Ok, so I never thought I would say this. But. I, um, picked up the May issue of Esquire. And it was REALLY good. I’m still sort of horrified, honestly, given, say, their website. But, I’m a huge fan of (at least the non-fiction parts) of McSweeny’s annual compendium Best American Nonrequired Reading. Big fan. And I’ve noticed that lots of the non-fiction was being sourced from Esquire… and really good non-fiction at that. So, there I was, in my local independent bookstore, and I noticed that Christina Hendricks was on the cover of Women (the issue). So I thought, hey, why not? And ladies? It was excellent.
I would describe the thesis as “Women: You’re way way more interesting than you think you are.”
So, for you, on this Friday, a few highlights.
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As part of their “5 Moments: A group portrait of five ages in the lives of women,” ages 18, 27, 35, 44, and 53, one of the 35 year-olds said, “In my 20s, I spent years building someone else’s world. I wasted those years.” I haven’t been able to get that out of my head for two weeks.
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As part of their (fascinating, I thought. We’re interesting creatures…) Survey of the American Woman, I noticed that 47% of the women surveyed made less than their husband/ boyfriend/ partner. And my forehead wrinkled up for a second.
Me: So. 47% of women make less than their partners.
David: Hum?
Me: I make more than you right now. Well. I mean, I make all of it right now. (Pause). But. I think I like making more than you. (Pause). I think… if I had it my way, I’d like to always make the most. (Pause). That’s weird. (Pause). Is that awful?
David: Nope.
Me: Would you mind?
David: Nope.
Me: That’s ok?
David: Yeah. You just like making money. I don’t care so much.
It’s interesting, working out the surprising-to-yourself things you think about your own marriage. I mean, I thought I wanted to be a stay at home mom. Till, like, this week. Seriously (and when I say seriously, I mean seriously. So please don’t judge me or say I have a problem with staying home with your kids. I thought I would until Tuesday). Apparently David had foreseen that this was not actually what I wanted. That I wanted, um, capitalism. Apparently.
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Finally from Christina Hendricks “Letter to Men”:
Marriage changes very little. Intelligence and humor (and your smell) are what get you laid. That’s what got you laid when you were single. That’s what gets you laid when you’re married. Everything still works in marriage: especially intelligence and humor. Because the sexiest thing is to know you.
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And finally, thank you alllll for your kind words yesterday. I have some thinking to do, but in the meantime I have some resting to do. It’s a long weekend here in the states, so I’m taking Monday off and maybe even Tuesday off (we’ll see). I’m going to try to work on some off-the-web APW projects… intermittently… but mostly I’m going to try to rest. Refresh. Hang out with my husband. And hopefully the next time you see me I’ll be less burned out. Here is hoping.
