Being just Thankful doesn't seem like enough.

Each year around Thanksgiving people begin to reflect on the things they are truly thankful for. On Facebook the challenge was sent out to post something to be thankful for every day. I treated this challenge rather flippantly and looked for small, overlooked items to post. This past week I was thankful for scissors, nail clippers, rice, flushing toilets and several other items that just don't get the attention they deserve.

Then I read "The Handmaiden's Tale" and realized that as a female, I have some larger, much more important things to be thankful for. Things that only recently became rights a woman could claim (but that in several countries are still not given to women).

I am thankful:

-that I do not have to wear a veil over my face and can smile at whomever I choose.
-that I have the right to vote.
-that I have the right to be counted as a citizen on the census.
-that I have the right to have my own checking account.
-that I have the right to own property.
-that I have the right to wear shorts or sandals in public.
-that I have the right to wear pants in public.
-that I have the right to play organized sports in those shorts.
-that I have the right to publish this writing on the internet.
-that Title IX is in place and allowed the women before me to pioneer women's sports.
-that I have the right to learn to read and to own books.
-that I have the right to refuse sexual advances by anyone.
-that I have the right to leave the house with my hair uncovered.
-that I have the right to leave the house.
-that I have the right to choose whom I am going to marry (or live with).
-that I have the right to research and choose my religion.
-that I have the right to have a job of my choosing.
-that I can pursue the education of my choice.
-that I can start a business of my own.
-that I can drive my own car.
-that I can celebrate my date of birth with an alcoholic beverage.
-that I can speak with or have friendships with men without fear for my life.
-that I can go out into public alone without the escort of a male relative.
-that I can choose the color, cut and design of my own clothes.
-that I can play a traditionally male sport and still have the respect of men.
-that I am free to speak my mind-whether anyone wants to listen or not.

For all these freedoms and so many more I couldn't count them, I am truly grateful to the women who bravely fought for them. This Thanksgiving I am giving thanks for their courage and contribution to the rights all women enjoy today. The right to proudly call myself a football player would not be mine if not for all the sacrifices women have made throughout history. To them, I humbly bow and say, "Thank you."

Insomnia

Oh sleep! It is a gentle thing,
Beloved from pole to pole.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772 - 1834)

Here I sit at Oh-butt thirty in the morning contemplating my life with a side of football. Why can't I sleep? Like so many insomniacs, I have a lot on my mind. Unemployment is a stress factor that has been compounded by the ballooning jobless numbers in my state. Last night at dark o'clock I saw a posting for a K-Mart job (a freaking K-Mart job!!) that went online at midnight. I saw the posting at 1:30am. Out of either gross curiosity or just plain desperation, I applied. I finished my application at 2:00 am, but I could not schedule an interview time because all 400 slots from now until December were already taken! 400 applicants in the middle of the night!!! Luckily, it looks like K-Mart is not in my future.

The other factor that is keeping me from the loveliness of deep, sound, normal sleep is football. For the past eight years I have been devoted to the one and only Portland women's team-the Shockwave. Now, there is a new team in town. I admit it, I was the first to see the craigslist ad inviting people to try out. At first I was outraged-how dare another team come compete for our hard-earned players and sponsors! So I wrote a fired up e-mail to my teammates hoping to get some fired up e-mails back. All I got was radio silence and one lone e-mail. So I did some assessing/soulsearching. (When soulsearching it's best to bring along a mental broom to clear out the memory cobwebs). My soul told me I wasn't having fun playing football anymore. I haven't been having fun playing football for some time now.

This realization shocked me. Not only was I about to leave a team that I had been devoted to for 8 years (my longest relationship) but I had been okay with just hanging in there and not having fun. Where's the fun in that? So, I left the Shockwave and am now a Fighting Filly. But why is this keeping me up in the middle of the night? Because I'm loyal. Because the Shockwave ownership took it personally. Because we have a million things to do to get the Fillies going strong and my mind is racing in overdrive because I get to be a part of it. My mind just won't shut down-and I secretly love it!

This blog is going to be about life and about football. For the last 8 years, football and life have been tied up all together for me. This is my chance to separate them, but at the same time, be a part of the beginning of something great. I need to find a job. I need to help out this new team. I need to avoid H1N1. I need to get in shape. All aspects of life plus football. Welcome to my journey. Enjoy the ride.