Day-Maker #38

I was stopped in the parking lot on the way from my office to the Cats by a man sitting in his car, waiting for something. As I walked past, he opened his door and said, "Excuse me, I just want to let you know that you look beautiful today. You look really nice." When I said thank you, he shut the door and I carried on. Day made.

Work-Life Switch?

A friend of mine shared this article about work-life conflict and how men are experiencing it now. Actually, according to the article, men now experience it more than women. I haven't read the original study, so I don't know the metrics they used. It sounds like it might be something feminists have been striving to accomplish : men taking responsibility for home life, so that women no longer perform the second shift alone.

While some people argue that we need women's studies because "everything else" is "men's studies," I haven't read nearly as much about masculine identity as feminine. Maybe it's time to look at how our shifting concepts of ourselves as women is affecting our male counterparts?

Wish List

Percy recently acquired (by gift) the men's version of this t-shirt. Being substantially less confrontational than I am, he doesn't wear it often. I think it's pretty much the best t-shirt ever and wanted to share.

Day-Maker #37

A young dad walking down DoG street, carrying his baby in his hands, playing games and making him grin the happiest baby grin ever!

More Fun and Games

Over the past month or so, I have been out on the boat with Percy and his family quite often. Monday morning, Papa Percy, Percy, and I went out for an early morning jaunt before the river got crowded for the 4th of July.

The morning stillness reminded me of setting off across the Occoquan, heading for Sandy Run on race days. We would paddle through the mist, waking up our bodies for race day. I half-dozed as Percy took a crack at the slalom ski.

Then I took my turn playing behind the boat. First, I remembered how to get up on two skis. I had done so on Saturday and had been pleasantly surprised that I could still ski behind a boat. Then Percy suggested that I learn to surf. Although his father thought one needed to know how to wake board first, Percy kept talking and so I agreed to try. It felt odd to balance against a light board in the water, but in only a few tries, I got up behind the boat!

The surf board is designed to ride the wake just behind the boat, letting the water pull you so that eventually you can toss the tow rope back into the boat. Your feet aren't attached to the board, which seems strange, but feels better to me. I immediately recognized the balance as the same feeling as standing up on the Metro, which I highly enjoyed. I didn't get to the point of floating behind the boat, but I'm looking forward to trying again!

Patriotism from the Pulpit

This article, while a few days old, is rather seasonally appropriate. Here's the question : should churches have national flags by the altar or anywhere in the main worship space?

The author gives an unequivocal no, despite her love of and pride in the good ol' US of A. I, on the other hand, have mixed feelings about patriotism (see here). However, I think the placement of a flag in a church is much more nuanced. It is very important that we pray for our nation and do everything we can to sanctify it. By creating a complete divide between God and nation, we risk becoming a secular people, who worship in church and leave religion behind in the public sphere, already a disturbing trend at least in rhetoric. Do flags in worship space remind us of the need to carry our faith with us into the public domain, or do they alienate those who do not share the nationality? Both? Neither?

Gendercide

Anyone active in the pro-life or women's rights community should already know this, but I do want to share. The global community is noticing a trend among abortions : sex-selective abortions, in favor of bearing baby boys to term. Different organizations are condemning the practice, but it is hard to combat without stepping on parents' rights. It's impossible to know for certain a mother's motive in seeking an abortion, and unfair to keep her from knowing the gender of her child.