soigotalotinmyheadrightnow...

and i gotta get it out. so here we are.

i'm drinking coffee to ease the cray cray (or does the coffee *cause* the cray cray?) and yeah...here we go.

I had the pleasure of seeing a film last night called Miss Representation.  www.missrepresentation.org

I've always loved documentaries (and mockumentaries, duh) and this one really opens one's eyes to how womankind is represented in our culture. It's almost too much to talk about ..cause I can't get my brain wrapped around the fact that basically ALL MEDIA is controlled by mostly MEN. ALL MEDIA. So the things we hear and see, experience and 'learn', are, in a sense, fed to us by males.Let's think about that for a moment.
I'll give you a sec.



mkay. see?
It sorta makes sense, right? It makes sense that it comes from men that we see so much boob and leg on screen. It makes sense that we'd be bombarded with stupid reality shows about bitchy women who bicker and get bo-tox daily? (*side note: why are women immediately considered "bitchy" when all they might do is have an opinion? or just say 'no'? why?men do it all the time and we don't call them A-holes.)
annnycrap...

Enough about that. it's too much. It's too scary to think that our baby girls are growing up seeing DANCE MOMS fighting about what kid makes what jazz routine, or Disney princesses waiting desperately to be saved by their prince, or males somehow getting excited when girls fight (THIS was referred to, by the way, in a BARBIE MOVIE)..and that you have to be pretty to get noticed and taken seriously which is a double-edged sword because a LOT of the time, women AREN'T taken seriously BECAUSE they're pretty. You can't win. And this is EVERYWHERE. Movies about women trying to find the right guy because somehow they don't feel 'complete'...commercials and magazines with air-brushed, anorexic women who were TOO THIN in the first place before the photomashop dude ever got a hold of em. Girls now are never told:
YOU are smart naturally
YOU are beautiful naturally
YOU are WONDERFULLY UNIQUE
and you and YOU ALONE are the boss. YOU are the boss of YOU.
You don't have to make people happy. That's not your job. You don't have to look and act like everybody we see on t.v. or in magazines. THAT'S NOT REAL. You are smarter than that. You are better than all of it.

NOBODY SAYS THIS STUFF!!!!!!!!

WHY????

Well, I am.


So. HERE'S AN IDEA.
Let's be good grownups. Let's be good parents. Good influences. NICE people who do NICE things and take care of ourselves so that OUR kids see US being responsible and good.
Some ways to do this:
1. Let's stop complaining about our weight, shall we? Not that you shouldn't care about it, because OF COURSE that is a part of taking care of yourself..but l want that to stop being such a big stinking deal. I'm so over it. Eat healthy food. Don't buy your kids junk. Don't have it in the house. Sugar doesn't do anybody any good ever, so let's teach our kids to eat good stuff because it makes them feel good. NOT "don't eat this candy cause you'll get fat" but, rather "eat this apple cause it's good for you".

2.Let's tell our kids (I have 2 girls) that it's OK to get mad about stuff. It's OK to ask questions and it's OK to have an opinion and it's OK to say NO. It's not only OK. IT'S NORMAL AND AWESOME. Let's give our girls the control of their own bodies. THEY are the boss. LET THEM KNOW IT so NOBODY CAN TRY TO CONVINCE THEM OTHERWISE.

3. Let's turn off the stupid T.V. for crying out loud.


Wow this post sounds all soap-boxy. That was not my intent. I guess that movie last night got me more fired up than I thought.

I think I'm done.

My bff has convinced me to get a 'gratitude journal'. The idea is to write down things you are grateful for as they come to mind. It's usually a list of 5 things. You can also just jot down your endless brilliant ideas or funny things your kids say, whatever. Since I haven't found a journal that has spoken to me yet...(I only buy things that 'speak' to me) here is my first gratitude journal post:

1. my trusty laptop
2. the dog place that is bathing my dog right now so I don't have to do it
3. bubble machines
4. target
5. hearing "Let It Be" on the way home today and crying. It was good. (Thank you, Sir Paul)

Till next time. XO L