Family Funnies

My friend Polly blogs at Coming to Grips.  She writes funny stuff, and sometimes it is even family related.  I have a couple favorite posts I thought I'd share.

Go find out what a Fun Utility Vehicle (FUV) is, and see what her son said after his first bike crash.  She'll make you smile.

A Season for All Things

For some time I've been trying to remember which early feminist opted to focus on her family instead of the cause.  Yesterday, The Gift of Giving Life ran a little piece on Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the birth of her daughter, and I remembered, that's who it was!

You may recall that Stanton worked with Susan B. Anthony for women's rights in the mid 1800s (I'm not sure if I should really call them feminists, but in my mind they are).  According to my Women's History class notes from 1998, Anthony recognized the limitations of marriage and didn't want that.  Stanton was, however, married and had 7 children!  Even though these ladies had very different personal lives, they made a great team with Stanton doing a lot of the writing and Anthony doing a lot of the organizing and speaking.

Apparently, though, Stanton was "unwilling to commit to a vigorous travel schedule until her children were grown."  I can't find it in my notes, but I seem to remember Anthony being a bit annoyed with this.  Personally, as a woman who chooses to stay home with her children, I find Stanton's willingness to put her children as a main priority quite refreshing.  It's nice to see that other women who could do great things sacrificed at least for a time.  So many of us get so anxious to get out of the home and do what we want; but it's all in its right time.  My kids are only young once, and now's my time to be with them.  (Honestly, though, this stay at home thing is starting to grow on me.  This domestic goddess stuff might start to come naturally one of these days!)

Have you ever struggled with your role as a woman?

Heather, from Women in the Scriptures, was featured today at The Mormon Women Project.  I just loved reading more about her.  She's great.  I know if both she and I have had some of the same struggles about being a woman and a mother, others may have too:

...When I was really young, I told my mom I wanted a cause. I remember thinking I should have been a suffragette. I was angry that in Young Women’s we’d spend our time doing cooking or quilting. (We did whitewater rafting and rock climbing, too, but somehow to my young mind that didn’t count!) I had read in history about women who did big, important things to change the world, and that’s who I wanted to be! History never tells you about the women who stay home and raise the babies. I thought you didn’t change the world by quilting....