Linking the way through the week: We All Fall Short…

A few links that are about the fact that nobody’s perfect.

For the record, these ladies burned more than bras. It was actually part of a kind of awesome protest at the Miss America Pageant.

While folding laundry last week, I made my way through the PBS series Makers: Women Who Make America. You should watch it. Even if you are among the many women (and, for that matter, men) who would rather not use the term “feminist” as a descriptor. Even if you do not agree with every last bit of the feminist movement. There’s a pretty good chance that at least a few things these women did made your life better. I forget how barely-removed we are from some of these issues of history. This article brings it home: there’s a lot we take for granted.

Meanwhile, after reading about women’s happiness in different countries, I want to move to Norway. Those ladies are happiest with the balance of home labor. Not that I’m complaining: Erik (middle name Bjorn) is pretty good about this.

And now, I will say something that is probably utterly un-feminist. If your spouse doesn’t love you like Mark Kelly loves Gabrielle Giffords….wow. That man is one smitten husband. It makes me choke up every time I see evidence of it. (Gabrielle Giffords is being awarded the JFK Profile in Courage Award. She’s wonderful.)

Finally, nobody’s perfect. So let’s all cut each other a little slack in the preachers’ kids department. Who on earth thought it would be a good idea to profile preachers’ daughters in a reality series? More importantly, what on earth pastor’s family thought it would be a good idea to put their kid in an even bigger fishbowl? For a more mature and incredibly wonderful take on preachers’ kids, read my friend Jan’s piece . And note: the first list (the problems of being a preacher’s kid) are basically all the reasons this preacher’s kid was reluctant to go into ministry. The second list are all the things I worry Abram is missing out on while I’m not working in a church.