It only seems natural... Kept me alive... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Yes, that is today's topic. Breastfeeding. I would never intend on controversy. But, I keep hearing about all these arguments and I can't believe it. When you drive by one of these ranches out here, or anywhere else for that matter, I know you do it. You see that calf or that foal having a bit of breakfast and you think or say, ahhhh. It's one thing that we share with many animals. For quite a few of us, it's where our first meal comes from. Mom. It's a great relationship builder. It's, at least for me, where the bond we have with our mother's begins. I know as a breast fed baby, where the feelings I have and have always had for my mom came from. I have an impossible time finding a reason for that to be a problem. It's the way things were. As many a grandpa has stated, back in my day, before all these products at the grocery store and all these people who seem to know so much, that's the way it was done. I realize that for some there are difficulties that prevent new moms from being able to nurse and that's understandable. But for someone to actually be offended by the beautiful, heart warming sight of a woman feeding her child, I just don't get it. Or for a woman not to desire what I imagine to be continuity from carrying a child for nine months through the pain and chaos of birth to feeding after all that is over, just seems like the thing to do. I remember how it hit me when my mom lost both of her breasts to cancer as it seems many do these days. It wasn't only the fact that cancer had invaded her body that created the stress we all felt, but it did leave a strange emptiness within me. I honestly feel that our relationship was centered on breastfeeding. I've heard the experts talk about how it increases the bond we have and that there is as much psychological as physiological reasons for it. I have no basis for the impression that not being breast fed has created this generation of lactose intolerant children. I know when my kids were young, that the breast was replaced by a bottle full of man made formula. I have a phobia about that. I never appreciated the fact that kids could get nourishment from such a source. I've also been told that mother's milk contains nutrients for a stronger immune system that can't be found in formula. It also has no shelf life or need to be kept cold or heated. I always felt it maybe slowed development. There is no way to make up for the loss of intimacy. I see young people that don't have near the respect for their mother that I've had. The fact is, my mother and I didn't have a great relationship. But, I never came into her presence that I didn't kiss her forehead, nor did I leave her presence without a kiss and an I love you. Because I did love her. There was a time, I've told you before, when I sent her cards on my birthday. I just felt, after all the stories on the news, that I was truly thankful for her. She didn't abort me, she didn't leave me in some trash bin, she didn't sell me. We weren't great friends, but I respected her and we did manage to find enough common ground to get along. I can't help but believe it was because of the way we started our lives together. With her lovingly holding me close to her body, me feeling her warmth, hearing her heartbeat. Feeling the ultimate in safety and intimacy, as she fed me. There is nothing that can replace that and I know it's something we need as humans. I'm saying I realize that some new moms don't produce enough milk and some just have problems feeding. That is where the term "wet nurse" comes from. I imagine there are many that have no idea what that is. You don't hear it these days. And some will be offended by the fact that I used that term. But some time back, they were necessary. And that is it in a nutshell. People are offended. I say it's a shame. I just can't wrap my head around anyone being offended at the most beautiful of nature's moments of life. Could it be a maturity issue? I mean, how can it be that the nation that spends unbelievable amounts of money each year on pornography be offended by a mostly covered woman's breast in public? I thank my mom and all the other's that practice breastfeeding. I'm glad for the fact that they are willing to do so, to continue to give after the birth. Willing to do what it takes to build that relationship that has a chance to grow into something very special. I've said many times that I admit that I'm not an educated man, that much of what I know comes from what I see and that's the way I see it.