Ok, sparky. Taking your lead, I will relay some negative reasons why I need the occasional fluff.
I'm a full time single father whose ex-wife wiped us out financially two years ago before mentioning, "Oh, by the way, I think we should get a divorce and you should take custody of our son."; whose ex-wife still has not paid any court-ordered child support; whose ex-wife rarely calls to speak to our son; whose ex-wife is, step-by-step, allowing her life to sink into the gutter overflowing with alcohol, following the footsteps of her alcoholic father who died last year in a pool of vodka. And I'm the one that has to try to answer questions about why we no longer live with mommy, and console him when he starts to cry because he misses his mommy.
My mother is dying slowly of cancer. She is a controlling, often mean-spirited, nosey woman. She tries to use her sickness to guilt people into doing what she wants them to. Yet, the little boy inside still loves his mommy.
Much as many here, the psychological triggers embedded by the WTBTS demonizing just about everything there is in the world made adjusting to life outside a horrendous chore that took up most of my twenties. In many ways, I often felt like I was so far behind everyone else my age as far as development goes. I still feel pretty naive at times. I sometimes think I am now where I should have been in my early to mid-twenties.
There is more, but I don't want to focus too much on them.
On the other hand, there are many positives. I have a son who is such a great little guy. He's sharp as a whip, kind, friendly, very loving, yet also strong-willed. We tell each other all the time that we are each other's best friends. It has been so effing fun and joyful to watch him develop. He is so curious about things. He talks about Jehovah and how she made the clouds and the sun and everything around us. He got the Jehovah part from his grandparents as I just refer to God as "God".
I know, I know, I'm a big "atheist" and all (not exactly, but close enough). I see a great benefit in the way I'm raising him though. As he grows older, we can discuss the more... "technical" aspects of divinity and godhead... though I think he grasps some of it naturally, like the way he told me that the moon is a woman and the sun is a man.
I also have lost a lot of fear about things. I'm not afraid of the "demonic" influence of certain books and ideas and people. I am free to choose.
We must laugh on occasion. We must allow ourselves to forget some of the harsh realities of existence for at least a little while. If not, our creativity is stunted, our hearts become jaded and dull, and our minds become cold and detached.
And as a final note, I really love you guys here on JWD. I know there are people here who probably take offense at some things I say. I'm sure some people think I am just a big ole jerk. But I can't let that influence who I choose to be. There are some who post here that I disagree with almost all the time, some fiercely. But I still wouldn't hesitate to greet them with a handshake, an honest smile, a pat on the back and buy them a drink if I met them in person.
Sorry for the rant sparky. Back to normal programming.