Let’s Have A Conversation About Vaccines

I would love to have a conversation with you about my views on vaccines. But first, would you do me the courtesy of answering the following 20 questions? This is to ensure we can have a productive dialogue on the subject. I wouldn’t ask you to do anything I haven’t already done! Feel free to skip questions 12 and 17 which are for levity purposes only. ;)

1. Name 5 vaccine ingredients other than the virus itself.
2. Name 5 possible adverse reactions to either the TDaP or MMR vaccine.
3. Please provide a link to the study that shows the effects of multiple vaccines on children? (Hint: you may get stuck on this one)
4. Have vaccines been tested on pregnant women?
5. What is VAERS?
6. Who pays for it?
7. How much money has it awarded since its founding?
8. What is an adjuvant?
9. What is thimerosal made of? Why was it removed from many vaccines? Which vaccine was it not removed from?
10. How many children have died from measles in the US since 2000?
11. How many die annually as a direct result of the MMR vaccine, as reported to VAERS?
12. How does Chuck Norris kill viruses with his bare hands?
13. What is shedding? Which vaccines shed?
14. How many Mcg of aluminum is deemed safe for an individual per the FDA by weight? 
15. How many mcg of aluminum are in vaccines?
16. What are the effects of aborted fetal cells being injected into the body of a different DNA?
17. Do they make a vaccine that makes you immune from spending money at Target? If so, I’mma need that one.
18. Do physicians receive financial bonuses for each vaccine they give? If so, how much? (Hint: look at Blue Cross Blue Shield)
19. Can vaccine manufacturers be held liable if a child gets sick or dies as a result of use of their product?
20. Does your doctor provide you with the package inserts from the vaccines including potential side effects? Do you recieved info/inserts for every other drug you are prescribed by the pharmacist before you are allowed to pick up your medicine?

If you run into any hardships finding these answers, let me know and I’m happy to help out. Should anyone resort to one-lined platitudes or name calling, the conversation is over. Thank you for honoring my request. I honor you and your choices. Now let’s talk.

This Is Me

I am real. And still a work in progress, for sure. But I am real. What you see is what you get. That’s why I put my stuff out for the world to see. My stances on muddy topics. Posts that require some vulnerability. My joy. My sadness. My pain. My pride.

I share about parenting. Natural lifestyle hacks. Essential oils. Animals. Marriage. Vaccines. Sometimes even politics and religion. I try super hard to be kind in my verbiage and to not tread upon those who have differing beliefs. My thumb has been trained to keep scrolling if I don’t like something, and if I’m engaged by someone who doesn’t like my stance on something, I strive to maintain a loving relationship through our dialogue. I firmly believe we are more alike than different—people. Humankind.

That being said, I won’t back down. It’s taken too long for me to be comfortable in my own skin and my decisions and to be quite public with them. Recently I was referred to as a self-righteous know-it-all. I was sad for a bit, not because of this person’s opinion of me, but because of my relationship to them. And I thought about it for awhile...meditated on it, and decided that I was a learn-it-all. Far from knowing it all, I love learning as much as I can, especially if it’s interesting to me. I devour articles, watch videos, listen to podcasts, and converse with my spouse constantly about things that are important to me. And then I go and share them because I figure maybe someone else might be interested too.

I recently purchased The Velveteen Rabbit for Jackson’s Easter basket. When I saw this quote, it resonated with me...where I’m at...36 years into my life. I’m in the process of “becoming”. More real. And it’s only ugly to people who don’t understand.

I think I’ll keep boldly being me. I’m not gonna be everyone’s cup of tea and that’s okay. Being real is more important to me than being liked by everyone, and trust me, if you truly know me, that’s a huge thing for me to say. I’ve become many things in life, but perhaps as important is what I’ve un-become: a people-pleaser. If you’re still reading, hopefully it means you love me just as I am, shabby and all.