Thank you, Jenn, for pulling out these gems and republishing them.  I always think of parenting as one area where people are very screwed up by the idea of sacrifice and duty, so to see this kind of display of pure moral goodness from so many people made me cheer with delight!

Speaking of Rational Jenn, did you know that she and Kelly Elmore now have a parenting podcast and new blog called Cultivating the Virtues?  I’m listening to their second podcast and I’m finding it to be very enjoyable, and I expect to get a lot of great parenting advice from it.  Kelly and Jenn are just fun to listen to!  They play really well as a team and you can tell that they are enjoying the discussion.  I’m loving the “situation of the week” segment because hearing “war stories” from Objectivist parents is so incredibly valuable.  This week, Kelly explained how she handled a situation where her daughter couldn’t find a shoe she wanted to wear, but they needed to leave the house for Kelly’s own selfish reasons.  What struck me about the story was that, in deciding whether to let her daughter find the shoe or to leave, and in deciding what to do and say and ask, Kelly didn’t think in terms of permissiveness or strictness at all.  The real issue became Kelly’s effort at understanding what her daughter really needed and wanted, in a much larger sense that wanting to wear a particular shoe.  And she did it while still drawing a firm line and remaining selfish.  The podcast format seems to be really good for this kind of storytelling and I look forward to more more more!  You can listen or subscribe through their blog.

When I first came across this blog, I knew that I’d found a kindred soul when I read the subtitle:  “A place to collect, store, and eventually integrate ideas.”  That is just so me!  A little compulsive, a little serious, and a little cute. 

I’ve been reading LB’s blog for a year and half now and I’ve not been disappointed.  3 Ring Binder is filled with the most wonderful stuff:  original poetry, extremely clever observations, political analysis, and lots of humor.  She also comes up with the most clever post titles I’ve seen anywhere.  I love clever titles!

Sometimes she gets on a roll and I can’t believe that one person could think of so many interesting things to say.  She’s on one right now.  Check out these brilliant little gems, all from the past week:

Holiday Cocktails – I love to read about people’s everyday values – their Little Things.  LB reveals how seriously she takes her values with her detailed account of what she found in a simple library book.

Boring, Bored, Bore – This is one hilarious story, but it’s more than funny – it’s a glimpse into the mind of a woman who thinks about everything. 

A dog, I hope – I wish I could make a Christmas card out of this beautiful story.  I guess sharing it here is my way of doing just that.