To Pink and Back

(Friend and fellow blogger Loudmouth Birdie told me I should write a post titled "To Pink and Back." So I did. Thanks, Birdie!)

I drive a pink VW Beetle. Like her owner, Pink is a girly girl. But she's not just a pretty face. She's safe and strong, can parallel park like nobody's business, and gets great gas mileage. I obey the speed limits, but if you challenged Pink and me to a race, you'd lose because she is a turbo. Super fast! Upon meeting Pink for the first time, a friend exclaimed, "That car looks just like you!" I take that as a compliment.

I negotiated to get the price I wanted for Pink. I have no problem stating what I want. I could have walked away from the deal at any time. I can be tough when the situation calls for it. On more than one occasion I have been told I think like a man. I take that as a compliment.

When I was born in 1958, gender roles were pretty rigid. Blue was for boys and pink was for girls. Women stayed in the home and men went out to work. Then a little something called equal pay for equal work became law, bras were burned, men were blamed for way more than they were guilty of, women flooded the workplace, feeling compelled to dress like men and act like men. It was a little crazy for a while.

My older son is a stay-at-home dad. We live in a world that allows him that wonderful experience. It's likely dads of previous generations would have enjoyed spending more time with the kids, but society told them that real men don't do that. His wife is the sole breadwinner, but that in no way diminishes her as a mom and as a woman. He does a wonderful job nurturing the kids, but that doesn't make him less of a man. I think it makes him more of one.

The pendulum swung from one extreme to another, and is now back in the middle. A place of sanity, where men can be men and women can be women. But mostly, where we can all just be human.

Susan