Bullies Aren't Just for Kids Anymore

I work with all women. The women I work with range in age from 16-48. Some of them are in high school, some in college; some of them have an associates degree, some only have a high school education.  Some have young children, some have teenage children, some are pregnant, and some have no children.  Some of the women I work with are skinny, some fat; some tall, some short; some liberal, some conservative; some Christian, some Muslim, some "undecided". But the ONE thing that MOST of the women I work with have in common are that they are all bullies.

"Mean Girls" is the new terminology for these type of women.  Most of you remember these types of girls from grade school and high school.  You were either the "mean girl" the "wanna be mean girl" or the girl that the "mean girls" bullied.  Unfortunately, once these girls graduate from school and become adult women, they do not outgrow their bullying ways.  They just graduate to "mean women". Some of these "mean women" are bold, in your face bullies.  Others are rumor spreading, gossipy women who are nice to your face, but then as soon as one of the "bold mean women"  comes around, they talk about you behind your back.  If you are not a mean girl, they will lure you in with their seductive bullying ways until you are wrapped up in the drama. Then there are the passive-aggressive mean girls. The ones that don't say a word until the situation is over.  And then  WHAMO!  They want to "discuss" it with you.  These are almost the worst type of bullies.  The "shit stirrers".  "Can't leave things alone" bullies.  And as most of you know, the more you stir, the worse it smells.

Mean women like drama.  They thrive on it.  The nastier the situation the better.  These women actually get an emotional "high" when the drama is going on.  They love the fact that someone is hurting, someone is being damaged, that someone's life is in turmoil.  It makes their own boring, average, day to day lives seem wonderful compared to what is going on with the woman being bullied.
Now a day in a school setting, there is a "No Bullying" policy.  Children are taught that if they feel they are being bullied, they are to go to the teacher and let her know.  What about the mean women? Are they to go to the boss and complain about being bullied? What if the boss is one of the "mean women?"  Who is the woman in the situation suppose to go to, to confide in, to get support from? If the woman who is being bullied tries to defend herself, it makes the "mean women" bully her even more.

If I have learned anything from working with a bunch of "mean women" it's that eventually they will grow tired of the current situation at hand, and will go searching for a new dramatic situation to get involved with. Unfortunately, in my line of work, I will always work with women, whom the majority are "mean".  Maybe my next job should be working for a construction company full of men ;-)

Time for a Shave

Ok..,.For all of you mothers out there...When did it become "normal" to go 2-3 weeks without shaving our legs, armpits, and girly parts? Seriously! I remember in high school and college shaving every 2-3 days, especially on weekends before going out for the night (ya know... just in case I met that special someone!) What about makeup? Or painting our toes and nails? Or putting on perfume? It used to be a weekly ritual to paint my toes and hands, and a daily ritual to put on make up and perfume! When did we become so lackadaisical?

I noticed the "ritual" starting to go downhill right after I married my husband...First it was the shaving. It went from once a week to once every 2 weeks to once a month in the wintertime! Then, after I had my first child, It became too time consuming to fix my hair every morning (ya know, the whole mousse, gel, curling/straightening., spraying) so now I just wash and go...After I had my second child the makeup went.. YEP! Takes too much time to get 2 kids AND myself ready so I forewent the makeup.  After I had my third child, well, then I just stopped showering every day (yes I admit I am a once-every-other-day showering person now...HEY! I wash the important stuff on the days I don't shower!) I already have to get up at 6:30 now, could you imagine what time I would have to get up if I had to shower, do my hair and makeup and make it to work on time? I won't even get into the painting of the nails (did I mention that the polish on my toes have been on there since Christmas??) Do you think it has something to do with the fact that we are full time mothers, workers, and wives? OR is the fact that we are married now and don't have to "dress to impress" our husbands...OR! Could it be that we are in our 30's now and have come to embrace our true inner beauty? For those of you that have time to do these rituals every day I applaud you (jealous yes!) But for those of you that are in the same boat as me, how do you think we can improve on our daily rituals? OR do we really care?
SO, as I head out tonight to meet some gals for a ladies night out, I am not going to shower, shave, fix my hair or do my makeup...Actually, I am going out with my sweats on!

What a Day for a Field Trip

Can you imagine what it was like to go to The Post office with a bunch of 4-5 year olds? Imagine seeing it for the first time through a kids eyes! Everything was bigger than life and the most exciting part of the tour was watching the mail drop through the slot on the inside of the office! Every time I go on a field trip I feel like a kid again.. I guess that is one of the perks of my job..I can see the world again as if I was 5 and even though we go every year to the same places, with each new group of children it makes it new again!
After the post office we headed to McDonald's where we toured the facility and watched how they made hamburgers, fries, ice cream, and we even got to go inside the freezer! Brrr.. But the most impressive part of the tour, for me, was the washing machine that had an automatic  detergent dispenser that was attached to the top of the machine by a hose! I want one of those for my house! By the end of the trip, the kids were so tired from playing in the play land that the ride back to the school was quiet and reflective (some of the children even fell asleep!)