Women - it's time to unite, not fight

Ask five women to make an apple pie and each one will have their own way of making it from the apples they use, to how they shape to the crust to the ingredients...

But they all will use apples, have a crust and put their heart into making the best pie possible to serve their friends and family.

Just like women may not agree on the best way make an apple pie, there are many issues women disagree on or have an opinion.

But women always find a way to get the job done.

Yes, there are many issues we disagree on. But we can’t let those issues get in the way of working together to make positive changes for our children, our country.

Let me provide you an example.

Two of my dearest friends are Beaver fans. Yes, Beaver fans.

Lisa and Val are two of the kindest, sweetest and most thoughtful women I know. They would give the shirt off their back to a stranger and lend a hand whenever and wherever needed.

I am sure there are many things we disagree about – besides Ducks vs. Beavers – but we don’t let those issues separate us.

We agree on the important things in life – family, friends, good food, wine and books and the importance of a quality education. We believe in treating people with respect, volunteering in our communities and raising our children to be contributing members of society.

It’s only May and I dread - yes dread – the upcoming presidential election season. I am tired of the negativity. And what really irks me is if you or I were to apply for a job, we wouldn't rip the other job candidates to pieces by saying awful things about them. We would talk about our achievements, what we would bring to the job, our vision.

Ok, ladies here it goes. We have to stop letting politicians divide us. I believe it’s time for women to stand up and say enough is enough.

We should be standing together and working for things we agree on.

For example, I am willing to bet a chocolate bar that all women want to know the food they buy at the grocery store is safe for their family to eat. I bet we can all agree that food regulations need to be tougher– think pink slime or recent food recalls.

And I am guessing most women agree that they want their children to receive a quality education – whether they are homeschooled or attending a private or public school. Is it fair to say women want to be able to send their children to college without worrying about incurring an enormous debt? Am I assuming too much when I say women want to know the town they live in is safe and has a low crime rate? Or that the water that comes from their tap is safe to drink? Or the air they breathe is free from pollution? 

In 1972, women fought together to get Title X1 approved –the law that allows our daughters the same opportunities as our sons on athletic fields and courts. Forty years later, we are fighting each other. Think of it this way, you are sitting at the table with lots of dirty dishes and pots and pans. Instead of everyone working together to clean up the mess, everyone is pointing fingers about who caused the mess and who should clean it up and how it should be cleaned up rather than just reaching agreement and getting the work done. That's what happening in our country, in my opinion.

It’s time for us to stop fighting – cease the battles between stay at home moms vs. working moms – note to all – regardless of the situation we can all attest we do more than men. (This is where you are supposed to laugh and raise a glass of wine or grape juice.)

Recently, I worked in a concession stand with women of various backgrounds. Just by listening, I garnered a little about them. While we may go to different churches or have different political views, we all agree on volunteering to support our kids. We all worked to get the job done and raise money for athletic teams.

That’s the kind of energy and focus I believe women need to take on issues we can reach common ground on.

Instead of focusing on issues that we will never agree on –let’s focus on what we do agree on. I think women have learned more than men – in my opinion –how to compromise, to find common ground and I believe we have more common sense.

So the choice is do we stand together and get something done or do we continue to fight one another? What example are we providing for our daughters and granddaughters?
Let me know what you think.