On Holiday

I have been on a blogging hiatus. Ever since my camera broke I have been feeling slightly uninspired. I like a fresh photo to accompany my posts. But tonight I read an article by a sharp-tongued little Snippit that reminded me that the world is a very big place, worthy of exploration, and I have absolutely no good reason to whine and fuss simply because I do not currently have a camera. Most folks in the world do not have a camera. So, appropriately humbled, I am back in.

Back to the Snippit. This woman recently returned from a two-year stint in Oaxaca, Mexico and is wrestling with rabid criticism of exploitative U.S. culture. Fair enough. But as I read the article I wondered, "When was the last time I was this vehement about something?" My mind wandered back to my college days and the first feminist studies course I took at the University of Washington. I returned home for Christmas full of spitfire and venom. I distinctly remember yelling at my Aunt and Uncle that year when it was suggested that women were created by God as lesser-beings. I am certain that I screamed the word penis at a family gathering. This is not a word one should yell surrounded by a large group of people.

My frustration came from a good and healthy place, but it found expression in a rather useless manner. Head down, I began shoveling a chasm fueled by fury that ten years later feels impossible to fill in. Instead I stand with my hands on my hips on the other side of the canyon, curious to know if my Aunt and Uncle still think about the year I yelled about penises.

Tonight I sit in the comfy guest room at my sister's house and relish the quiet. The wee one's have gone to bed and Aunt Carmen is off duty. I have many things to ponder these final hours of 2010. Wishing you goodness and delight as 2010 comes to a close and the New Year begins.