Today a friend and I were talking about shopping for bras; it is an act I detest, but because of a rather sizable weight loss, I am needing to do just that. Now, I know women who can spend hours in a lingerie store looking and feeling and making sure everything is "just right", and who don't mind having a stranger wrap a tape measure around their boobs so they can be fitted properly, but hey...I'm just not one of them.
I was raised by men (and one very strong willed woman), and somewhere along the line, my "girl" gene got squished. I really can change a tire, fix the plumbing, change out a battery and build a fence, but I couldn't tell you shit from shinola about how to pick the right shoe, and my style etiquette is nonexistent. Hell, I don't even wear make up, and I've forgotten how to put on eyeliner (so I just have it tattooed on; makes life so much easier). I would rather watch football than Sex in the City (that has to be the stupidest, most asinine show ever created), and romantic comedies irritate me to no end; give me a good dose of American Pie any day of the week. I like to laugh out loud, and the words "meek" and "mild" just aren't in my vocabulary.
I'm not totally out of the loop; I do cook and bake and crochet (which led one friend to quip, "My, that's awfully domestic of you!"), but beyond that, it just doesn't happen. I am far more impressed with my ability to hook up and back up a trailer, than my ability (ha!) to accessorize. I love being outdoors, and I don't mind getting dirty (I can shoot, too).
It's funny how this lack of "girlness" can put some guys off; I had one guy I dated actually break up with me because I wasn't "feminine" enough; by the time he got done describing what he wanted in a woman, I decided he wanted a porcelain doll instead (and he married a woman who pretty much fit that bill). Now, I'm not knocking women who are soft and pretty and feminine, nor the men who want them; but it just cracked me up when one woman, upon finding out I had pulled and replaced a toilet in my rental, asked me why I was doing a "man's" work. Short answer? Because I can. Of course, I know women who could, and would, never do something like that, but I also know men who I wouldn't let near my power tools.
One of the funniest stories I remember had to do with my horse trailer; it was a summer day, and it was hot and miserable and the kids were getting cranky. As I was pulling out of a parking lot, the damn thing popped the hitch. So here I am, pretty much blocking traffic, with the tongue of the horse trailer sitting on the ground. Needless to say, I was not happy.
Well, across the street from where I was stood a whole group of men; they had seen it happen, but not one of them offered to come give me a hand...instead, they just watched me, waiting for me to come and ask (not gonna happen...sorry to disappoint; my ego is far bigger than yours). I was standing there deciding what to do to fix the problem when this older lady walked over, pointed at the group of men, who were starting to puff up, and said, "You need to go ask some of those big, strong men to help you."
In hindsight, I know she meant well, and I could have been nicer, but since I was already pissed, and that only served to piss me off more, I reached down, grabbed the trailer tongue, lifted it straight off the ground and slammed it on the hitch. Then I looked her dead in the eye and said, "The fuck I do." After that, I proceeded to flip the now deflated group of men off. She looked at me, and without another word, turned and walked off. (I know...and yes, my back was a little sore the next day, but it was worth it.)
Sometimes I do wish I had a little more of the girl gene so I could wear make up right, and look "pretty", especially now that I have two girls who are both very girlie (especially the older one; she already has boys calling her and chasing her, and I already have the shotgun ready), but the thought is fleeting. I don't really want to be that way. I was always taught not to let a man do for me what I can do for myself, and I won't. I also figure that if someone is going to like me, it's going to be for who I am, not for who I'm pretending to be.
So hand me the hammer and the nails; I have a fence to build.
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