I remember staying out of assembly in infant and junior school. There were abou 4 or 5 other JW's that stayed out with me as well and we had to stay in the library. I expect the assemblies were very boring but when you're told you CAN'T go in you always think your missing something! I do remember sneaking into the hall to join in with the hyms tho as I loved the singing (better than the songs of praise at the KH!!)
Posts by CFree
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31staying out of school assembly!
by happehanna indoes anyone else remember how awful school was because of the dreaded school assembly.. my whole school life was blighted because i couldn't go in.
my young son can goes in and it is the best part of his day, he loves the hymns.
how glad am i that i came to my senses before my son suffered like i did as a child.
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9
JW`s and Cottages
by Beans inso how many of you have or had cottages as dubs?
now do any of you recall any families having them in your hall?.
now if so did these families retreat to these locations during the summer months?.
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CFree
My family in the UK didn't own a cottage but would frequently rent one for our family holidays. Sometimes these were based around the conventions so we got to go to the convention slap bang in the middle of our holiday (great - I don't think!).
If we were holidaying as family on our own chances are we didn't attend any meeting (I think secretly we were all pleased to have a break from them). If we were with another JW family tho we would usually end up at least going to the Sunday meeting (mainly just to say we'd done it when we got back).
When I think of it now it all seems so pathetic - if we'd all done what we really wanted to do we wouldn't have been going to the meetings whilst on holiday! My mum and dad are probably still doing the same thing to this day!
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Upcoming Holidays- Celebrating in Secret
by Vitameatavegamin inwith autumn in the air, my thoughts start turning to the holidays ahead.
are any of you doing christmas or thanksgiving?.
i do, but i have to be so careful, incase any jw family would happen to drop by.
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CFree
My reaction would be to say just go for it with decorations etc but we all know what the "pressure" from the JWs can be like. I am d'fd so don't give a monkeys what any JW thinks about me celebrating xmas etc. I never forget not long after my daughter was born (about a year after I had been d'fd) my mother made a rare visit to see us (my daughter mainly - good excuse). It was near xmas and the tree was up. She walked in the living room and said "if I'd known that was here I wouldn't have come over". Isn't it all so pathetic - it's a tree for goodness sake!!! Would she honestly have let a tree (fake one too!) stop her from seeing her grandaughter?! She opted to stay and continue the visit tho (without looking at the tree of course!).
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How Much is Shunning Worth?
by Xena inmy jw niece called me last night on the phone.
she is having a pampered chef party (for those of you who don't know what these are, it's like a tupperware party except they cook a meal and sell the cooking stuff).
it is going to be at my jw sister's house and all the dubs will be there....including my "best" friend who ratted me out to my sister regarding us celebrating christmas last year.. i am not invited....but my niece would like me to buy some stuff and to make up for shunning me she is offering to give me her hostess discount....woohoo huh?.
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CFree
It's absoloutely amazing isn't it, the way they seem to think we as d'fd should be grateful for the contact they make with us when it suits them!
If I was you I would have to tell her to get stuffed but it is easy to say it when you are not emotionally attached. I have days where I'd like to tell my parents where to get off but I am scared of making that final "cut". Should the door be kept open just in case they decide to leave one day? But then I remember the way they have treated me over the last 5 years and how they have never apologised but expect me to apologise to them! Like I said - amazing aren't they?
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When did you realised that everything had changed?
by In_between_days inin life, there are certain pivotal moments when you realise that every thing has changed dramatically.
it's a breathtaking and overwhleming feeling.
you may think back to who you were on this day a year ago, compared to who you are now - the contrast is incredible.. i find change in viewpoints and thinking evolves slowly, over a long period of time, you dont know the change is taking place until one day, you realise for one stunning minute that you are everything that you never were.
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CFree
I would say that probably up until about a year after I was d'fd I still had the gut feeling that they were right and I had just chosen to leave the religion and my family had a right to ignore me etc. It wasn't until I went onto the internet one day and did a search for Jehovah's Witness and found so many more sites against them than for them that I begun to realise. Reading all those accounts about other people like me and people reasoning on whether their beliefs are right etc. Maybe I wasn't so bad after all!!
