Not Without Me
Today is National Women's Day. When is National Men's Day? If what we truly want is to be equal, why do we not also celebrate the magnificence of men? When is the #DayWithoutMen ? If what we want is to be equal, then we should also acknowledge what this world would be like for a day without men. Feminism, by definition, is, "The advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes." What's equal about these arbitrary acknowledgements?
In our home, girls are outnumbered by boys. In our home, we teach conservative Christian values and Biblical principles. In our home, all humans are created equal, regardless of sex, ability, skin color, religion, or any other variation. We all have inherent value that is to be respected, not diminished. In our home, we value the Constitution and our rights as citizens, including the right to assemble and peacefully protest. In our home, Daddy cherishes Mama, praises her hard work even when it's "just being a stay-at-home-mom," and puts her on a pedestal for his children, friends, co-workers, and anyone who will listen. Especially when he comes home from his long day of corporate servitude and sees a frazzled Mama, wild kids, demolished house, and just general chaos, Daddy knows I worked extra hard that day and is quick to take over and shoo me to a hot shower, a nap, a cup of coffee with a book locked away in my bedroom. In our home, there's no "just a mom," there's respect for the incredible value for me as a person, me as a woman, me as a mom, me as a skilled laborer. In our home, my husband is "boss" because I gave him that position. We are equals and he is the leader. In our home, my children are learning to value fellow humans not demean them with hateful speech, bullying, and manipulation or cheating, or to take a life when it inconveniences them. They're learning to love, how to treat people right. In my home, girls can be ballerinas, doctors, firefighters, chefs, presidents, and stay-at-home moms. In my house, boys can be ballerinas, doctors, firefighters, chefs, presidents, and stay-at-home dads. In my home, people hold doors, give up their seat, or the shirt off their back for anyone. In our home, Daddy is leading by example, showing his sons how to be courteous, respectful gentlemen, and showing his daughters how they should expect to be treated by men. In our home, I am leading by example, showing my children the value of being home with your children, the hard work of being a good steward of what you have, the importance of self-reliance, and that the Proverbs 31 woman is still some one worth being and having.
In our home, there will be no "Day Without Women." Women are an integral part of the human race and no one can deny that. Women and men are all valuable, esteemed, needed, and equal, but we are not the same. When we stop demanding to be treated as better than men, perhaps we will give chivalry a chance to return, and we can make some real progress. In the mean time, I won't be marching, abstaining, wearing a hat or waving a sign that says, "I'm a woman and that's okay!"Because I know I'm okay, I require others to treat me as such in every day life, and I am making a very real, tangible, long-term difference right here, every moment of the day with the army I've created not by myself, but with my husband- an equal but different and imperative part.
In our home, girls are outnumbered by boys. In our home, we teach conservative Christian values and Biblical principles. In our home, all humans are created equal, regardless of sex, ability, skin color, religion, or any other variation. We all have inherent value that is to be respected, not diminished. In our home, we value the Constitution and our rights as citizens, including the right to assemble and peacefully protest. In our home, Daddy cherishes Mama, praises her hard work even when it's "just being a stay-at-home-mom," and puts her on a pedestal for his children, friends, co-workers, and anyone who will listen. Especially when he comes home from his long day of corporate servitude and sees a frazzled Mama, wild kids, demolished house, and just general chaos, Daddy knows I worked extra hard that day and is quick to take over and shoo me to a hot shower, a nap, a cup of coffee with a book locked away in my bedroom. In our home, there's no "just a mom," there's respect for the incredible value for me as a person, me as a woman, me as a mom, me as a skilled laborer. In our home, my husband is "boss" because I gave him that position. We are equals and he is the leader. In our home, my children are learning to value fellow humans not demean them with hateful speech, bullying, and manipulation or cheating, or to take a life when it inconveniences them. They're learning to love, how to treat people right. In my home, girls can be ballerinas, doctors, firefighters, chefs, presidents, and stay-at-home moms. In my house, boys can be ballerinas, doctors, firefighters, chefs, presidents, and stay-at-home dads. In my home, people hold doors, give up their seat, or the shirt off their back for anyone. In our home, Daddy is leading by example, showing his sons how to be courteous, respectful gentlemen, and showing his daughters how they should expect to be treated by men. In our home, I am leading by example, showing my children the value of being home with your children, the hard work of being a good steward of what you have, the importance of self-reliance, and that the Proverbs 31 woman is still some one worth being and having.
In our home, there will be no "Day Without Women." Women are an integral part of the human race and no one can deny that. Women and men are all valuable, esteemed, needed, and equal, but we are not the same. When we stop demanding to be treated as better than men, perhaps we will give chivalry a chance to return, and we can make some real progress. In the mean time, I won't be marching, abstaining, wearing a hat or waving a sign that says, "I'm a woman and that's okay!"Because I know I'm okay, I require others to treat me as such in every day life, and I am making a very real, tangible, long-term difference right here, every moment of the day with the army I've created not by myself, but with my husband- an equal but different and imperative part.
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