..or becoming one, anyway.
My last blog inspired me to take a look at myself......
..I'm becoming a girly girl.
I used to be a tomboy, a real guy's girl..a 'lad-ette' as the British put it. More at home in jeans and boots than a dress and heels, determined to hang as tough as any guy...and I did, even if it meant getting injured. I've played flag and full contact football where I've been the only lad-ette on the team, I've drank as much as (if not more than) quite a few dudes I've hung out with, I've out-shot and out-cussed men, and I've proven myself as hard-working as any guy when it comes to pyhsical labor. I've always had short hair, I've never really been too terribly interested in haute coture and comfort and function always came before fashion or style. I've historically always had more guy friends than girl friends, I just did better with dudes. I had little respect for women who whined that they'd broken a nail unclogging the toilet or who stood lamely by at the side of the highway whilst men they didn't know changed their flat tire.
All that's been changing. It's been changing for a couple of years, but I only just now (today, in fact) realized it. The thing that tipped me off was my obsession with shoes. Not practical shoes, either. Pretty heels, stilettoes with straps and bows, dainty little things that make my legs look longer and my calves look toned....despite the fact that they give me blisters.
I got to thinking...
I find myself seeking female more than male companionship. There's just something about being amongst intelligent, witty women that beats being with a group of guys anyday. Guys have their place, but more and more I find myself turning to and doing better with chicks...and that never used to be the case.
I have a thing for skirts and dresses too. I have come to the conclusion that they're more comfortable than pants and shorts, and have decided that all I'm going to wear this summer is skirts and dresses (to go with all the pretty shoes I've been collecting) The only times I wear pants is 1) it's cold and raining/snowing and a skirt is impractical for the climate (I can't get the hang of stockings or hose, I really can't get used to the feel of them) ,2) I want my ass to make an impression and I know a pair of pants will help that along, or 3) I'm going to yoga class...skirts REALLY don't work there.
I can't seem to force myself to leave the house without make-up these days. Even if I'm just running to the store or driving the kids to school I'll take 30 seconds to put on a bit of powder and some mascara.
I have hats. Lots of hats. I like my hats, I like wearing them, I like the way they look...but I also like that I don't have to do anything with my hair, I can just pull on a hat and go...a bit of the lad-ette coming out, I think.
I still like my lad-ette side. I like being able to fend for myself, being tough...but I like the girly facade that covers that. I like that I can be both girly and tough...mowing my own lawn or changing the oil in my car in a skirt and heels, playing ball with or shooting better than guys, taking down and cuffing dudes and dudettes whilst my male counterparts stood there watching. I still have liitle respect for my sisters who can't change their own tire, but that's the lad-ette in me coming out...actually, that's the independant Dharma speaking, and that's just one of my pet peeves.
So, on being a girly girl....I'm loving it. May this journey continue....may I be sixty-five, still wearing my heels and skirts and hats, on the side of the interstate, changing my own flat tire in full-on make up....
..viva la femme! You go, girl!