It was quite a shock, like everything I had been taught my whole life was not necessarily right. A weird realization. Anger kicked in and I felt very bitter against my parents for bringing me up like it. I still feel angry but try to get on with life. It is so much better not being a JW.
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The Meeting Clothes I Left Behind
by dobby inthis past weekend my husband and son and i went to stay with my jw in-laws.. it was a pleasant weekend.
they were a little subdued this weekend, i think the assembly got to them and they seemed less open to discussing our feelings about the wt.. a very interesting thing happened as we packed to go on sunday morning.
i was in the guest room folding clothes into our suitcase when my father-in-law tapped on the door.
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CFree
My wardrobe was very heavily influenced by my mother (she was always buying me items and I would feel I had to wear them to please her). They were very long skirts, nothing that showed too much flesh and florals. When I left I got rid of SOOO many clothes, like someone else said I think back and can't believe I wore those things. I think it also association, any clothes I did keep I soon got rid of because I associated them with the past and I wanted to move on and start afresh.
My wardrobe now is very different and I can wear trousers to work any day of the week!!! I used to hate wanting to wear trousers to work on a Tuesday or Thursday but not being able to as I always went to dinner with my parents straight from work and then off to the meeting. Can you imagine the reaction walking into the KH with trousers on as a female. Shock, horror!!!
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Name Your Funniest Experience Out In Service
by Dismembered inthis should be a fun thread.. one of the funniest things i can remember out in "service" .
was 2 other guys and myself in a car.
so we take turns going to the door alone.
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CFree
It's not really funny but I remember not just dogs being a problem - goats too!!
I was on the service with my dad when I was about 5 and there was goat tied up near the door. I was pretty scared but my dad insisted we go to the door. Anyway we're standing there, next thing I know this goats butting me up the ass with it's horns. I cried and cried and I still hate goats!!!
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Secondary Infertility
by CFree inwe have a four year old daughter and have been trying for another baby for 3 years.
for the last 8 month it's been trips to the hospital and it turned out i'm not ovulating.
i was on clomid for 3 months and will going back on it for a further 3 months.
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CFree
Thanks - especially to Mulan and Scully. I'll read the testimonials, see how things go on Clomid this time and just RELAX!
I'll keep you posted. Sometimes I wonder if all the JW stress and having my family ignore me etc doesn't help things.
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Secondary Infertility
by CFree inwe have a four year old daughter and have been trying for another baby for 3 years.
for the last 8 month it's been trips to the hospital and it turned out i'm not ovulating.
i was on clomid for 3 months and will going back on it for a further 3 months.
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CFree
We have a four year old daughter and have been trying for another baby for 3 years. For the last 8 month it's been trips to the hospital and it turned out I'm not ovulating. I was on Clomid for 3 months and will going back on it for a further 3 months. Anyone else in a similar situation and/or can give me some positive vibes please?!
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How do you feel about your JW friends?
by sleepy inhow do you feel about your friends you left behind and in the organisation and who now shun you?
do you feel they are still your friends, and are just doing what they think is right?
would you ,if shunning was dropped and they now wanted to have contact again accept them back as friends?edited by - sleepy on 18 august 2002 10:14:43.
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CFree
For the most part I think I would have to tell them to get lost as I have seen many ex-friends since I was d'fd 5 years ago and most of them have such a superior look on their face. I couldn't forgive them. Also I feel that most of them weren't true friends anyway, they were false friendships forced by the whole culture of the JWs.
My own brother (yes my flesh and blood) shunned me last month - that was extremely upsetting.
Having said all this one of the friends that I grew up with as a JW got in touch about a year and a half ago to apologise for the way she'd behaved and to let me know that her parents, brothers and herself had all decided to leave. I have to admit I was VERY cautious at first but we've managed to establish a friendship again, a better one with the JW influence! In fact they introduced me to this forum!