Greetings (page 3)

Doubtfully Yours

Welcome to this fine board. Your story is remarkable!

DY

undercover

Welcome, Aggie

I can relate to a lot of your story though I was never a pioneer or elder. I'm glad that you found your freedom and was able to keep your family intact. That's an accomplishment.

AggieNostic

thanks everyone for your kind comments...

Mouthy! I have read your posts for a long time - you are the best! Hugs back at ya!

No, I'm not from Texas - Aggie is just my play on Agnostic - which I am... bordering Atheist - what a long way from how I was raised.

Our family celebrated Christmas last year for the first time "officially" - it was so much fun! The only downer is that we still hide it from our parents and other family members that are still JWs. In fact, last year my son was driving back to college - he passed my wife's parents heading our way - he called to warn us and I frantically rushed around putting the tree and decorations away so they would not see... too funny.

I asked my daughter if she wanted to be "public" about christmas this year and she said fine - but my wife and I are still hesitant as none of us are DF'd and we still have limited contact with our parents - if word got out about christmas we would be DF'd... we still value what little relationship we have with them...

I have so many stories to tell and to add to this one... stay tuned for more posts!

Aggie

snowbird

Welcome!

What a wonderful, well-told story!

No wonder your company thinks you have a degree!

Kudos to you and your awesome wife for facing this thing together.

Sylvia

no more kool aid

Wow, I really enjoyed your post. I can't wait for my husband to read it. It sounds so much like our youth, courtship and high school years ( down to the same years). We too are faded (not dfed) and walk a fine line celebrating kids birthdays, fathers day etc on the down low. We also decided that we did not want this kind of life for our kids and they have adapted quite well, the youngest thanks us almost on a daily basis for getting him out. I wish your wife well in school, she will love it, my husband and I went back in our late 30's (while still in). I will so look forward to hear more from you! NMKA

ziddina

WHEEEEEETWhew!!!! [Wolf whistle...]

What a story... Left me breathless just to read it... Looking forward to hearing more in the near future... Congrats on your whole immediate family exiting, btw... Hope you and your family's road ahead is smooth and free...

Oh. And

Zid Oh. And 'aggie' - also a playing marble made from agate... [rockhound...]

cantleave

Welcome - Lots of us can relate to your story. The realisation that you have wasted your best years in a cult is gutting. Make the most of what is left. Enjoy your life. You got out before me, I didn't wake up until this year - 42 years of believing BS.

Gayle

So enjoyed reading of your 'awakening' process. There's more for us to process when we were born in/ or raised in the JW mindset than just re-processing "doctrinal" issues. We had more "personal" identity to process. In so many ways we weren't allowed to "feel" anything or not much as a child because everything was wrong. The WTS life expects children to act and be their little adults. Well, you can't just "skip" stages/phases without some long term emotional impact. The WTS just sucks the youth out of youth. Thus, I think, JWs raised in it and marrying have a much higher percentage of divorces than the national average. You and your wife succeeding through that process together is wonderful to hear. Many of us found ourselves in marriages growing apart in too many ways.

Now, we learned with our experience, that it would be different for our children. They will fully enjoy being a kid, enjoy their childhood more greatly, with some choices of personal activities, extracurriculars, sports, birthdays, holidays, proms, music and band, not limited friends of a narrow religion, encourage college direction and preparation. We encourage them to think for themselves and have a free mind, to analyze and research. We don't have them spend hours studying about typical and antitypical, king of the north & south, and figurative and prefigurative, or whatever.

It is good to hear experiences like yours and that life beyond Jehovah's Witnesses can be grand!!!

poopsiecakes

Hi Aggie - welcome and thank you for sharing your story with everyone here. The similarity of what people coming out of this religion have suffered never ceases to amaze me...different people, different lives, different details - same result. I share your agnostic bordering on atheist views, once you start realizing 'absolute truth' is a house of cards, everything starts to crumble and you start wondering if ANYTHING you believed had any real merit.
Keep coming here and telling us your stories!

Peace.

flipper

AGGIENOSTIC- Welcome to the board my friend . And welcome to your freedom of mind ! You are among friends, look forward to your posts and takes

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