Now the fact that I can crochet brings us to something that got me to thinking. On the Today Show they are doing a special report this week called "A Woman's Nation" and it is a report done with Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress. The First Lady of California visited families across the nation to see how they are a family basically. Is the woman the main income provider? Is the man the main care giver for children and elderly parents? This is a sample of the questions she asked them.
The report is intriguing to say the least. The numbers that the report gives us brings the fact that women as a whole are altering our roles in the family unit. But isn't that what we do?
This report brings us to notice that us women do what we need to do to keep our family's functioning and together. Yes, we have raised our voices in the past for the nation to make drastic changes, example for us to have the right to vote, for us to have better paying jobs,respect at our jobs and even for us attend colleges in the past that denied us females access. We have altered the way people see us as a whole.
In reality if you think about it we have evolved as a species in this aspect. We went from expecting women to be in the kitchen making dinner and bearing children to women running their own businesses and making leaps and bounds in science and technology. Not only are we the nurses that care for you when you are ill, we are running the hopstial and sending you the bill. It is amazing if you think about.
For me all of this seems like we planned it out during a quilting meeting ages ago. I can see ladies in their hoop skirts being fed up with having to wear 15 different layers in the heat if July and planning up a timeline. "Mary, I want to be able to wear pants like a cowboy by the 1950's, and I want to smoke too!" They all go out their quills and paper and made notes.
What really happened is that we took notice that we were treated as a second class citizens, and that men thought of us as possessions and not as people. I know that it sounds sexy in our minds, but really its not. If it was not for us being able to endure birthing those sexiest men would not have been born. We just want to be treated as people and that has grown till we are where we are at today.
We just wanted our fair square mostly. Also another half of it is that we have done what needed to be done. I know that we all have our dreams and plans for the future and of course we all want to see them come true. The sad reality is that most of those dreams will be put aside to be able to live, to survive.
I know that seems silly in this day and age, survival. It's true though. Me and my husband have changed the way our family functions several times just to be able to ensure that our family has been able to survive. I have worked and stayed at home, he has worked and also stayed at home with the kids; we have worked together and separately just so that we could pay the bills.
One of the things that has made us change so often was childcare. We refused to put our children in day care. We refused to push our kids on family members and friends. I don't think that shuffling our kids around was a great idea. One of the toughest times we had was when both of us was working full time jobs and my husband was a full time college student. That took a lot of energy and working out. I remember being late several times for my shift because my husband's classes ran over and I had our son till he got out of class. We swapped him off in parking lots and met for quick lunches together as much as we could. That was when I was working 50 plus hours a week and weekends just to make ends meet. (Hey, text books are not free)
We do what we have to. If that means that that the woman of the family has to work because her husband got laid off and cannot find another job so be it. We have actually been through that, and it was nice to have my hubby at home. If it means that we work, we do. If it means that we have to stay at home we try to make the best out of it.
There is not always a plan. I loved my job I had but I elected to give it up to stay at home with our children. It has not been the easiest path, but it has been a worthy path. I do get tired of the laundry, the running back and forth to school, and everything that needs to be done falling upon my shoulders. I chug along for my children and because these things must get done. I do wonder where I would be at now if I had stayed at my job and placed our boys in day care. I doubt if we would be as close as we are now.
This report is telling us what we already know. We are going to do what is necessary. No more, no less. If that means joining the army to pay for school and to help us get decent medical care so be it. If that means having an office job during the week then waiting tables on the weekends while we go to school at night we will. It's a difficult balance to wear all the hats of mother, daughter, sister, wife, employee, student, and still keep a minor sliver of ourselves intact.
The Shriver Report can be viewed at www.awomansnation.com and is available for purchase only in the format of an ebook on October 20th. Amazon has it for the price of $9.99 for the kindle. It can be printed off of the website for free. Also this week on the Today show they will be featuring A Womans Nation everyday.
Happy Monday and tell a woman that is special to you thank you.
You make people with ovaries proud.
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