Cat out of Bag

Again, I’ve started multiple blogs since my last posting. I made those aprons I was talking about:

I also finished the poodle tree skirt for my mother:

 

But, I’ve had some news for awhile and haven’t been able to share it. So any time I’ve started a posting, there’s the Tourettes of “don’t say it yet” that spills out of me.

I have a new job. I start on Thursday. Yes, this Thursday. What that means for us is moving, getting another car, not living in a dorm, not being home with the kids, me working full time outside of our living room for the first time since before Henry was born and, well, big change.

I’m very excited (and very nervous). I’ll be President of Hardy Girls Healthy Women. On my very first trip to Maine in 2009, I saw their storefront when out with my mother-in-law. I liked their logo and looked them up when I got in front of a computer next. I’ve been following them ever since. It is an awesome nonprofit dedicated to the health and well being of girls and women. The vision is that all girls and women experience equality, independence, and safety in their everyday lives. To that end, the mission is to create opportunities, develop programs, and provide services that empower them. The coolest part is this (from the website):

Although many, if not most, national programs designed to support girls in the past 15 years have focused on self-esteem and other internal, psychological issues, HGHW is one of the few programs that addresses girls' lives in relational and social contexts. We believe that it is not the girls, but rather the culture in which they live that is in need of repair. The developmental psychology concept of "hardiness" shifts attention from the individual to their environment-families, schools, and community organizations- as the key agents of change in girls' lives.

So, when the president position opened up, I had to apply, what with my years-long professional crush on them. I’m still a little shocked I was chosen, but I think there is that fear of being discovered as a fraud in most of us, regardless of your experience and competence.

I’ve always considered myself a feminist. I went to an all-girls high school. Worked for WIC. Worked for Girl Scouts. But it really wasn’t until I became a mother (of two boys, go figure) that my feminism went into full force. This isn’t the world I want for them. Too many stories about victims and sexual assault and commercials with boobs and thighs. I’m saddened by how limiting we are of each other. And how those limitations make all of us for the worse. Why is the fact that our women politicians pioneered the shut-down of the shut-down not more prominent in the news? Why do people freak out when my 3-yr-old wears nail polish and pink, plastic light-up sandals? These things are important to me and I’m beyond thrilled to be leading an organization that addresses this and more.

Hope all of you had excellent holidays and your new year is starting off with something that thrills you.