Let's Celebrate Women!

(coats from Miss Patina)

Happy International Women's Day, friends! Women are so cool. Being a woman is so cool. I mean, I didn't always feel this way, but the journey has been worth it. Sometimes it just takes a little time to grow into who you want to be.

When I was younger, I was of the belief that women were catty and dramatic and mean. I guess some of us may know a person or two like that, but that's not the definition of being a female. I've had so many ladies in my life that have come around and loved me and changed my entire perception on feminism and relationships and the like. I'm thankful for that, because who knows where I'd be if it weren't for them. Let's back up a bit.

We all had terrible friends in high school at one point or another, I'm guessing. I basically decided in high school that I just preferred to hang out with guys and never really pursued relationships with females after that... until I met a gal who changed my mind. See, a pattern I've noticed in my life is that when you meet a super-awesome lady-friend, 1 or 10 more super-awesome lady-friends seem to follow. That growth happened over years for me, but I'm thankful now to be of the strong opinion that women are amazing and I try to surround myself with them whenever possible.



Okay, so above I mentioned the "f word" (feminism). If you would have asked me 6 or 7 years ago if I was a feminist, I probably would have told you no. *GASP* Feminism, in my former small town, was painted as angry women who didn't wear bras and hated men. Ugh. Such a weird, small-minded stereotype. Still, I didn't understand it and wasn't really interested in educating myself on the subject. My conservative Christian background didn't really help with making feminism interesting either, if I'm being honest. At the church where Johnny worked, women weren't allowed to be in leadership. As a young woman, I believed that woman weren't strong enough to be in authoritative roles besides school teachers. As I got a little older, I found myself questioning WHY about a lot of what I was brought up to believe. I started to become friends with women who were a bit more liberal. I started asking more questions. I guess if I'm being honest with myself, I started caring more. My feminism was birthed there.

I have two daughters now and I want them to be sensitive, caring, strong, smart, and inclusive. I want them to grow up seeing their mother as an empath who FIGHTS for others. When they are grown, hopefully they will follow in those footsteps. I want them to be proud to be a lady, not ashamed or feel lesser-than. Women's voices are important and all women deserve to believe that. I hope you do. xo.

Emotional Ramblings Of A Very Sensitive Person

(Read the title first.  You've been warned.)

You know that feeling of being genuinely disheartened?  I really feel that today.  I know better than to get into Facebook discussions about religion and politics with many of my family members and old acquaintances unless I'm mentally up for the severe anxiety and sadness it brings with it.  I try to use my platform for as much good as I can.  Anywhere my voice can be heard, I want to be a reminder that empathy for others is IMPORTANT.

Anyway, I posted on an FB friend's thread today because I genuinely felt like I needed to.  Of course it was about our new president and it was a lot of very conservative white men responding by laughing at someone who was voicing their opinion in a very loud way.  Though I agreed with the things he was saying, he was doing it in such a threatening manner that I knew I was setting myself up for attack from the others with much different opinions. I felt like they were belittling him, but it wasn't just him.  They were driving home the point that right now, "liberals" are crying and moaning about what's currently happening in our country.  They are just "whining" about not getting their candidate elected.  That's when I got sucked in.  I gently reminded these men that even if you don't agree with someone's opinion, or they way they deliver it, calling names and being dismissive of their concern is coming from a place of superiority.  Even though we went back and forth for a long time and they played dumb about much of what I was saying (and I was VERY talked down to) they never understood my point.  People who are marching and being vocal about concerns about their country aren't whining and moaning.  This is coming from a place of REAL concern.  Concern for others.  Love for others.  Do I agree with the way some people are delivering their opinions?  Sometimes I don't.  But it does raise a red flag for me that there is a large outcry in America.  People doing what they feel they can, who are coming from a place of wanting to do good for others.  There are other people who want to make a joke out of that and that breaks my heart.  I DO find it heartening THAT though our country is very divided right now, the thing I'm taking away from most of the ugliness is LOVE of others.  CONCERN for others.  Even if you don't agree with someone, stepping back and looking at where their concern is coming from is very important.  This isn't a game to be won.  I mean, you can pitch a strong argument that it actually IS, but it also isn't.  I don't know.  This feels like a lot of scattered words on a computer right now, but I was just feeling so anxious and sad after that exchange.  I wish instead of the "our candidate won, get over it" mentality, there was more of trying to see where someone is coming from.  I'm also not saying that I think this is just a "conservative" mentality.  This was an actual exchange I had from people I've watched bully others AND myself.  I got to witness this superior mentality first hand.  We're grown ups now, guys.  It's time to put that away.

And, yes-- I realize I'm mostly preaching to the choir or whatever.  I just had an evening of being attacked on IG and then on FB today.  It's spirit crushing sometimes.  I'm often accused of either getting lumped into a group of bloggers who post too little about "real stuff", or the flip-side, post too much about politics and other "real stuff".  I get it, a lot of people are here for the crafts and the cute family stuff.  That is me.  But this is me, too.  So here's a bit of emotional rambling coming from a place deep pride in the human race, and deep sadness that it often isn't taken seriously.  That's all.

Love to you guys.  xo.