I've been very fortunate in my life to be enfolded by a large support group of women; the equivalent of a constant hug. I have been blessed with two wonderful daughters, my mother, grandmothers, mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, nieces, aunts, bosses, employees, roommates, neighbors and exceptional girlfriends. We’ve leaned on one another in times of struggle, and we’ve celebrated one another’s victories.
Of course there have been other women in my life; women who have been less support system, more saboteur or even assassin. And in fact today’s blog is inspired by a friend’s Facebook status that was lamenting mean girls in her daughter’s first grade class. This is about the good, not the ugly, but I regularly see snippets from anti-reality shows like any of the Real Housewives, Jersey Shore or practically anything else on MTV, The Bachelor (a guilty pleasure of mine, as much as I hate myself for not just watching, but downright anticipating such drivel—let’s call it research), and wonder what we’re teaching young girls today about how real women function in the real world. Reality TV is the farthest thing from reality in most cases, and it certainly doesn’t represent my experience of how the majority of grown up women relate to one another in the real world.
My Posse has taught me to cheer women on, to vote for women, to hold them up and help them succeed. We forgive the occasional misspoken word, give the benefit of doubt in most cases, and accept apologies when offered. We hope for only the best in life for our women, and we’re there to help them survive, overcome and learn from the all too common snag.
I always knew how lucky I was to have so many wonderful women in my life, but moving to California has given me the opportunity to value them even more, and to miss them desperately. It’s also given me the opportunity to meet some amazing women, and begin to build a posse that spans the U.S., literally coast to coast. And NaBloPoMo on BogHer is a wonderful reason to provide a whole lot of love to a multitude of really thoughtful, talented women writers. I’m proud to count myself as one of them.
Of course there have been other women in my life; women who have been less support system, more saboteur or even assassin. And in fact today’s blog is inspired by a friend’s Facebook status that was lamenting mean girls in her daughter’s first grade class. This is about the good, not the ugly, but I regularly see snippets from anti-reality shows like any of the Real Housewives, Jersey Shore or practically anything else on MTV, The Bachelor (a guilty pleasure of mine, as much as I hate myself for not just watching, but downright anticipating such drivel—let’s call it research), and wonder what we’re teaching young girls today about how real women function in the real world. Reality TV is the farthest thing from reality in most cases, and it certainly doesn’t represent my experience of how the majority of grown up women relate to one another in the real world.
My Posse has taught me to cheer women on, to vote for women, to hold them up and help them succeed. We forgive the occasional misspoken word, give the benefit of doubt in most cases, and accept apologies when offered. We hope for only the best in life for our women, and we’re there to help them survive, overcome and learn from the all too common snag.
I always knew how lucky I was to have so many wonderful women in my life, but moving to California has given me the opportunity to value them even more, and to miss them desperately. It’s also given me the opportunity to meet some amazing women, and begin to build a posse that spans the U.S., literally coast to coast. And NaBloPoMo on BogHer is a wonderful reason to provide a whole lot of love to a multitude of really thoughtful, talented women writers. I’m proud to count myself as one of them.
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