The Myth of One Size Fits All
By Catie of Woman Links My birthday is this week. I went shopping with my sister this afternoon, intending to browse, but I found a luscious, rayon sundress. What the heck, I bought myself a birthday present. After all, I've been planning my youngest son's party for so long, and even hired a juggler, so why shouldn't I splurge and get something for myself? While trying it on, I glanced at the tag for sizing and care information, and just had to smile. The tag read "One Size Fits Most". At last! Truth in advertising! In my experience, "One Size Fits All" for anything is a outright lie. Sorry, but that is reality. No two bodies are the same, no two lives are the same. This month I become the ripe wise age of 36. (Does anyone else have to stop and think how old they are, or is it just me? After I hit 21, age seemed irrelevant since I could legally do whatever I wanted, although I had no idea what I wanted....but that is another editorial all together!) Anyway, most of my life is has been a "Been There, Done That, Tried Something Else" excursion. I've been single, I've been a wife, I've been childless, I've been a mom, I've worked outside the home, I've traveled alone on business trips, I've been an at home mom, I've started a graphic/web design business out of my house, I've put my son on the school bus, and am now embarking upon homeschooling both kids. I've touched upon pretty much every option open to women these days, and at 36 am finally settling into what is right for me. As a result, I can say from experience, and with great confidence, my life is not the answer for every woman. It works for me because it fits my needs and priorities. It would be extremely presumptuous of me to declare that all women should get married, have children, start a business, homeschool their kids, and be home all the time. For the same reason a sundress might fit me beautifully but feel uncomfortable on someone else, I can not claim to have THE right lifestyle. It seems like our culture has the "One Size Fits All" mentality for women. We are supposed to retain our traditional roles, yet excel in the brave new world of male dominated roles. Work At Home Moms are pitted against Work Outside the Home moms, single women are told their chances of snagging a mate and achieving happiness plummet if they aren't married by their 40's, lesbians supposedly just need to find the right man, women focused on professional careers are told to work twice as hard for the honor of knocking their heads on the glass ceiling..... Seems to me like an awful lot of women aren't fitting into the "One Size Fits All" category. Perhaps it is time to shop for a new category where we don't have to pit one life against another. Trust me, you'll look great in it! - Catie
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