If you read my About Me intro, you know that this blog was supposed to start a long time ago. The heat and humidity of Ontario last summer made me put my blog away, but many other things caused me to not start it up again for several months. One of the reasons I didn’t was because I thought that other women would judge me for the things I posted about. It’s really hard to put yourself out there this way. Starting this blog, I talked to many women who said they’d love to start a blog, but they were scared or nervous to put themselves out there for fear of being judged or criticized.

I remember telling a friend about my blog. She asked me what I planned to write about. I gave her a few examples – one was about an awesome hair technique I had learned about that made thin (and thinning) hair look thick again. When I told her, she kissed her teeth at me and said she didn’t want to hear about things like that, and that people wouldn’t read a blog with topics like that. She said people like her – early-thirties with young kids – had no time to spend on her hair. She deflated by blog dreams a bit that day.

I didn’t work on my blog for a long time, because every idea I had, I would think of some demographic of woman who wouldn’t have the time to be interested in that topic. I found a way to talk myself out of every topic.

But then I thought about it. – I had the time to spend on my hair because I’m in my mid-forties and I have older kids who don’t need me as much anymore. She’s younger and she has younger kids who demand more of her time. I had the time because of the life stage I’m currently in. She didn’t have the time because of her life stage. She made me feel guilty because of something I have no control over. Why the heck should I feel guilty just because I had done the time?

I realized, there’s always going to be some demographic of woman who’s not going to be interested in one topic or another. I can’t please everyone all the time.

I know, I know. Earth-shattering revelation, right?! Yah, it took me months to realize this. Doh.

Someone is always not going to have the time to do the things you have time for. I may be in my mid-forties with two teenage kids, but there are things I don’t have time for. I don’t have the time to go out with my girlfriends in the evening, unlike some of my friends who have no kids. My kids have to eat dinner at a certain time every night before their extracurricular activities. So if one of those friends were to tell me something that they did on one of those single-girl, no-kid nights, who am I to kiss my teeth at them.

We are never going to be in the same place at the same time. We should never ridicule each other no matter what we want to share. We should all feel free to share and cheer each other on no matter what life stage we are in. One day, you, my twenty-something friend with the newborn and the toddler, will be going through menopause, and I will be in my sixties, excited that Polident just came out with a new formula that makes my dentures taste like rum and coke. And you will cheer me on and I will do the same for you. Those memes are so correct. Girls, we can be so mean to each other, it comes so easily to us. Let’s remember to support each other no matter what. It’s not just about this blog. Great things can happen when we support each other. Only girls compete with each other. Women empower each other.