It Must Be The Tiara...

One of the themes I stress as I teach US History is the role of women throughout history. In the beginning, women (like Abigail Adams) admonished their husbands to "remember the ladies" when they were forming the government of the new nation.  John Adams, of course, ignored Abigail and there was little she could do... other than make him pay for it at home.  Wives have a tendency to let their unhappiness show when they are ignored afterall... Women did not have a voice... yet.  This was way before Hillary or Palin. Our value had not been truly discovered and understood.

Today, we have female politicians fighting to change the world around them.  We have mothers researching to find the cure for their child's disease or to unlock the key with their child's learning disability.  We have stay-at-home moms teaching their children that they are the sole center of the universe and we have mother who work outside the home teaching their children that they are the most important part of the universe even if they are gone part of the time. Women can and do accomplish everything today.

Why is this my blog this morning? Simple.  Females around the world yesterday stopped in our tracks to watch Kate Middleton walk down the center aisle of Westminster Abbey and marry her prince.  The fairy tale that so many of us was reared on played out before our eyes, and so many of us simply stopped.  How many of you said to yourself, even silently, "oh... I want to marry a prince." or "oh... I want to be a princess?" We, as a gender, have came so far, accomplished so much, made incredible leaps and bounds, and we still want the fairy tale.  Me too.  Meee too.. I think it is the tiara. Maybe, we all want to wear jewels in our hair and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are special.  We are special!

When school let out yesterday, a small group of teachers met in the media center of my school for a royal wedding reception.  We had cake and punch; we wore paper tiaras and watched the recap of the wedding on the large screen.  We critiqued the dress ~ understated and elegant.  We talked about what we had read and heard about each participant in the affair ~ what the lipreaders had said William and Kate had said during the ceremony.  We all agreed that we dislike Camilla immensely and think Kate is beautiful. Then, the women gathered went home to their real life princes. Sometimes life truly is a fairy tale..

I was reminded of the best part of today's women though when I stopped for gas on my way home.  Two teenaged girls dressed in their uniforms for Powderpuff Flag Football were pumping gas beside me. They were headed to participate in the annual game where the same girls who oohed and aahed over the royal wedding would run, block, and aggressively grab flags off their opponents. Girls today are not confined to any one stereotype.  They can be romantic, girly, and tomboy-ish... They can be themselves... with or without a tiara.