Great Expectations

It seems there are going to be 2 little new additions to our family in roughly 6 months. This is all very exciting really. Unfortunately the one child’s surname is going to be Monk and they have named the fetus Chip. I’m guessing you have to have a sense of humour if Monk is your surname… The other child will be given, like its brother, a Norwegian name that few people can pronounce especially because they live in England. I can’t help but feel a little sorry for my pair of runts. They have 3 children and no grandchildren in the foreseeable future. Luckily there is no pressure on me as I am the bebe of the family! In fact the most my parents expect from me is to be home before the sun comes up. I do get the occasional look from my father asking me if this is the length of skirts these days, which gets him a slap on the arm from my mother saying she wore skirts much shorter than that even after they were married and till her late 20’s/early 30’s (you think he would learn after a few slaps not to comment on my wardrobe). Now my mother had had 2 children by the time she was 26 and weighed 55kgs till she had me (trust me I hear it ALL the time, I think its cause she cant use the “I was in labour for 16 hours” card) and they called her twiggy. This essentially brings to me my point of this uninspired post. (Apologies.)

Now, obviously the role of women has changed dramatically. In South Africa, women were finally recognized as adults for the first time in 1994. Before that they were deemed minors, essentially having the same official capabilities as their 10 year old children. Now we have a female vice president. (With a penchant for spending!) However the expectations are full of contradictions. Firstly a woman who wishes to be a stay at home mom, run her home and look after her children full time is seen as someone who has no ambition or independence. But a woman who values career is seen as, for lack of a better word, cold. And a women who tries to have both, is seen as a bad mother because she is not there all the time for her children and is believed to be letting someone raise them and is simply spreading herself too thin. If a woman is tough in the corporate world, she is a bitch, a ball breaker. Few people respect a woman with such a nature. However a woman who is seen a pushover is also not respected. Find a happy medium I can hear you thinking? Well when she is tough, clearly she is PMSing!
A woman is also meant to be healthy, to drink those 8 glasses of water a day, go to gym for an hour each day and prepare heart-healthy-friendly meals. A woman who has a little over-weight is seen as unattractive, but so it a woman who is too thin. Tyra Banks, one of the world’s most successful supermodels, is being criticized for being overweight!?!?!?!?! When I look at her I see a woman who is happy, healthy and successful. (And not to mention tall!) In reply she did a mag cover in a bikini, with the line “180 pounds, you call this fat?!” 180 pounds is 80kgs which seems quite heavy BUT she is over 6 foot and in that bikini looked fantastic!!!!!

Well it aint easy being a woman, but it aint easy being a man either… No one said life was a breeze and everyone around us seems to try make it harder.

Remain Infinitely Cute
XXX