A Woman's Place

I think that young women are better at trusting each other than my peer group was. When I was a young adult working in retail management it was always reinforced for me that it was hard to trust each other because we were all vying for the best locations and the next promotion. Whenever I bucked the system, (thank you, Karol, Melissa, Marilyn) it felt good but it was rare. That was only 20 years ago.

Why am I thinking about this now? I have been horrible regarding my comments about Sarah Palin, and my best friend's birthday is coming up, and a beloved church woman has died...I'm thinking about women and our struggles and that they should not be with each other. It seems that many young women already know what it has taken me twenty years to figure out--my sisters are not just the women who are my siblings--a sisterhood of choice can be blessed, too.

One of my nieces is the age now when I began that retail career, and the indoctrination of not trusting my fellow sisters. She is so much smarter--she loves her girlfriends, she has sorority sisters, she knows what it means to be a Kulesza woman. Life is hard enough without women being sexist. Quite some time ago I learned that women do not get lifted up by putting down men--I'm not that kind of feminist. But women of any generation can support each other better.

I still hate everything about Sarah Palin and it will take me some time to reconcile those feelings. I don't know if it's sexist to hold people up for idealization due to their humanity and their gender-- time will tell. I have high expectations of men and women in national or any leadership positions and she fell short in almost every area. But enough about her for this day.

Today I salute my BFF who takes care of people and dogs in spectacular fashion during the best and worst of times. And I am honored to be part of the mourning process for a kitchen witch, who by all accounts, took care of many friends, family, and strangers.

Meanwhile, in this calling where so many of my colleagues become my sister, I keep learning from them and from the young women around me (nieces, daughters of friends, youth group) about how to better support each other.

A woman's place is beside me.