Stop Yelling At Me!!!!!!

My faults are so loud. In my ears, all the time. Why aren't you thinner? Why did you cut your hair? Why did you buy that? Why are you wearing that? Why isn't your house cleaner? Why isn't your car cleaner? Why? Why? Why?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't hear myself over the din.

We get overwhelmed. No one takes stock of their positives at any regular interval.

Life is funny. And not usually ha! ha! funny - more like the whole classroom of third graders mocking you funny. Not that I would know...

I got back in touch with a sorority sister through facebook (yes, the diva uses facebook). And it shocked me how much we were alike. OK, full disclosure, she's 6" with adorable dimples. I'm shorter. And no dimples. Except for the ones on my ass and I don't think they count.

I am constantly amazed at the baggage that women carry. It is like being at the airport - we all carry the same bags. Check the tags, girls, they all look alike.

And this realization makes me sad.

The more women I know, the more women that open up to me, the more women I open up to - the more I love these women. The more I see myself reflected in their eyes. The more I see we are going through the same stuff. The more I want to reach out and rescue or connect or open up and say - look, I'm hurting, too.

But what moves me most is when someone says they look up to me - that they see in me a "success" story of sorts. I don't know what to say to this. I've worked hard, tried hard, cried hard. But I'm still here (as if there was a choice) and I keep going forward and I keep believing there is something great out there for me.

And I've looked up to things about each of these women. They are smart. Smarter than me. They are self-aware. More so than me. They are strong. They are resilient (the thing that I think most men underestimate about women - you will NOT break us). They love without requiring reciprocation.

In short, women are amazing.

And I am proud to know and be inspired by these women. And if you are reading this - you have inspired me. And to the extent I may have inspired you - wow.

Take care, dear readers. I love each of you.