The Saturday 7

1. I read an interesting article this week called "U.S. Adults in their 20s and 30s Plan to Have Fewer Children Than in the Past" by the Pew Research Center. It showed that only 75% of men and women plan on having even one child, down from 90% in 2012. "The biggest drop was seen among women between 20 and 24. In 2002, 93% of women in this age group planned to have at least one child; by 2023, that had dropped by nearly a third, to 66%."  

I have a lot of thoughts, that are probably semi-controversial, but mostly it makes me sad that so many women have been taught that careers are more important/fulfilling than having kids. Listen, I will be the first to say that raising kids is hard. It's sanctifying. It requires selflessness- which is particularly hard in today's culture. But it's worth it! Reading articles like that one make me wish I'd had another baby or two before the big snip. Someone's got to keep the world populated, man! 

2. That said, I have realized lately that I'm in a sweet spot of parenting. Lucy has grown out of the pre-teen hormonal anguish, Lena's not quite there, and Levi is finally old enough to be independent. Every time we have a cousin fun day, I'm reminded how wonderful it is not to have to keep a constant eye on my kids. Haha. They're old enough that I don't have to worry about them wandering off or getting in a car with strangers or being unable to find help if they need it. It's one of the blessings of my siblings and I having our kids so far apart from each other. Niki was a huge help to me when my kids were really little, because hers were mostly grown, and now I'm able to help with Libby and Esther's kids - with the bonus of having a close relationship with my great nieces and nephews thanks to our family's unusual age gaps. We had another cousin fun day this week that reminded me how much I love our family's close ties and willingness to take care of each other's kids as if they were our own. And I love summer and all the time it affords us to spend together!

3. We also spent time with cousins bowling and movie-going this week.

I didn't really like the movie. It was nothing special . . . and there were no songs!

Lucy, Nova, and Brodie were there too, but they left before I remembered to get a group picture. 

4. I finished Jane Eyre! (And added over 500 pages to my summer total - take that, Lucy! 😂) It wasn't terrible. But as I wrote in my Goodreads review, just because something was groundbreaking for its time doesn't mean it should be considered excellent literature for time immemorial. I think Bronte's work was important to pave the way for female authors, and for the romance genre in general. And I do think her emphasis on fortitude, morality, and virtue are lacking in most of today's literature. But I literally made a document on my computer after I finished reading called "Books That Are Better Than Jane Eyre." It was heavily populated by authors like Francine Rivers, Lynn Austin, and Kristen Heitzmann. So check them out and save yourself the trouble of wading through 500+ pages of archaic British literature. 

5. You know who could use a primer in morality and virtue? Facebook trolls. I "boosted" a facebook post for our school's fireworks tent fundraiser, which means that we pay to make the post more visible on facebook. And I was shocked by the vitriol from people who have nothing to do with our school! 

And then there are the commenters who say, "Go blow up yourself and your school." Pretty sure that violates Meta's user standards! Seriously, people. We just want to sell some fireworks to raise money for the school that our values align with. No one's asking you to align with those values! 

6. Today, we were invited to the Montgomerys' cottage. It was a beautiful day, the lake was warm, the fish were biting, and the sun was out . . . but I couldn't convince the girls to go. 🤦 (#teenagers) Justin, Levi, and I had fun though! They fished for hours, I read in the sun, we fed the turtles, and I even laid on a float in the water until the fish started nibbling my toes. 

#blueskies #nofilter

7. Pics and memes:

Finished my puzzle. I know you've been waiting with bated breath to find out how it turned out.

25 pizzas for the Soccer Camp Volunteer meeting! 

Another important study that I will be citing vociferously. 

I literally said this when we were at the theater. Even when the sound is being piped at full blast through surround-sound speakers, I still can't catch every bit of dialogue. #deafgirlsayswhat