That's quite a read Stumpy, thank you!
I sympathize with your sense of time wasted on that ignorant cult... how could we have been apologists for such baseless garbage? So good too that Mrs Stumpy came out with you on your exit.
I have friends who outwardly appear to be JWs but know it is false yet remain in for the sake of family. I understand this reasoning but lost my beautiful wife to the org and two of my children by not going to the meetings anymore. I made a decision to not tolerate JW stupidity any longer. Bang go your family and friends when you escape the clutches of a mind-bending cult. For such a personal cost in my case, I can still say that leaving the JW religion was for me was both liberating and invigorating.
Afterwards, and I'm sure the same goes for many posters here, you wonder how come you were duped for so long and why was the JW cult was so persuasive in the first place? No simple answers here but it did seem to initially offer a convincing and a totally embracing solution to all of life's problems. Like putting all of your metaphorical eggs into the one JW basket. Your emotional, religious, social and even intellectual eggs all together in one location. This means that if the basket of belief is broken everything goes at once.This is a big chunk of the fear in the FOG is it not?
But what a relief to be free from this JW collective paranoia and to be free to enjoy the ups and downs of a natural life determined by our own conscience and personal choices.
Good to have you here and all the best to Mrs Stumpy.