Super Women

On any given day of the week you can sit down in front of a T.V. set for hours of mind numbing fun. We give the media such control over our lives that they almost seem to redefine reality. Thousands of dollars are spent on entertainment: television, movies, magazines, and radio. I enjoy them all more than I should, I’ll admit, but what messages are they trying to selling me? I’ll name a few. Being super thin is beautiful. Spending millions of dollars to keep your youth is worth it. Looking perfect makes you happy. Sometimes they get me - hook, line, and sinker.

As I was listening to a song this morning entitled Superwoman. I began to meditate on that concept. What is a Super Woman? Is she Megan Fox or any of the other actress, models, and singers daily paraded through the national broadcasts with their impeccable good looks? Maybe to some it’s Nancy Pelosi or Sarah Palin, women of political power. Sometimes these women are portrayed with almost super hero powers, and we unknowingly idolize them as such as we follow them in raptures through our various forms of electronic diversions. It is entertainment, but are they superheroes? Not to me. Here is my list of heroes and what I think is super in the everyday woman.

Wonder Woman – I think of the SAHMs (stay at home moms) an organization to which I proudly belong. Leaping toy buildings with a single bound without tripping. (Well maybe occasionally!) They fight sleep deprivation with orange juice, Cheerios, and Dora the Explorer!  They're out there changing diapers faster than the speed of light, all day everyday! This job is hard and sometimes thankless in a world of prestige and consequence, but I believe it is the single best way to change a life (or lives if you have more than one) and the world for the better.

Super Woman – Not every woman can stay at home. Some women go to work because they have to, some because they want to. Which is better, working for a better life for your children or staying home with them? This is a fight I believe is not worth fighting. To those women who get up each day to fight the evil of traffic, face the competition of co-workers, break glass ceilings and stereotypes, or just plain work hard for a living I salute you! Get it girls!

Rogue – She’s my favorite X Men hero! She’s going to rep. the teenage girls that make hard choices everyday at millions of schools, in millions of towns all around the globe. It’s a different world than when I graduated school even ten years ago. The choices are harder and so is the pressure. Those girls that work hard, that try to do the right thing, and look forward to being future leaders and innovators in this crazy planet are my heroes. The old fashioned values that I have always had are fading fast. I hope that my two year old daughter will have role models and heroes in her babysitters and the teenagers around her.   Those she looks at in wonder, and tries to emmulate as she grows.

The Invisible Woman – I love the fantastic four. In this group of super heros is another of my favorites. The Invisible Woman stands for those women who are now grandmothers and great-grandmothers. In the media these women of wisdom and valuable life experiences are virtually invisible. There is beauty in aging, in knowledge, and in the contribution these women make to society. This elegance and grace is fading as many erase it with cosmetic procedures and push these valuable women aside for their younger and alluring counter parts. These women are super heroes to me.