Every Woman

"I'm every woman
it's all in me"
~ Chaka Khan ~

A friend sent this to me, I thought it was very apropos for all of us be we maid, mother or crone. I've added a bit, chipped in my two cents worth as it were and wanted to share this little homily with you, so without further ado I give you.. Every Woman!

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE..
one old love she can imagine going back to,
and one who reminds her how far she has come..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE..
enough money within her control to move out
and rent a place of her own even if she never wants
to or needs to..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE..
something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her
dreams wants to see her in an hour..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE..
a youth she's content to leave behind..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE..
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to
retelling it in her old age..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE..
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black
lace bra..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
one friend who always makes her laugh.. and one who
lets her cry..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE..
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone
else in her family..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE..
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a
recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD HAVE..
a feeling of control over her destiny..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
how to fall in love without losing herself..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
HOW TO QUIT A JOB,
BREAK UP WITH A LOVER,
AND CONFRONT A FRIEND WITHOUT RUINING
THE FRIENDSHIP..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
when to try harder.. and WHEN TO WALK AWAY..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
that she can't change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
that her childhood may not have been perfect.. but
it is over..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
what she would and wouldn't do for love or more..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
how to live alone.. even if she doesn't like it..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
whom she can trust,
whom she can't,
and why she shouldn't
take it personally..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
where to go, be it to her best friend's kitchen table,
or a charming inn in the woods when her soul
needs soothing..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
what she can and can't accomplish in a day..
a month.. and a year..

EVERY WOMAN IS SPECIAL..
and she should embrace that..

I AM EVERY WOMAN..
and so are you!

Luv 'ya,
Emily

Just Like Starting Over

"Why don't we take off alone
Take a trip somewhere far, far away
We'll be together all alone again
Like we used to in the early days
It'd be just like starting over..
Starting over"
~ John Lennon ~

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “What lies behind us and what lies before us, are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” As I awoke this morning those thoughts were uppermost in my mind as I tried to fathom all the meanings of these mixed feelings of despair and delight, that nowadays have come to reside in the depths of my heart..

As I wistfully rang my thumb along my finger, light as a feather without my ring, it dawned on me that what lay behind me was not just my history, but the history of all women.. all their lives, all their loves and yes, all their loss. And with that dawning I knew that what lay before me was perhaps the most meaningful part of my life, of all women's lives and in that one perfect moment I realized that what lay within me is the strength and power to continue on with my quest, to renew and rediscover myself, to find new meanings, to live, to laugh, perhaps even to love again.

The power of a woman.

Yes, a peek of leg will always get taxis to stop for us, men still open doors for us and firefighters will rescue us first. We don't have to pay when we go on dates. We can go after what we want without being afraid to ask for help. We can say what we mean, without being mean when we say it. We can walk in the shoes of others, without losing direction. Best of all, we know how to solve most of our problems by simply eating a bit of chocolate.

But there's much more to us than that. Women have compassion like no other species and never tire of listening to problems. We have the courage to find solutions when others give up. We are resilient in the face of adversity and we are emotionally tuned-in and have the gift of expressing it. We can stand on our own, or be united to reach goals. Femininity is our personal power. Our strength lies within each of us. The world needs us. It needs us for more than just lovemaking or babymaking. Mother Earth needs us. She needs our courage to forge ahead, our intuition to discern, our passion for humanity and our wisdom to see the big picture.

This morning, as I awoke, I knew I had the strength to once more become the woman I've always been. Whole and true. Unique and beautiful. A woman with a never-ending romantic wanderlust toward sparkling stardusts of love and beauty. A woman whose dreams are nothing less than deeply sensed powerful emotions. A musical composer of morsels of words and thoughts.

Hence this morning I am once more a woman in love with love and life. Oh how wonderful it is to be once more at peace with myself! I find liking it very much. I find I like me.

It'll be just like starting over..

Luv 'ya,
Emily

While I'm In Between

Although the rain was softly pelting my face, the wind was in my favor last night. Walking down Cherry Street, the breeze caught the hem of my dress just enough to produce the Marilyn Monroe effect – a perfect halo of pale pink cotton and silk as my heels clicked uptown toward home.

Girl, I think as I consider maybe doing a pirouette under the street light.

At dinner, though, it was different. Barbeque, Cracklin' Cornbread and Brunswick Stew not being the most.. ladylike (?) of repasts.. whilst I slid my spoon backwards in my bowl to take a bite, a pair of eyes lit up across the table.

“You just, that's just too cute how you eat your stew!” My dinner companions smiled, one to the other. The male of our little group was beaming at me, delighted, one hand to his chest, almost in reverence. And I knew, right then, that was how he thinks Julie Andrews eats her soup. “It’s just so.. refined!”

Woman, I think as I consider maybe sending my mother a thank-you for years of etiquette dinners.

When a friend asked me the other day whether I was a girl or a woman, I questioned first his reason for asking and second, my reason for answering, both. Some days, to be honest, I just don’t know.

When I’m at work, I’d tell you woman, for sure. There’s no room for girl when you're trying to put together a new production. Likewise, when I’m paying bills, I am woman.

I am girl when it’s late, and I am lonely and the only person I want to talk to is my mother and the only place I want to be is home, even though neither exists the way I remember them anymore. And I am girl when I smile and say nothing even though my brain is screaming. I am girl about texture and color and touch. I am girl in my wonderment.

I am woman about how I budget, who I love and what I decide to keep. I am woman when I ask hard questions and refuse to accept easy answers, and I am woman when I deal with disappointment and personal loss.

Girl when I cry. Woman when I kiss. Both when I laugh.

It’s one of the more difficult things about growing up – fitting into one or the other, and I actually get nervous about one day defining myself completely as woman. Will there be no more pirouettes and pink? More responsibility and resolution?

I don’t know. For right now though, I’m wont to think that both is a good fit, and that maybe, just maybe there was something insightful about that Britney Spears song.

I kid about the song. Mostly.

"I'm not a girl
Not yet a woman
All I need is time
A moment that is mine
While I'm in between"

Thanks Britney..

Luv 'ya,
Emily