Puppy

Seven years ago, Jerry joined our family, a tiny, feisty, teacup sized puppy.  You know what this tiny dictator means to us, and how much of our day is taken up by him.  He’s right now on my feet as I type; he was on my lap until a few minutes ago, just snuggling.  This morning I woke up early because my support worker was due for 8am as there was a scheduled water outage starting at 9, so she wanted to get me sorted before the water got cut.  Jerry did not approve of the early eviction from bed, but he was super excited when he saw my worker.  I was out for part of the day, while the boys were home.  I got home to find them curled into a pile, ignoring the sounds of me entering the apartment!  They’re both playing on the couch; Jerry is trying to get Don to throw his toy, while Don is trying to watch hockey. 😆 

I had a lovely outing to the mall today; I rather enjoyed being out and looking around.  I may have found a henna tattoo artist, but I’ll need to go back and meet with her to discuss what I want to do.  It’s really the only type of tattoo that I would consider — painless and temporary — and it’s intended to cover the scar on my back.  The design is already chosen, and kid approved!  I did show it briefly to the receptionist at the parlour, who also took a strong liking to it (I didn’t leave it with her) so I’m thinking that it will be a fun addition.

I was watching a video recently which took a look at a 1940’s film clip explaining menstruation.  It was progressive for the time in some ways — I mean, that was the period where mothers explained menstruation by saying that you were “becoming a woman” and telling you to avoid physical activity and certain foods!  The film, though, talked about the phases of the cycle, the hormonal effects, etc, so was scientifically accurate.  Its weakness, which sadly is still around, was that it overlooked the effect of hormones on women.  Some women have minimal reactions, some have extreme ones, but the reactions are real.  It’s frustrating to me that women are reduced to being described as hysterical, irrational and unreliable.  Part of me thinks that the early prohibition on women participating in active community life during menstruation was to get a break from an endless cycle of chores.  Three to seven days of being able to rest and not provide childcare probably seemed like a bonus.  Then it got out of hand, and women were called evil, deceptive, untrustworthy and weak, were accused of being in league with the devil, and then later, not smart, strong, or competent enough to vote, go to school, own businesses, manage money or anything else.    Add in a whole level of stupidity about virginity and the need to preserve it… it’s utterly ridiculous.  Or using girls as an insult — “you hit like a girl,” “you run like a girl,” “don’t get your panties in a knot…” “you’re such a woman,” and so on.  Let’s not forget the ongoing urge to control our bodies, dictate our choices, and otherwise try to reduce us to objects.   For centuries, if not millennia, we’ve been denied full agency and limited severely in our ability to participate in society.  Thankfully, there has been significant improvement, and lots of progress.

All that from one 5-minute film clip!  Well, the clip and a discussion on “Do women not understand that their attractiveness is limited, and they really should do more to improve their looks?” Followed by, “Why are all women so phony?  Fake eyelashes, fake boobs, fake hair… why can’t they be real?”  That kind of conversation, along with the mindset that it conveys, is beyond maddening.   I’d like to suggest that we train our menfolk to be honest and respectful, and our women to understand their worth.  That all being said, I’m being told that I’ve been on this long enough and there’s a tummy to be rubbed.  Good night!