The Audacity!

Yep! I bet that got your attention didn't it? And I'm betting (only because I am a betting woman) that you, my 1 or 2 readers, think that I am very mad - or at least that's what I would induce from the other side of the screen; especially with a title like such as this!!! Well you would be wrong .... well and a little right. I have for some time now been a miffed - not at someone but at people in general. Why? Well, I'm mostly tired of hearing about how I should dress, what I should look like, how I should act, and all of that wrapped up in being a good mom, a happy and fulfilling wife, and somewhere in the middle try to figure out time for just being me. So miffed I am and the title, well I believe you will agree with me, even those of you who may be men.

After stewing, like I do so proficiently, over this miffing issue, I read something this morning that made me think "you know what, I know exactly what that's like!" What did I read, well okay so it was Esther, and I probably should have gone on with my study but I have to say this portion hit the nail on the head. Esther, for those of you who may not know, is a Jewish woman who was "picked" by the Persian King to be his new wife (literally picked); who found herself in a position to request the King a favor. Not to over exaggerated huh? Well, then I read on...Esther by far is the Queen, the queen of manipulation!!! Ahhh, the glory of it all, to find a woman in the Bible who is gracious, kind, obedient, and most of all anipulative...albeit through the grace of God. And I know some of you are saying "what ever! And what in the world does this have to do with your title!?" Well here it is. How many of us watch TV? Well, I'd gather to say everyone of us. And how many of us watch "What not to Where?" How about all the talk shows that have fashion designers on it that re-do a mom? How many of us say "wow that's really nice how she looks" but not one of us would be caught dead in the outfit let alone PAY for the outfit? And what in the world are 'mom jeans'? How in the world did we go from just blue jeans to 'mom jeans'? Anyone? Any ideas? Anyone catching on? The audacity of a man, yep that's right 90% of the people who 're-do' a mom or a woman are men, my guess probably the same men who designed bras! Yes, I so went there!!!!! So can anyone reading this answer what are 'mom jeans'? I'm guessing no. There are no ads that say "Mom Jeans, just for the mom you want to be!" There's not a section in the stores that say "Mom Jean Section". So what are they? And who came up with them? And why my title?

Esther was in a situation where she had to decide between herself and her heritage; between her life and the lives of thousands. And to make that decision, she used the one thing she had, her looks. Her husband's new best friend had just decided and convinced the King to kill thousands of Jews, and she had to change his mind. The author of the study said something intriguing, she made the King jealous by inviting him and his best bud to 2 banquets. She didn't ask for the King's attention alone, she made no intent to have him at a banquet designed just for him, she invited his best friend along. Ahhh, the audacity! The conniving, over-thinking, audacity of a woman who needs to get her way and the way she did it was brilliant! Make her husband jealous. For those of us who have read Esther, we know that the King granted her request to save her heritage (and herself not to mention), for those of you who haven't read it, Esther had God on her side. So how does Esther's situation relate to my title and obvious ranting above? We, all we's out there, are being swayed (made jealous in essence) daily to change and hide who we really are, who we are meant to be, and what we look like being who we are so much so that 'we' get lost; we become jealous of what one woman looks like because she may not be wearing 'mom jeans'. Just like Esther, who got lost in her pampering, clothing, and royalty, are we getting lost in the jealousy of not looking and being a mom??!!! Yet here we are, most of us moms by this point in our lives, the rest of us thinking about being moms, and all the while being told we can't look like a mom. Don't wear those jeans! Their 'mom jeans'!!!! The last time I checked and took inventory, I was a mom. A mom of 3 beautiful children, a mom to more than just them but to children I never thought I would be a mom too, a mom who is a daughter to a mom, a friend to moms all over the country and world, a sister to a mom, an aunt to a first time mom, a sister-in-law to a mom by default, and a daughter-in-law to a mom who raised a wonderful son to the man I love. That's a whole lot of mom to hide. A mom who doesn't know what 'mom jeans' are, a mom who doesn't wear the right things, a mom who is just that a mom. Probably just like you. Maybe the audacity should be laid with me, I have more audacity to put this out there than I probably should. I have more audacity to say whatever I want mostly because this is a blog, then I probably should allow to come out of my brain, and yet here it is....audacity. Audacity to want to tell designers to 'shut up' because I'm betting they wouldn't want to see their moms dressed in non-mom jeans! Oh the audacity to make me (and us) something we are not, hide the one thing that defines me (us) most, being a mom. I believe that no matter what pair of jeans I put on their going to be 'mom jeans' because the I am wearing them and I'm a mom.