Isn't that what we always say? November already? And time flies! And why do we set the clocks back, anyway? Last year I embraced Hygge, the Danish "cozy company" concept for the dark depths of winter. The idea still beckons: a group of friends, food, spirits, stories, and a warm fire. Okay, I don't have a fireplace, but with enough candles... <shrug> Actually, that sounds too effortful.
Let's face it, winter isn't my shining moment. I get depressed. Dark and cold don't do it for me. I don't ski, and the idea of getting into my car on a cold, rainy night and driving to the mountains for the weekend, or a friend's house for the evening, or really anywhere at all, feels icky. Winter is my cozy, stay at home alone time. Reading, writing, watching Netflix movies, and making soup all sound about right. Gatherings do not. I am becoming a Winter Crone.
And speaking of Crones... I like that term. Maiden, Mother, Crone. After years of being marginalized as a "pretty girl," and then "just a stay-at-home mother," my age has finally given me cred. I am a serious and solitary woman. I hold opinions, speak my mind, and look askance at tom-foolery. I have a feeling the idea of a witch's Evil Eye was really the scathing look an older woman gives men who try to assert their supposed male or religious authority. After all, older women saw those men when they were silly little boys whining over a scraped knee, or hurt feelings, or a poopy diaper. In the old days, being looked at with a knowing eye was enough to send religious zealots into conniptions. And today, older women know their own strength because they have raised children (often alone,) and worked outside the home to help pay the bills or pay them in full. Older women have seen much and shouldered burdens without needing to brag, complain, or proselytize about it. We did what needed to be done. Our power now is in the knowing Evil Eye.
No one has authority over another's life and body. We were all once silly babies, and we all return to dust. Religious zealots of every stripe are free to assert their beliefs on themselves, but they must not legislate their beliefs on others. This is the November of my life. November already!? A Winter Crone... I like it! Last year, Hygge. This year, Winter Cronery - a time to think, write, and practice my Evil Eye.
As always, I look forward to spring.
~ cfd
Let's face it, winter isn't my shining moment. I get depressed. Dark and cold don't do it for me. I don't ski, and the idea of getting into my car on a cold, rainy night and driving to the mountains for the weekend, or a friend's house for the evening, or really anywhere at all, feels icky. Winter is my cozy, stay at home alone time. Reading, writing, watching Netflix movies, and making soup all sound about right. Gatherings do not. I am becoming a Winter Crone.
And speaking of Crones... I like that term. Maiden, Mother, Crone. After years of being marginalized as a "pretty girl," and then "just a stay-at-home mother," my age has finally given me cred. I am a serious and solitary woman. I hold opinions, speak my mind, and look askance at tom-foolery. I have a feeling the idea of a witch's Evil Eye was really the scathing look an older woman gives men who try to assert their supposed male or religious authority. After all, older women saw those men when they were silly little boys whining over a scraped knee, or hurt feelings, or a poopy diaper. In the old days, being looked at with a knowing eye was enough to send religious zealots into conniptions. And today, older women know their own strength because they have raised children (often alone,) and worked outside the home to help pay the bills or pay them in full. Older women have seen much and shouldered burdens without needing to brag, complain, or proselytize about it. We did what needed to be done. Our power now is in the knowing Evil Eye.
No one has authority over another's life and body. We were all once silly babies, and we all return to dust. Religious zealots of every stripe are free to assert their beliefs on themselves, but they must not legislate their beliefs on others. This is the November of my life. November already!? A Winter Crone... I like it! Last year, Hygge. This year, Winter Cronery - a time to think, write, and practice my Evil Eye.
As always, I look forward to spring.
~ cfd
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