoms as the green-light? Absolutely. But why are we comprising the protection of many based on the rash actions of a few?

Several of the comments on the article are very well stated, especially those that expand on AIDS and STDs being a public health issue and not necessarily a moral one.

I miss PJP.

I know this post may be a little heavy-hitting for my blog, but bear with me and weigh-in.

I’ve mentioned a few times that I’m a huge NPR fan. I don’t understand half of what they talkabout, but I find it calming and I might even be learning a little something in the process.

Today, I listened to This I Believe, which is a short segment where people from all over the country share one of their core beliefs. Sometimes they are touching and sometimes they are funny, but today’s segment was about Finding Freedom in Forgiveness and was absolutely shocking.

Jennifer Thompson-Cannino picked Ronald Cotton out of a line-up as the man who raped her in 1984. After 11 years in jail, DNA evidence proved that Ronald was not the rapist and he was released. Jennifer felt tremendous guilt and met with Ronald to ask for his forgiveness. He told her that he forgave her long ago because they were both a victim of the same crime. Because of their ordeal, the two are now good friends.

To me, it’s a tremendous story from both accounts, because I don’t know if I’d have the guts to face up to my mistake and apologize like Jennifer did and I don’t know if I’d have the complete lack of bitterness that Ronald has.

The two have written a book together called Picking Cotton and will be featured on 60 Minutes in a segment about mistakes in eyewitness testimonies this weekend. You can also download This I Believe free on iTunes and watch a video clip on Amazon.

So, would you be able to do what either one of them did? Stand up and confront your mistake or forgive someone who essentially took years of your life away from you?

Our first wedding anniversary is coming up at the end of the month, but we won’t be celebrating with Parmigiani watches and a fancy dinner. Not even pizza and Netflix.

Like a fool, I scheduled my trip to NYC to visit my sister from May 23rd to the 26th. Our anniversary is the 25th.

I was so focused on getting the best airfare and taking advantage of the long weekend that the date didn’t even register. In fact, it didn’t even dawn on me until a week later, when for no reason I shot up off the couch and yelled “we won’t even be in the same TIME ZONE for our first anniversary!”

I don’t think there’s a souvenir in all of New York City to make up for this.

Mike’s a paramedic, which means he works 24 hour shifts and is alerted of emergencies by a loud blaring tone at all hours of the day and night. Five years of loud blaring tones awaking a him in the middle of the night has made him a very light sleeper.

When he’s at work, he needs to be alert, so being a light sleeper is a plus, but when he is at home and needs to rest, being a light sleeper really inhibits him from getting a full nights sleep.

He’s tried earplugs and eye masks, and when I toss and turn in the middle of the night, he usually goes to sleep on the couch. A White Noise Machine is on our list, along with a new bed, of things to make sleeping more comfortable. A white noise machine drowns out the noise, or silence, around you, giving you a nice clean and relaxing sound to fall asleep to.

Hopefully a white noise machine will mean a full nights sleep for Mike so that he can be awake and alert for the 48 hours he’s home!

We have an issue with sleeping arrangements in our house. I hog the bed, Mike tosses and turns, and we have a weiner dog that likes to sleep between the two of us. Sleeping has gotten so uncomfortable that one of us ends up on the couch at least once a week.

Since there isn’t room for three platform beds in our bedroom, we’re going to have to go with a single California King, so I made a deal with Mike. Pay off half of our credit card debt, and we’ll go buy a bigger bed.

We’re now penny pinching our way to a better nights sleep!