RANT for Single Working Women’s Week, July 31 – August 6, 2022

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Yes, it’s almost time to celebrate the single working women in your life, including you if you’re one. But wait a second.

I need to vent for a minute.

Are you celebrating much these days? Consider this stuff:

Given the above, I want to spend as much time as I can with the people I love. If you saw the movie “Don’t Look Up!” you’ll remember that was the ending. It’s not a great movie, but the conclusion that all we can do is love one another, is a good one. Since we are all going to die one day, sooner or later – even if we manage to reverse course on climate change – we all face the devastating loss of loved ones dying. So having faith in each other and celebrating our loving relationships now seems like the best thing we can do for ourselves and for each other.

Thank heaven we’re still here, single working women and all! So let’s go ahead and celebrate all the relationships we share – with our neighbors, our friends, our SOs, kids and other relatives if we have them. Plan to have fun together as often as you can – in ways that contribute as little as possible to the existing problems. “Be the change you want to see.” ~Ghandi

Thank you for letting me get that out of my system. Thank goodness Congress is today close to enacting a meaningful piece of legislation that addresses many of these pressing issues and is paid for by a significant tightening of tax loopholes for mega-corporations. It’s a small step forward in the long and hard-fought battle that is costing us all too much.

July 31 to August 6, 2022. Happy Single Working Women’s Week!

 

Holidays – your favorite time or your worst nightmare?

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It’s that time of year for candlelight and warm beverages and heart-warming stories. Do you have happy memories from your childhood holidays? So many people don’t–and it often makes their adult holiday times less than enjoyable.

I’m glad to say my childhood memories are mostly positive. With nine living kids in my family let me tell you, when we came down on Christmas morning, it looked like heaven had opened up and dropped a giant bag of presents on us—all piled under and around the multi-color lighted real tree. Even though none of us received a lot, the combination of a few things for each of the nine of us added up to what looked like a mountain of treasure. Plus, many of us were close enough in age that we could look forward to potentially sharing goodies with each other. Another favorite tradition for me was getting the honor of moving Joseph and Mary one step closer to the manger each day, then putting the baby Jesus into the scene on Christmas eve. Oh, and of course singing hymns together that night.

Do you start celebrating early so you can get more fun out of the season? In Chicago we have a radio station that starts playing only Christmas music from November 1st on! Do you try to make your present-day holidays fun despite not-so-happy memories? Or do you just struggle to get through these days and hope not to get majorly depressed? Are you religious and hope to spend extra time attending services? I’ve sung in a choir at a few times in my life—I have some fond memories of singing during Advent and at Christmas night celebrations.

If you’re single and don’t have a family (or have one that you don’t care to see) while all your friends disappear into theirs, this time of year can be crummy. If you’re single and want to create a special time, find some other single women (I know it can be hard; some single women are reluctant to identify themselves as such) and plan a story-sharing evening. Make it a potluck gathering so no one person has to do too much work. Share good memories of holidays. Share ideas for making the end of the year special and for celebrating the beginning of the new year. Encourage each other. Get to know each other better. Plan something fun together—bake something together. Go ice skating if you’re still young enough, or drink hot toddies if that feels better. Or maybe drink hot toddies and then go skating… Doesn’t matter. Whatever feels good is good.

What do you do for fun or satisfying ways to make this time of year special?

Patinoire du marché de Noël : Plaisir d'hiver 2006

Image via Wikipedia

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On the road

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The country’s pretty flat between Chicago and Cleveland. Lots of farmland and barns. Wonder how different it is to live as a single woman in a small town compared to a big city? I know my mother was raised in small-town America and felt it could be a terrible thing when everyone knew your business–and felt justified in judging it. Kind of like families usually feel. And we all know what a love-hate thing it can be with families.

Guess if a city dweller feels the differences of being a single woman, a single woman in the country’s almost bound to feel it more. If you stand out when you’re alone in Chicago, you likely feel pretty conspicuous in a small burg. Well, ladies, SWWAN is for all single women–wherever you live, whatever your age, weight, height, or occupation. Join us–it’s free, and it’s freeing.