I'm not ready for reality

As much as summer is a slow rut in the fast pace life I prefer to live in, it is a welcome break when we actually get to vacation.  Today, we are back, and I am not ready to slip back into the doldrums of reality.  I am boycotting my dishes.  It is hard to come back to reality when you have just spent four days in this;

This one sums it all up.

Sunny Summer Reading List Unread

The Midwest has been uncharacteristically cool thus far.  Today, it is in the 60's.  We had merely a week with 80 degree temperature.  The weather is pleasant, and punctuated by increasing numbers of mosquitos after frequent rain.  A few scattered sunny days have helped us recognize summer, somewhat. However, the lack of sun this summer in the Midwest has been discouraging in many ways.

1) Sunny days are the very definition of summer: warm, glowing, happy.

2) Sunny days means more water play: when it is hot one must cool off.

3)Sunny days means less clothing and more tan skins.  Tan skin = happy face (literally, I don't look as pale and sickly, the undertones in my skin were made for tanning)

4) Sunny days means more time away from the house that is never tidy during summer break because kids live in it full-time.  More time away from the house means less guilt for the lazy housewife who could never dream of keeping up with the entropy that travels in company with children.

5) Sunny days means kids are happy to be wet, in water, and I am happy sitting with a book reading, glancing over the top of the pages to make sure all head are accounted for above water.


No sun = no fun AND longer reading lists that are NOT getting shorter.

I stock piled books that I know I need to read for my thesis and looked forward to reading them lakeside on many a sunny day.  Only one has made it away from the shelf, a couple of others have gone for a few walks, but mostly, they sit also waiting for more sunny days this summer. 

Riding the 3rd Wave: Feminism in the 21st Century

I believe we have all heard the phrase "standing in the shoulders of...." which generally implies that our current lifestyle is indebted to some brave forerunner.

Imagine now how our 3 inch heels are digging into the shoulders of our fore-mothers who broke out of kitchens and doll-house conditions to give us the right to vote, wear pants, get a job, and speak our mind?  Not to say you can't be an activist in heels, I just hope that is not the only way we are wielding our 'femininity' to our benefit (surely a swanky outfit can sway minds, but let's see if your minds can sway a bit more than.....hormones).

As I have been researching the recent history of feminist movement - movements toward equal pay for women, legal rights being increased for women on university campuses to prosecute their attackers, recognition of trafficking within the US and around the world - I have been proud to be a woman amongst so many powerful women.  Granted, my battlefield is small and my mega-phone may not reach as many ears, but we all have influence within our own sphere - even if that means teaching our daughters upon which shoulders we are standing.

I have been reading Betty Friedman's "Feminine Mystique."  Betty does a phenomenal job at giving an overview of historical events, gendered injustices, and the continued subversion of women.  Admittedly, there are parts of Betty's assertions that I think get a bit fantastic (let's have a convo about it and I'll show you where), but overall the presentation of data and research is impressive.

It is the cold hard facts that we need to remember.  We still have work to do, and we still have a sphere of influence in which we can stretch our wings, even if we never get to fly.  Be brave.  Have courage.  Let us speak for ourselves and get what we deserve.  We needn't get caught up in the labeled hype (created by men and women alike) of what it means to be a feminist; just be a woman amongst women.  And men, join the cause, don't take the privilege you are given as a "God given right."  Teach your sons to be better.  We all have a sphere of influence so wield your powers for good where ever you are.

p.s. if you want to have a convo about what it means to be a Mormon woman and a feminist, I would be happy to talk on that subject too, outside of fMh.