Miss Goody Goody?

Seeing a friend, Ann's, t-shirt at our Beaverdale Park day gathering of children and moms the other day got me thinking. Am I well-behaved? Who I am and who I have been over the years?

Let's get one thing straight: I've never really been Miss Goody Goody, although I can exude that perception on occasion. I may be corny (Iowa pun) and cheesy though! I will admit this: there were and still are many, many times in my life in which I have tried or try to be a person who does what's expected of me. In those periods of my life in which tried to "behave" I experienced the most inner turmoil and anxiety. I won't give specific examples. All is can say is this: I am happiest when I am being true to myself and my family. If this makes me unpopular with society, my in-laws, my grandparents, aunts and uncles, then so be it. I've had to make some choices over my life for my own sanity and for the sake of my family.

Some of these choices have been tough decisions! I'm thankful for all the intelligent and caring women who have chosen to follow their hearts as well. Thanks for not behaving as you were raised and for showing others there are other ways of behaving, parenting and living! These ways spread like wildfire! We don't have to be "nice" or as we're told! Hopefully, our days of oppression are mostly behind us. We can be seen and heard and so can our children.

Do I extend the same philosophies to my children and husband? As much as I can! There are some things I value as important and sometimes those things matter more in public than at home. I would hate for some of our carefree attitudes to be used against us out of context. And since this is a public blog, I won't list specifics.

Are we (women) behaving badly? Maybe it depends on whom you ask. Are we making history? I believe in our own ways we are each making history! May our loving and nurturing voices continue to echo and spread like wildfire--for our own sake as well for our all children.

(Photos: Ann's shirt was taken by me; The photo of me was taken at home on my 33rd birthday--2005)

Post script: I have always been fascinated with t-shirt designs ever since I was a teen and worked at a retail t-shirt store in a mall in Houston. I worked there for a year and while employed there I was asked by the owner to model some of the shirts for a newspaper ad. Incidentally, the name of the store was 'Street Smart.'