Growing up, I knew my Mom was kind of a hippie. But she was really girly, too, and she liked girly things. She had rollers for her hair, a really cool hairdryer you wore on your head, a manicure/pedicure box full of fun stuff, lipstick, Chanel No. 5 for special occasions.....I'm telling you, she was a ton of fun for 4 little girls. But she also built a Navajo loom in the master bedroom so she could also teach herself to weave on it. She built a flagstone patio outside her bedroom door. She did all our laundry in a clawfoot tub on the deck when the washing machine was broken. She gardened and baked bread and made tofu and sprouted seeds on the window sill.
She was also a dance teacher and I remember my first couple of revues, at a very young age, being so excited to wear my costumes because my mother had designed them with ribbons and gold sparklies and feathers....oh my! (And I knew I was probably going to get to put on some lipstick for it, too.) My Mom has been known to sit at the sewing machine for HOURS on rainy days with fabric remnants out of her scrap-bag making clothes for our dolls. And I mean, the cutest little clothes. Flannel nighties, jeans, hippie caftans...my Barbies were stylin'. She sewed my favorite Halloween fairy princess costume of all time out of some gauzy curtains and a pink negligee she found in a thrift store. My mom was the perfect balance, to me, of frilly and earthy. She was not always comfortable with all her facets, but I think that she has learned what I have learned by watching her; we do not have to define ourselves so that we wind up in a box. I'm glad I had that role model....a mom who was a total Barbie girl but who would also teach me how to build and cook on a campfire and pitch an umbrella tent.
My friend made the comment recently that Americans should 'own your parenting'. Because my mother was so active in our upbringing and available as a role model, It's not likely that I ever would have seen Barbie as an example of unattainable perfection. I could see first-hand that just because you come in a shining pink box, prefectly wrapped, doesn't mean that one day you aren't going to wake up in the dirt with tangled hair, grateful that your mother taught you how to dig a proper latrine. The Dreamhouse is fun, but it's a real adventure when you can fit everything you need for 4 days in your backpack, spend some real money on the best shoes you can find for the occasion and head out into the wilderness. (And don't think for a second that you aren't going to need a plan for how to wear your hair after 3 days of no showers.)
I woke up to a foot of new snow on the ground this morning. I'm not a lover of snow, although I have hiked in it and I have dug myself out of my driveway a number of times. I will do what I have to do. My first HAPPY thought when it snows? "Yay, today I get to wear my pink snowboots!" I did all my grocery shopping yesterday and there's pot roast in the crock pot. We can hunker down and not go out at all if we don't want to. But maybe I'll go outside later just to wear my boots.
Proverbs 31
15 She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
She was also a dance teacher and I remember my first couple of revues, at a very young age, being so excited to wear my costumes because my mother had designed them with ribbons and gold sparklies and feathers....oh my! (And I knew I was probably going to get to put on some lipstick for it, too.) My Mom has been known to sit at the sewing machine for HOURS on rainy days with fabric remnants out of her scrap-bag making clothes for our dolls. And I mean, the cutest little clothes. Flannel nighties, jeans, hippie caftans...my Barbies were stylin'. She sewed my favorite Halloween fairy princess costume of all time out of some gauzy curtains and a pink negligee she found in a thrift store. My mom was the perfect balance, to me, of frilly and earthy. She was not always comfortable with all her facets, but I think that she has learned what I have learned by watching her; we do not have to define ourselves so that we wind up in a box. I'm glad I had that role model....a mom who was a total Barbie girl but who would also teach me how to build and cook on a campfire and pitch an umbrella tent.
My friend made the comment recently that Americans should 'own your parenting'. Because my mother was so active in our upbringing and available as a role model, It's not likely that I ever would have seen Barbie as an example of unattainable perfection. I could see first-hand that just because you come in a shining pink box, prefectly wrapped, doesn't mean that one day you aren't going to wake up in the dirt with tangled hair, grateful that your mother taught you how to dig a proper latrine. The Dreamhouse is fun, but it's a real adventure when you can fit everything you need for 4 days in your backpack, spend some real money on the best shoes you can find for the occasion and head out into the wilderness. (And don't think for a second that you aren't going to need a plan for how to wear your hair after 3 days of no showers.)
I woke up to a foot of new snow on the ground this morning. I'm not a lover of snow, although I have hiked in it and I have dug myself out of my driveway a number of times. I will do what I have to do. My first HAPPY thought when it snows? "Yay, today I get to wear my pink snowboots!" I did all my grocery shopping yesterday and there's pot roast in the crock pot. We can hunker down and not go out at all if we don't want to. But maybe I'll go outside later just to wear my boots.
Proverbs 31
15 She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
I remember dance class with your Mom - I had a pretty pink tutu also. You are right, you had a wonderful role model, Sally is a wonderfully independent woman who is not afraid of who she is. And I remember from listening to my Mom, that being strong and independent in those days was not always easy - especially if you still wanted to be girly sometimes. Did you know that my Mom wrote children's books when she was younger, but felt the need to use a male alias to get published. We have come a long way thanks to our mothers. I have worked much of my career in a male dominated field and I have seen many woman handle it in many different ways but I always felt it was important that I could "fit" in with the guys but still be a girl and most my friend were the same. I think the guys respected that as well, who knows for sure what goes on in their heads :)
ReplyDeleteI love this! How sweet to reminisce about your Mom, she sounds like a delightful lady!
ReplyDelete