"Great post, well said Mom! BUT you forgot to mention you let ME play with Ninja Turtles when I was little. And, except for the nasty, undeniable urge I have of occasionally needing to dress entirely in green and work out my TURTLE ENVY through kinky role play, I'm pretty balanced!" Ah yes, that's my girl. My second daughter, also grown and a mother is on the same page - only she didn't play with Ninja Turtles and doesn't have Turtle Envy issues. After reading Dr. Ablows comments, my 16 ear old daughter went on a “wandering rant”. She didn't think much of his comments either. However, she felt I was bashing men with what I wrote. No, no bashing. I feel bad for them. It makes me very sad to see fine young boys who start out being open and feeling good about themselves being ridiculed and shamed by parents and society. Someone else was quoted as saying, "It doesn't seem to bother people as much when a girl wants to do any activity that is generally regarded as a male activity." That’s true. But this wasn’t always the case was it? You don't know this Piper, but not too long ago, in a world before the one you know, women couldn't even vote. It took a lot of strong people, women AND men, to affect that change. Our society as a whole seems to have matured a lot since those days, at least where girls are concerned. Not so much for boys. We're still fighting that battle.
Change of subject - we were touched by a story out of Japan, of volunteer, Etsumi Ogino. Etsumi Ogino, along with three other volunteers, risked radiation contamination to rescue a pack of Shelties (dogs in case you aren’t familiar with the breed) left behind by their owner in radiation threatened Minami Soma City. The dogs were found STILL waiting at the train station for the return of their master. All in all, 20 dogs were brought to shelter, care and safety. Not all of the dogs succumbed to the rescue. The team of volunteers is planning a return trip to bring the other dogs out.
Another bit of heartwarming goodness - again out of Japan, a man noticed a young porpoise, only 4 foot long, struggling in the shallow water of a flooded rice field. He waded out into the field and rescued the baby. Yeah, you compassionate, brave hearted souls!!!