It all really comes down to...

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

 - Howard Thurman

A two week masters level course...

...is like drinking from a fire hydrant.

I am really enjoying the MAL program (Masters of Arts in Leadership). The topics are interesting and relevant - everything I hear, I can picture either CBC or Costa Rica (which then leads me to daydream and forget what's happening at the front of class for a minute).

The people are fascinating - we come from all walks of life, worldviews, perspectives, positions - I've even been blessed to have been put in a group with someone who owns the bakery down the street from where I live (here comes ten more pounds by Christmas :) Right, Hank? Oh, well, I'll walk it off.)

It was reassuring as well, to know that we're all in the same boat. We're all overwhelmed...excited, enjoying it, but overwhelmed.

The hydrant is flowing.

Back to it...

my pet peeve. obviously shared.

 I would marry the man who drew this, because I'd know, he might not be good at washing dishes, he may not be good at folding laundry, he might even make messes that I'd have to clean up, but at least I'd know that he'd never misuse the apostrophe. (and yes, I'm that much of a nerd).

why i never wear a wristwatch...

alternatively I would call this: the way we view time.

newsflash..

Carleigh, Lana and I went to the mall on Saturday.

This was the first time I'd been to the mall in ages. We all forgot our troubles for the afternoon and floated in and out of the stores. Carleigh pretended she didn't have three children at home, I pretended I had money, and Lana...well Lana bought the best army leggings I've ever seen....for those times when she's hiding in the bush.

But the shocking part of our trip was the realization that American Eagle is now selling these for the "nevernudes" in your family...

(Carleigh actually made that joke in the store, and the guy that was greeting us stared at us blankly...if you are staring at this post blankly, then you have also missed out on the greatest show ever: Arrested Development)

While we were commenting on the shortness, I made a naive statement that obviously young girls must be wearing these with leggings underneath, cause there's no way their mothers are letting them out of the house with just these.

And then I turned around, and met mother-daughter who proved me wrong.

Evidently the new style is the shortest shorts you can ever wear, paired with boots. I think we need to stop this fashion trend. As I realized what was going on, I started seeing it everywhere I went...and I started feeling sad.

Young girls all over North America are trying to look older than they are. Trying to look like the girls in the magazines. Like "the girls that boys want". Except it's really all a lie. And the boys that want girls like that don't want them for more than a one-time-use.

I know that these types of new "fads" have always sort of irked me...but I haven't been able to put my finger on it...until I read an amazing book this year.



"Half the Sky" by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, tells the stories of women in Cambodia, India, and Thailand who represent women all over the world facing oppression. These women are sold into modern day slavery = the sex trade. They are young girls when it starts, and often find it hard to escape...because it is the only life they've known (and often their lives are threatened when they DO try to escape).

I highly recommend this book.

I want mothers and fathers all over the world to read it.

I want them to tell their daughters that there is a reason we shouldn't be wanting to wear short shorts and it goes deeper than our looks. It's about our value and worth. It's about our intellect and our ability to provide for our families in ways that men can't. It's about showing off our brains more than our butts.

I want them to tell their sons about the type of girls that they should go after and care for, and that women are to be honoured...not used.

Here's to one less pair of nevernude shortie shorts.