Not Ready to Make Nice

Being a fan of self expression, I am truly impressed with the Dixie Chicks recent single “Not Ready to Make Nice”. While I believe the Chicks are great musicians and have suffered an injustice against them for speaking their minds, primarily Natalie for speaking against President Bush and the Iraq war at a concert in London in 2003. The girls come out swinging in their first single to expose the obvious wounds suffered from the tough controversy faced with Natalie’s words including death threats.

A great emotional blow to their success and identity is apparent in their lyrics “Not Ready to Make Nice” to include:

I’m through with doubt
There’s nothing left for me to figure out
I’ve paid a price
And I’ll keep paying

A Dixie Chick fan from their conception with Natalie, the chicks have impressed this fan over and over again. And in the wake of their fourth album they prove once again they are strong-willed women who making history by being outspoken and standing their ground.

While others may bash them for not being “society’s nice” this redhead stands by and will be first in line to purchase the new album in stores May 23rd.

Kudos to the girls for being true to who they are!

The holiday reality check

Holidays always seem to bring families together. Of course, it also gives us the ability for an in-depth look into the foundation of who you really are and where you come from. Almost like a reality check three times a year - an other great reason to celebrate Easter, Thanksgiving and Xmas.

This past Easter Sunday as our family gathered together, my brother and I found ourselves chatting about our mother. About what a different kind of woman she is. My brother remembered when he was little and moved into a small neighborhood in the 1960’s. The nice neighborhood ladies invited Mom over for coffee and how our mother looked at them like they were crazy and pronounced “she didn’t have time for coffee, she had a business to run”. We both laughed. Our Mom was definitely not your stay at home type we agreed.

Instead, our mother was an entrepreneur, a pioneer. She ran a riding stable and taught riding lessons the majority of her career. She didn’t take excuses, late payments or the inability to learn. She was fair to her employees and word hard. She never once thought she was different from the other mothers, nor do we think she cared.

To us, our mother shaped our future. Was a symbol of what a woman should be, as any mother would be. However, to our surprise when we entered the “real world”, we would learn that our mother raised us different. The values we learned were not common. Our mother taught us to stand up to injustice, not take no for an answer and to ask deeper questions. We didn’t learn how to cook or sew. Our mother never made cookies. And yes we felt deprived. My brother and I discussed in-depth how we found ourselves feeling as if we were on the outside looking in. We questioned how can people work 9 to 5, commute for 2 hours and come home exhausted? How can people work for something they don’t believe in? All the while wondering how to fit into a society that is blanketed by the common perception. Pondering everyday, how do I fit in?

So while I’m glad that the holiday is over, the kids are back in school and Im back to work. It was nice to have a reality check of who I am and why I am the way I am. Cheers to you Mom. Thanks for being different and raising us the way you did. You raised two kids who know exactly where they fit in.