I know I've been away for a bit. I have some health issues that escalate as I get older. Unfortunately they can take me out for a while. Nothing to compare to those with chronic illness, but it saps me nonetheless. My poor kitchen right now!
Never fear. Today I rose at the self-appointed time, took care of some things, and then jumped right into my own little morning workout. I even started incorporating an arm workout. And now here I sit, blogging away.
Today's topic is Becoming. This can be interpreted a few ways, I'm sure. Heck, a really creative person could turn it into a great story.
As I get older, I find that I am BECOMING, in some ways, less tolerant. I just don't care to (and so, don't!) put up with bullspit. Be it from friends, neighbors, loved ones, internet acquaintances, politicians, people in the public eye... I don't HAVE to put up with it, so therefore, I don't. I'm also not as gullible as I used to be. As a kid, I used to believe just about everything I was told. And that in turn made me tell weird stories that couldn't possibly be true, but dang it, I was sticking to my story and too bad if you didn't believe it. Would have been nice had that not been 'corrected'... I could have been a great storyteller/writer.
I also (hope) I am BECOMING a better wife. Now, I know many of the women who will read this, will think I'm backwards and 'what about all the work millions of women have done to rise above...' Yep. My choice is backwards from all those women who fought so hard to get OUT of the kitchen and into the equal workforce. I had my time in the equal workforce. And before some of you think, "oh, sure, office work = equal.' I worked construction. I was in a union and I worked my way through the apprenticeship, 2 nights of school a week while working full time on the job, daily. I worked and sweated my sizable ass off next to, and often faster than, the guys. I got my Journeyman's card. I was in charge of crews and projects. I was the go-to person when Nintendo of America needed new high-speed data cables pulled in. I made myself on-call, since I lived 5 minutes away. I paid my dues. Literally, when it comes to unions.
Let me tell you, for those who've never worked construction-- it sucks. The work is hard. The winter wind, when working outdoors or in a structure with no windows/walls, is bitingly bitter and cold. When you're the only woman on the crew, you do have to put with with some stuff. I will say that I only ONCE experienced true sexual harassment, well, twice, but one of those was a dumb kid who thought he was being funny. I handled that one personally. ( I am not a shy violet and have no problem getting physical when it's called for.) The other time, I said something to my crew chief. The person in question wasn't just in charge of the crew that day, he was also an instructor at the apprenticeship AND a leader in the union. Let's just say, it's incredibly inappropriate to 'spank' a female crew member with some of the tools of the trade, as she bends to reach the job at hand.
So, yeah, I've paid my dues in the working world. I've also worked in an office.(something I yearned for while I was the dirty construction worker!) I've been a lead for a crew of some of the most immature adults I've ever met. Working under some leaders who deliberately have blinders on. Working for a company who refuses to pay the people what they're worth, or even for the scope of work they are doing. And many of those people know they are (still) being taken advantage of, but 'because of the economy', just stick around being taken advantage of, barely surviving. I finally had enough. I quit/was pushed out just after the holidays. Perfectly fine by me. Now I can stay at home, clean my house, learn to cook properly, get back into shape and generally, do what I want. Funny part of that story-- my husband now works for the same company (again) that I just quit. That part isn't funny----this is. He is basically doing the same job I was doing, but does NOT have to put up with a crew who still acts like they're in Jr. High. And he makes almost 2.5 TIMES as much as they were oh-so-generously allowing me to make.
I BECAME less tolerant of that place. Less tolerant of the asinine antics of the co-workers. I BECAME less likely to put up being taken advantage of.
I want to BECOME a better housewife. I want to BECOME a better cook. (my mom's mom never taught her, as she was raised in a convent and I don't think you learn to cook in a convent... correct me if this is incorrect!) I would have loved to BECOME a new mommy, but that's not in my stars, so I have to BECOME a better absentee parent to my teenage son.
So, even at my (feels like) considerable age, I am BECOMING something more, something different, maybe even, something better.
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