home again

I spent a week at a midwife conference in Florida.. it was fun to meet old friends and also hear some new ideas and thoughts on midwifery. The hotel itself was a pain in the ass...i think a hotel that charges $199 a night should provide internet access and free local calls... but for some reaosn they did not think so. I complained loudly and often :)
One of the classes and subjects discuss was rascism and how as white women we can change it, stop it, make a difference and take a stand against it. I am going to give this much thought and figure out how i can change things even if its just those i know or meet.
There is no better place to meet Uppity Women than a midwifery conference!!!!

Musings

I am packing for a trip to Florida. A fun filled week near Tampa at a midwife conference. Lots of great women, midwifery skills, and Dancing!!!!
I love going to conferences and seeing women of such diverse lives, embracing homebirth and midwifery and choices of women. Its always uplifting and empowering.
When i get back, my kids and i have lots of plans to celebrate Samhain. Or Halloween as its called.
We have a cemetery in our front yard and ghosts hanging and lovely crone witches cackling. And of course candles galore.
I am planning a fall dinner to honor ancestors, and a ritual to close out the year on Oct 31.
I also have an alter i dedicate to all the women burned as witches.

Witches

Its that time of year.... lots of ghosts and goblins and Witches flying about. The way most witches are portrayed fall into 2 different camps of beliefs. One is the greeen faced, mishapen, hunchbacked evilly cackling witch or the very sexual perky witch. Either is how the church has seen women for centuries.. either old and haggish and cooking up all manner of evil brews OR a sex kitten just waiting to tempt a poor man who simply cant resist!!
But what is a witch really? A Wise Woman. A woman who has wisdom is always a threat to the church and to the government. If we think, then we can talk,,, and thus we can go against society. And this is NOT good according to those in charge.
Women burned as witches were healers, herbalists, midwives,older women with the ovaries to speak out against the church, widows with property that of course went to the church upon her death, women of money with no husband or if she had a husband and he didnt denounce her--then by golly he was a witch too.
The horrors and the pain of women tortured and burned should make us all pause this Samhain-Halloween month, and give a silent memorial to those women.
Let us honor witches. They were simply women like you and me...not evil and not sex starved, but simply strong wise women.
If we look around our culture we can still see the witch burnings. We can still see women being shut up, denigrated, harrassed, physically threatened, and all manner of pain. Standing up to a patriarchal society is not easy and never to be taken lightly.

All strong uppity women are witches.. and society will do its best to quiet them.

Cunt

Is a great book. If you havent read it then there is nothing more powerful than to go to a bookstore and ask the sales clerk
"where would i find Cunt?" I have had some enlightening conversations while finding the book and i hope they later took the time to read it.
Its a book about the powerful reverant word Cunt. How the origins of this word is of powerful women, high ranking status and
a title worth having. ITs about reclaiming a word that men use against us as a word of denigration and shame.
Yet..i do have a cunt and im right proud of her. She has had 9 children slip from inside her, she has given me some wonderful love making times and she has rarely been ill :)
I am teaching my daughters to see the word as a strong woman word. And if some stupid man calls you a cunt, smile and say why thank you..that is a great honor that your recognize my power!!!!

Cunt..i am not a cunt..i have a cunt. It is poweful. I am powerful.


Later i will go into my thoughts about reclaming the word Witch as the original Wise Woman.

Uppity

What DOES uppity mean? My car tag says UPPITY1 and i get a lot of amused glances.
To me Uppity means ... someone who thinks. someone who speaks out. someone who knows her own way.
I know when a woman says her mind she is labeled a lot of horrible names..and it is sad that so many women hide their thoughts and opionions for fear of being called such names.
So to me Uppity says it all... I AM a thinking woman..i DO my own thing... i TEACH my children to be themselves and
I speak my mind.

and im a nice person too :)

I gots me a BLOG~~~
How exciting is that? I can write to my hearts desire and maybe make a difference in someones life.
Where do i start?
I am a midwife. In a state that is so anti woman, anti family and just plain redneck, that sometimes think of moving to a less hostile state.
But then i dont. :)

I have 9 kids all born at home with various awesome midwives.

I am a minister of metaphysical sciences, aromatherapist, a holistic health care practitioner and a spiritual life coach...
and in my spare time i unschool my kids :)

What do i want to be when i grow up???
good question!!!!