Return: To Modesty, Please...

Note to the reader: If you don't want to see images of scantily clad women, don't read this post.

Yesterday, as I was mall-walking with my boys in the stroller (yes, we still had temps in the triple digits here this week!), Jeremy said "Yook, Mama!" I looked up to see what was catching his attention, and I saw this huge poster in front of us:

"Oh, no!", I thought. 

"What are you looking at?" I asked, hoping that there might be something else. 

"Elephant!", he answered. Waaaaaay in the distance, was this adorable lady at the Rainforest Cafe:

"Phew!", I thought to myself. "My innocent boy is still my innocent boy." 

It made me wonder, though, how hard it will be for me to raise young men who are respectful of women when society constantly bombards us with sexualized images of women just to sell products. As an experiment, I decided to take pictures during the rest of our mall walk of images that could be seen from outside of the stores we passed. 

Also in Guess' window was this gal sprawled out on a bed with mile-high cleavage:

And this image also was at the Guess store of three classy dames throwing themselves ever-so-sultrily at a lollipop sucking dude who could seemingly care less about them, even though he seems to be the center of their universe:

Next on our walk, we encountered these bigger than life floozies at Victoria's Secret. Their message? Wear these underthings and you'll be "Unforgettable" to your man:

Um, newsflash, Victoria! I don't need your little secret to be unforgettable to my man! Ain't that right, baby? ;)

As if Victoria weren't enough, Frederick came from Hollywood to flaunt this business in the face of every passerby:

All I can say is, "For reals, Freddy?" Nothing about that window display even makes me want to walk into the store.

Things got a little tamer when we came upon the Reebok store. Notice, though, the subtlety of this...

The man is wearing a tank top, but the ladies are working out in jog bras. Hey, Reebok, while I'm a big fan of holding my girls in place while I work out, I generally throw a shirt on top. Thanks!

A random novelty store had this lovely lady in the window:

Because we all know that the reason we wear a scarf is mainly to be a ta-ta cover.

Finally, we came upon a store called "Perfect Bodies" that sell...well, just read the sign.

I love that the web address at the bottom of the poster is for "lipoexpress.com"

All this to say...Yes, I absolutely will do everything I can to raise my sons to be respectful of all people, to have pure minds, and not to look on women as objects. I'd sure appreciate it if advertising and marketing teams across America would get on board!

Return: To Spain

Today Rebeca is getting on a plane and flying back to Spain. We'll all miss her so much! We've so enjoyed having her as a part of our family for the past two months. I so appreciate what a huge help she's been with the boys, but mostly I have appreciated her friendship. If you hear someone crying over at our house today, it's me...I'll miss you, "Beca"!

Happy Flag Day!

According to this Wikipedia article,

In the United States, Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777.

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day; in August 1949, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress.

One of the things I really like about our neighborhood is that many of the families fly American flags in their front yards on national holidays (even our Canadian neighbors! Go Canada!). When I was in junior high school, I used to LOVE being assigned the duty of raising and lowering the American and Texan flags at the beginning and end of the school day. Today, as I put our flag up, the same feeling of patriotism and American pride washed over me!

Charleston: Day 6 -- Isle of Palms

Today has been my favorite day of the trip so far. After a leisurely morning of sleeping in, coffee and breakfast, we went for a walk on the beach at Isle of Palms.

Tonight, we made predictions (and wrote them down!) about what our lives will be like three years from now when we hope to meet up again. May calls it "Three by Three"--every three years the three of us will endeavor to get together. We stayed up late talking. It was a rich time of friendship. I was a little sad this morning realizing that in two more days we'll all go back to our separate corners of the world (one of us in TX, one in the Carolinas, and the other in Spain), but I am so thankful and so content to have these women as my dear, dear friends. I love them.

I hope you all have a very Happy Easter!

Semana Santa

I’m on an airplane as I type this en route to Charleston, SC, where my best friend Anne lives. We’re going to spend Easter Week together with our dear friend, May, who is flying in from Spain for a girls’ week! I’m so excited to see them--to have a whole week together feels like friendship decadence! The three of us met back in 2002/3 when we were all working together in Spain. We became fast friends, and I’m so thankful that we have maintained our friendships over the past seven years!

In thinking about this trip, it occurred to me that Anne and I have have spent one other Easter week together. It was Holy Week (or Semana Santa, as they say in Spain) of 2003. I was living in Zaragoza, and a group of my American friends/co-workers and I decided to take a trip down to Seville where Semana Santa is celebrated in grand style.

There are processions through the streets with giant floats depicting scenes from the original Holy Week:

Photo found here.

Operatic songs are sung in the open air:

Photo found here.

Women are dressed in their traditional headdresses:

Photo found here.

And then there is the most striking sight of all: the throngs of people walking through the streets in these hooded garments that look to my American eyes precisely like those worn by the Ku Klux Klan.

Photo found here.

It is a most disconcerting thing to see. I never could get used to it. After associating such an image with the most heinous and unsavory of aspect of American culture, it was hard to see it as having any other meaning, regardless of what country I was in.

As I came to learn, Spaniards have worn such garments during Holy Week for centuries. The hooded cloaks are symbols of repentance. I tried to get comfortable with that and to dissociate what I saw around me in the streets of Seville from the symbol of hate that hooded cloaks symbolize here in America.

But it was impossible.

I have always tended to diffuse uncomfortable moments with humor, and Anne still gets the giggles when we reminisce about one particular day of our trip to Seville when I leaned over to her and said, “Hey, Annie, purple Kluxer at six o’clock”.

I am now arrived safely in Charleston, and perched on Anne's kitchen countertop to greet me was this little trinket she bought in Seville those many years ago.

Nothing like a little purple-clad penitent to bring back memories!

To the People of Iran: I Stand With You!

To the Courageous People of Iran, those Marching in the Streets:

At a time in history when there is so much about which to worry, so much about which to despair--you are not wallowing in worry, nor are you cowering in despair.  You are taking it to the streets and making your voices heard!  

You are braving tear gas and police batons and asking as loudly as you can, "Where is MY vote?"

You are risking being beaten and even killed because freedom is more important to you than your very lives.

As I sit in front of my television, watching the videos and messages that you are sending out through Twitter and Facebook, I am amazed and inspired by your courage.  I want to do something to help you, but I'm not sure what to do or how to help, other than to pray and to write this post on my blog.

If you even have access to the internet, please know this:  Your voices are being heard by the world and we are watching! We support your valiant efforts to be heard and to be free!  You are my brothers and my sisters and I am with you!  I am for you!

May God grant you the freedom for which you so yearn!