I remember somewhere the quote that was floating around
about “Strong women, may be raise them, may we know them, may we be them.”
(sic) and when I woke up the other morning just after midnight, for some reason,
this was stuck in my head. All I could think was a conversation that I had with
a woman in the middle of nowhere in AZ, the night the RV broke down, a few
hours before that happened.
C had come with me into the store, to see if they’d mind if we parked the RV for a short while, so we could circle back to Hoover Dam without it. Long story short, I wasn’t feeling good about the exit, and whether or not we would be able to do the winding road with the car in tow, and be able to turn around as needed and so on. So I passed the exit. Only there isn’t another exit on the AZ side for a very long time. Thus we end up at a place called “The Last Stand” or something, a weird roadside stop with a restaurant, convenience store, gas station and, oh yeah, machine gun range. It was decorated with aliens and cut outs for people to put their faces and take photos, in bizarre images.
They were very kind, and allowed us to park next to the Heli-pad (oh yeah, helicopter tours of the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam flew out of there as well). When I was speaking with the woman, she told C that he should be grateful to have such a strong woman as a mom, setting such a good example as to what a strong woman looks like, a strong woman can do, etc. So many people are surprised that we are taking this journey with the kiddos and I, and no daddy along to ensure our safety. An older guy at the RV park in Nellis the other day asked if I was sure I could handle driving our set up without my husband along.
C had come with me into the store, to see if they’d mind if we parked the RV for a short while, so we could circle back to Hoover Dam without it. Long story short, I wasn’t feeling good about the exit, and whether or not we would be able to do the winding road with the car in tow, and be able to turn around as needed and so on. So I passed the exit. Only there isn’t another exit on the AZ side for a very long time. Thus we end up at a place called “The Last Stand” or something, a weird roadside stop with a restaurant, convenience store, gas station and, oh yeah, machine gun range. It was decorated with aliens and cut outs for people to put their faces and take photos, in bizarre images.
They were very kind, and allowed us to park next to the Heli-pad (oh yeah, helicopter tours of the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam flew out of there as well). When I was speaking with the woman, she told C that he should be grateful to have such a strong woman as a mom, setting such a good example as to what a strong woman looks like, a strong woman can do, etc. So many people are surprised that we are taking this journey with the kiddos and I, and no daddy along to ensure our safety. An older guy at the RV park in Nellis the other day asked if I was sure I could handle driving our set up without my husband along.
I suppose all of this should make me feel like more of a feminist, and I should be offended that the man asked me, and pleased that the woman complimented me. I don't really see it all that way though. I don't consider myself a strong woman, though. I think I am a strong PERSON. I am not a feminist, I am a humanist. I'm not strong for a woman. I am strong. I don't want to be/raise/know strong women, I want to be/raise/know strong people.
Rather than focusing on the 'women need to be strong' ideology, I want ALL of my children to be strong - physically, emotionally, mentally strong in ways that help them to be better people, better women AND men. And I'm surprised and maybe a little offended that at this point in our evolution, that people still feel the need to distinguish women from men in terms of what we need to do and be in life.
Rather than focusing on the 'women need to be strong' ideology, I want ALL of my children to be strong - physically, emotionally, mentally strong in ways that help them to be better people, better women AND men. And I'm surprised and maybe a little offended that at this point in our evolution, that people still feel the need to distinguish women from men in terms of what we need to do and be in life.
Here's to strong PEOPLE,
May we know them,
May we raise them,
May we be them
No comments:
Post a Comment