Funny how the world sees "real women. . ."

Evidenced by all the Real Housewives of. . . shows which seem to be overtaking our televisions, it appears that the world believes we should all be wealthy, pampered, enviable, catty, curvaceous, gorgeous, and more. While we may be gorgeous, most of us are not rich or spoiled or even catty. We are ~ simply put ~ real.

The idea for this blog came after watching a few of those real housewives shows and realizing just how skewed the views of everyday life can be through the eyes of these women. Particularly to those of us in the trenches, working day-in-day-out to take care of ourselves, our children, our parents, our spouses/partners. Those of us who are out there earning a living, who may be dealing with catastrophic events or troubled children or medical issues or partner concerns.

This is a call to all women everywhere who live everyday lives and who want to simply do their best as they love all, laugh often, and live fully. Let us unite with our whole heart and soul, with humanity and grace, with vigor and hope. We are women and we are thankful to be so!



Tuesday, May 24, 2011

My Monday Hero ~ Marvelous Marci!

Marci is quite a interesting character. She is someone I watch out of the corner of my eye ~ I never quite know what I will see, but I know that it will always be fascinating and I will learn from watching. 


Marci works in her daily life with teenagers. While she is technically a high school teacher, she is really much more than that. Mt. Edgecumbe High School is one of Alaska's boarding schools which provides opportunity for all high school aged teens to attend, regardless of where they live.  In our huge state (over 650,000 square miles!), each is given the opportunity to go to high school even if their home is in the tiniest of villages in the northern-most or western-most or other-most regions. The downside is that most have to leave their homes for up to four years in order to obtain that high school diploma.  


Thus, Marci is much, much more than a high school teacher. She becomes a mentor, a counselor, a guide. She becomes a very informal "parens patriae," an official term used when a child's natural parent is unable to provide parenting at a given time. In the case of Marci, her "parens patriae" role is by default ~ that is, because Mt. Edgecumbe High School students have are living away from their natural parents, Marci naturally (and quite easily) falls into that role. Not only does it happen naturally, but she does this with the compassion and concern for the whole-person-well-being of each student with whom she comes into contact. This is an incredible feat, in my mind, and one which can be accomplished only by those with the greatest devotion to those under their care.  Marci is, indeed, one of those.


I am in awe of the ability of women to bring all into their fold, to love without condition, to share without concern for themselves. I see Marci ~ out of the corner of my eye ~ doing this seemingly without effort. It comes to her so naturally and so beautifully.


Marci, you are my hero and I feel so very blessed to be able to witness your incomprehensible abilities to love so freely. Your skills, your gifts, your innate compassion, and the classy manner in which you live your life are an example to me each time I think about you. Thank you for being such an awesome woman!




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