Just chillin'

I've been trying to think of something to post that will "grab" your attention, something stirring. Eh...can't think of anything that I'd like to say, really. There are always the present controversies over what Ms. Coulter said and no controversy over what Bill Maher said. I could also post about how the world is crumbling and take my guesses as to when our lovely earth is just gonna blow to smithereens. I don't feel like dwelling on the negative, though. As of late, I've been feeling pretty positive, pretty happy. That doesn't mean I don't think about the general state of "ick" in which this world seems to wallow. There are always death, destruction, hate, and anything else that is bad that you can think of. I want to be different, today.

I was thinking, though. I'm an American woman, given to my whims. I'm allowed to be given to my whims. My religion says I have a choice and so do the documents left by my forefathers. Eventually, people even saw fit to give my sex the power to vote (a sense of power, even to this day, I can't describe). I realized looking at all this freedom and choice staring me in the face that I limit myself. I hold back on what I want. I don't speak up for myself nearly enough. Why? Who knows? I don't think it is part of any patriarchal hold on my life. But tonight I realized I need to start voicing things for myself. I've been watching what women around this world experience. Large numbers are mutilated, killed, sold, abused, and not allowed to speak out for themselves. In a lot of areas of the world women are seen as a liability and a burden.

I think what I'm getting at is just how grateful I am to live in a country where I can express myself. I'm grateful that I have an education and basic rights that women elsewhere do not possess.

I don't think we stop enough to count our very basic blessings. I didn't have to eat bugs to survive, today. I didn't have to wonder where my next meal was coming from. I didn't have to worry about being sold into any situation obviously bad for a woman. I got to wake up, put on my television, get ready for work, hang out with some kids and teach them, come home, take a long nap, and then write this post. While it sounds boring and might be driving me to tears at times, it is a life I would gladly NOT exchange with another.

Happy Monday, everyone: Four more days to go until Friday!