Heck no.  Duh.  But apparently this little Dutch girl has plans for it and her father is not opposed.  Thankfully the court has taken her into custody for two months to evaluate her psychologically.  In my opinion, even if Laura Dekker is the world’s most mature 13 year old, there is no way in Hades she should be allowed to sail alone– for TWO years.

The article compared her to another young sailor, a 17 year old BOY who sailed around the world in just 9 months.  Now this lad was also a minor, but there is a HUGE difference between 13 and 17 (about 4 years actually).  And not to be sexist, because I think girls mature faster, but boys have different "safety" issues than girls, if you know what I mean.

So anyhow, the court is going to evaluate her to see if she should be allowed to go.  I love this line from the article about the ruling: "(It supports the idea that) you are not a bad parent if you try to help your child fulfill her dream," the family lawyer noted.  To which I say, I think it’s great to support your kids in their dreams.  If I had a 13 year old daughter who was an excellent sailor who wanted to sail the world solo, I would say, "Honey that’s awesome, and I know you can do it.  Let’s make all the preparations now, so that when you are AT LEAST 18, you can fulfill that dream!"

 What do you think?  I think it’s ludicrous to even consider letting her do it.  Do you think she would be happy if her dad went with her?  Should she just wait until she’s 17 or 18?

Also, here’s a good one I head yesterday…  A mom was talking about her ooh, maybe 8 year old boy (who was taking private dance lessons at the time) and she says to another mom, "I am trying to convince him not to take so many classes…"  What the heck?  Convince him?  Since when did you stop being the adult?  Does he have his own bank account?  If you don’t want him to take so many classes, then you don’t LET him take so many classes.  Sheesh.

In our church we put a strong focus on the family.  Families are important and eternal, and this is a good thing.  Husbands and wives have unique strengths, attributes and also different roles.  Whenever possible husbands should be the providers, and wives should be the nurturers and caregivers of their children.

I am not "employed" outside the home.  For the most part that is fine with me– I don’t want to be away from my precious little ones for 40+ hours a week and have been blessed to not have to do so. I like being able to stay home with my kids, but I don’t love being a "stay-at-home" mom.  Maybe it’s because I have always been a driven and goal oriented person.  Maybe it’s because I never had a "career" after college.  I don’t want to leave my babies and work for the man, but I crave adult stimulation and rewards for work well done.

So I own my own business.  I am an independent consultant with Mary Kay.  In the fall I will be teaching a Musikgarten class and I also have a booth at the local antiques store.  I love bringing home a paycheck (be it ever so small) with my name on it.  I like being with other women, setting goals, attaining those and being rewarded for it.

Now with all that background, let me tell you, I don’t always know where I "fit" among the other women at church.  I identify the most with those that work part time, but those are few.  Most of the women are stay at home moms and that is what they do, and they often don’t even interact with other women outside of church.  And because I am at home with my kids most of the time, these are the ladies I should identify with the most– but I don’t.

It’s totally laudible that they stay home with their kids, put total focus on their children and keep clean houses.  But it’s just not me.  I always thought I wanted to be like that, but as it turns out I have different desires.  Is it totally selfish that I want more from my life?  My children will only be little for so long– should I make my life ALL about them?  And yet even if I made that shift I don’t think I would be able to relate to these women any more than I do now.

Just my thoughts.  Yours?