Sometimes I need a filter between my brain and my mouth.
This is not the way to get one.

Thursday 17 December 2015

The Acidic Observer - The Christmas 2015 Edition

So 2015 is coming to a close. And marks 2 years since I become a full time SAHM.

For me, this is a huge milestone and one that I thought I would be 100% comfortable with.

Unless you consider all the interesting conundrums this milestone has thrown at me.

In the last 2 years, this whole SAHM situation has given me a challenge in the sense of viewing myself differently. I'm still working on that. Considering my entire teen and married life was focused on being financially independent and being of 'equal' value to the partnership, it's a mindset that's been hard to break.

It's made even more difficult when you have 50% of the world saying that being a SAHM is more important than working, and the other 50% saying you a contributing to the devaluation of women in the workplace by chaining yourself to the stove top.

Well, my apologies to the bra-burning uber-feminists, but I thought the whole point of fighting for equal rights was to give people the choice? Not stand there, lecturing people on how your sagging breasts should make me want to work 4 jobs just to prove a point.

Then you have the 'Trim, Taught and Terrific Brigade'. And they issue things like this...

Image found here


Apparently having ripped abs makes you a better mother? Or just a self-indulgent sociopath? I'm not sure. Mrs Woog had some fabulous things to say about this. You should go read it.

Honestly, I am so exhausted by all the social media bashing of every single trait a person could possibly display by being an individual member of the human race.

Although I will agree that people who don't use their indicators should be slapped. Repeatedly. With a chair.

Someone, somewhere, always seems to have a problem with fit people, with relaxed people, with uptight people, with work focused people, with 'hippies', with vegans, with gluten free, with coloured people, with ethnic people, with people who have kids, with people who don't have kids, with people who have lots of money, with people who live with less money, with people who choose to do, be, behave or think ANYTHING different to ourselves. Can we just fucking stop it already?!

Am I one of these people? Hell yes I am! Don't think I'm judging those spandex clad mummies at school just because I wish I was thinner (which I do - I would give an internal organ to have the metabolism of Miss 6!). No, I'm judging them because they behave as though their body type makes them superior human beings. Or perhaps it's an external display of over confidence to hide the fact that they suffer from a crippling form of self doubt and the only way they know how to deal with it is by being on a treadmill every spare second of their life?

None of us are entitled to think of ourselves as better. We are all different. If we were all the same it would mean we were all boring as hell...not to mention a bunch of inbreeding lunatics. Sorry - I'll take individuality every time.

Sure, there are things I would change about myself - but those are MY issues and demeaning another person, or group of people, simply to make myself feel more secure is despicable. And being thinner, prettier, taller or less in love with baked goods won't change who I am in the inside, and I like who I am (most of the time...I always have to apologise for the things I might have said when I'm hungry).

If you're ugly on the inside, the outside isn't going to fix that. Donald Trump's hair is a true example of that...

At the end of the day I have nothing to be competitive about with anyone.

I have a loving husband, 3 healthy children, a safe home for our family, food on the table, clean clothes, books to read, family and friends who can make me laugh so hard I shoot coffee out my nose and a little business that means I paint my nails all the time. I have easy access to healthcare, clean water and a car. What more could a girl want?!

Okay, one thing I would love that I don't have? The serenity of visiting the bathroom without someone barging in demanding my immediate assistance. Or just standing outside the door, bashing on it in an apparent attempt to motivate my bodily functions to complete that little bit faster because there is a sticker that needs to be stuck, and it needs to be stuck NOW!

There, I said it.

But my life is certainly not a crappy one for simple lack of privacy. Okay, sometimes I think that lack of privacy is a bullshit side effect of having children, but that's mostly when my children are announcing things in a loud voice in a public bathroom.

Basically I wish we could all stop being arseholes long enough to realise that we all have our issues and we should be grateful for what we have and who we are. None of us are getting out of this alive.

So to you and your families I wish a very Merry Christmas and a safe New Year full of appreciation for what you have and compassion for those whom you can help. And that includes yourself.



Check it Out

Follow Anything, Everything & Inbetween Liebster Blog Award Digital Parents