From Lawyer......to Wife/Lawyer......to Mom/Wife/Lawyer.......to Mom/Wife/Lawyer/House Manager/Amateur Chef/Travel Planner/Family Mediator/Events Organizer/Runner/Girlfriend Therapist/Master Online Shopper.....to now, Blogger? Yeesh! My guess is that you too have 18 different roles and you play them (mostly) with a smile. When did we get so busy? And, well, so....badass?
See, having always been more of a guy's girl, I always had the mentality that girls could do anything boys could do and that we were, well, equal. The truth is, we are not. I realized after having my son in 2011, not for the first time but certainly in a different way than before, that women are extraordinary. We do everything that men do, plus about a thousand other things... and we do it all at the same time. All the while, we face a different set of pressures, and are judged by a different set of rules....though the prefix "Ms." has been encouraged by the women's movement since the 1970s as a way to refer to women without revealing their - arguably irrelevant - marital status, doesn't it seem like we are still sometimes summed up by the ring on (or not on) our fingers? And our ability to have flourishing careers, 1.9 exceptional children and run marathons on the weekends at the same time? If only it were that easy, and if only we talked more about it! When I struggled through parts of the newborn baby experience, talking about it with a few other women really got me through it. BUT I also found myself often asking, why doesn't anyone talk about [X]? Why didn't anyone tell me how hard [X] was? And I realized that the hush-hush mentality about difficult "female" issues begins well before motherhood. From an early age we are taught to keep it together at all times and that any emotion other than sheer joy over being a teen/student/careerwoman/single/married/working mom/stay-at-home mom/etc. is viewed as unladylike, weak or some sort of hit to the feminist cause. So, women say things like "I love being single" when very few 30-somethings I know really want to be single, or moms tell new moms to "enjoy every moment" even though they have to know that's not actually possible! I would love to honestly discuss issues that do-it-all women probably have to confront at some point or another and, most of all, be a supportive voice to anyone who may need it. And, of course, I want to dish on food/restaurants and other fun stuff because, well, it's impossible for any of us crazy bitches to just focus on one thing :)
By the way, if you don't know me, I am a 30 year old lawyer living in Chicago. I am a first-generation Indian-American and I grew up in Texas. I've been married since 2009 to my husband, Adam, and we had a son, Noah, in September 2011. I worked for 5 years for a large law firm as a Labor and Employment attorney, and then in April 2012 I became the Employment Practices Director for a manufacturing company. In my spare time (ha), I am most passionate about cooking, eating, and traveling. And tv.
I'm so excited to start this blog and hope you will find it interesting and/or helpful!
Mimi
p.s. I don't know much about blogging and don't have a lot of free time, so if I over-generalize, make grammatical mistakes, or my links don't work, etc., just, well, forgive me :)
See, having always been more of a guy's girl, I always had the mentality that girls could do anything boys could do and that we were, well, equal. The truth is, we are not. I realized after having my son in 2011, not for the first time but certainly in a different way than before, that women are extraordinary. We do everything that men do, plus about a thousand other things... and we do it all at the same time. All the while, we face a different set of pressures, and are judged by a different set of rules....though the prefix "Ms." has been encouraged by the women's movement since the 1970s as a way to refer to women without revealing their - arguably irrelevant - marital status, doesn't it seem like we are still sometimes summed up by the ring on (or not on) our fingers? And our ability to have flourishing careers, 1.9 exceptional children and run marathons on the weekends at the same time? If only it were that easy, and if only we talked more about it! When I struggled through parts of the newborn baby experience, talking about it with a few other women really got me through it. BUT I also found myself often asking, why doesn't anyone talk about [X]? Why didn't anyone tell me how hard [X] was? And I realized that the hush-hush mentality about difficult "female" issues begins well before motherhood. From an early age we are taught to keep it together at all times and that any emotion other than sheer joy over being a teen/student/careerwoman/single/married/working mom/stay-at-home mom/etc. is viewed as unladylike, weak or some sort of hit to the feminist cause. So, women say things like "I love being single" when very few 30-somethings I know really want to be single, or moms tell new moms to "enjoy every moment" even though they have to know that's not actually possible! I would love to honestly discuss issues that do-it-all women probably have to confront at some point or another and, most of all, be a supportive voice to anyone who may need it. And, of course, I want to dish on food/restaurants and other fun stuff because, well, it's impossible for any of us crazy bitches to just focus on one thing :)
By the way, if you don't know me, I am a 30 year old lawyer living in Chicago. I am a first-generation Indian-American and I grew up in Texas. I've been married since 2009 to my husband, Adam, and we had a son, Noah, in September 2011. I worked for 5 years for a large law firm as a Labor and Employment attorney, and then in April 2012 I became the Employment Practices Director for a manufacturing company. In my spare time (ha), I am most passionate about cooking, eating, and traveling. And tv.
I'm so excited to start this blog and hope you will find it interesting and/or helpful!
Mimi
p.s. I don't know much about blogging and don't have a lot of free time, so if I over-generalize, make grammatical mistakes, or my links don't work, etc., just, well, forgive me :)
This is so great Mimi! You always give such great advice. I can't wait to see what's next! bina
ReplyDeleteI love this. But as a fellow attorney may I request the narrative be justified? I just cant look at non justified things and take them seriously anymore. :) hehe.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing your blog, Mimi. This is great. I agree, there is this code of silence that happens once you are married. When we were single, we could complain all we wanted about the guy we were dating, etc and friends would listen and give advice. It seems to be taboo once you are married. Everyone acts like everything is perfect all the time, but that is never the case - even if the best of relationships. I can't wait to hear more of your posts!
ReplyDelete