I love being a girl. I love wearing heels. I love watching George Clooney movies. I love going to aerobics classes. But gosh darnit, sometimes I want to be a guy.
I went for a walk in the park this morning because it was 40 degrees out and saw a bunch of guys playing a game of football. I was jealous. I want to play football. Why can't girls play football too? When I was little, I spent my weekends playing soccer, riding my bike, playing with my sisters in the yard. Most kids in town participated in organized sports. Sports for girls, of course. On a team with other girls. Against other girls. I never had the desire to play football or be a guy because, well, I guess I was getting my fill of outdoor activity.
Now I run and go for walks to get my daily dose of Vitamin D and soak up good weather. And when I'm bored, I go for another run or walk. Walk after walk after walk through the park by my house. On a really nice day I make up errands for myself just so that I can walk down the street. Like even if I have dish soap already, I'll walk a half mile to CVS to pick up an back-up. Or I'll walk all the way to the post office to mail something instead of just putting it in the mailbox across the street. Maybe I should get a dog so that I don't look so silly walking in circles by myself all day long. If I had a dog, he'd be a good excuse to go for lots of walks. I wouldn't look so silly power walking for hours on end. Yea, maybe I'll get a dog.
I hate dogs. But maybe I could learn to love mine?
Adult guys are lucky. They can play pick-up games of football and basketball with their other adult guy friends. They can even join leagues! And play hockey or softball or soccer every Wednesday night at the YMCA. The Young MAN'S club! They can even go to the park and just play catch with each other. But not girls. No. Adult girls don't play pick-up games of football on randomly warm Saturday mornings in January. We go to the gym for our aerobics class. Which don't get me wrong, is tons of fun, but it's just not like a game of pick-up football. And after my aerobics class this morning, I still had the urge to go for a walk in the park.
So why not play with the guys, you ask? Well because I've tried. And I'd like to think I'm athletic since I run half-marathons and go to those aerobics classes and all - but guys who play pick-up football are ... not like the girls in my Step Class. One time a boyfriend asked me if I wanted to play football with him and his friends one day, because he knew I secretly wanted to be him. I went, even though no other girls went, and said I'd only play if they had an uneven number and needed me to play, and then prayed that an even number of guys showed up. Let's just say, athletic or not - I lack a couple of things guys have. Like a competitive this-game-is-the-most-important-game-of-my-life fight, really strong arms that can throw footballs really far, the knowledge of all the rules of football, and no concept of how much it hurts a 120 pound girl when you pummel her to the ground and all 200 pounds of you falls on top of her.
One girl cannot play football with 9 guys. Well, I can't. Maybe you're out there somewhere, Awesome Girl, but for now, I'm just advocating that we athletic and optimistically outgoing girls get together and start a football league. Or a walking club. Or do our Pilates Class outdoors. Anything that remotely resembles an attempt at an organized sport outdoors. Hey, it would give me one more reason to enjoy winter. And one more reason not to get a dog. I really don't want a dog. I hope it doesn't have to come to this.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Wicked Winter
January 1st
New Year's Resolution 2010:
To fall in love with winter.
Why? Because I hate winter. I hate everything about winter besides hot cocoa and my leather boots - but those are two things that I'm not exactly longing for in summer. And for 24 winters of my life, I've just accepted the fact that I'm not a winter person. But I realized that winter in New York is 4 months of my year. That's 1/3 of my year. That's 1/3 of my life! That's a long time to be miserable. In an effort to be more positive, I am going to fall in love with winter. And try to love it just as much as summer. Maybe I'll find I love winter so much that I'll actually look forward to it! Maybe when people ask me what my favorite season is, I'll now have 4 to choose from! Maybe my friends will think of me as the winter-loving girl. They'll say "Oh Jodie's always in a good mood. She loves all seasons. She's such an any-weather-loving girl."
Good-bye to my list of reasons why winter sucks!
WHY WINTER SUCKS:
1. It's cold.
1a. You always wish you had one more layer on.
1b. You are uncomfortable walking anywhere.
1c. You feel lazy for staying in your apartment because you are too cold and uncomfortable to walk anywhere.
2. It's dark.
2a. Less time for playing outside.
2b. It's proven that the Vitamin D of the sun makes you happy.
3. Hats make my hair flat and static-y. (Is that a word?)
4. I takes forever to put on hats and gloves and scarfs and coats and long socks. Time that could be spent doing more enjoyable things. Like sipping iced tea on my porch in the summer.
5. Snow
5a. Snow makes sidewalks slushy and dirty, which make your shoes gross.
5b. Snow turns to ice, which makes you slip and fall.
5c. Snowstorms cancel things, like school and after-school activities.
(Ok -- yes I was the kid who was upset on snow days. When other kids were excited to build snowmen and have snowball fights, I was secretly sad that I could not go to school and see my friends and learn things. And snow was always getting caught between my mittens and my coat and it would be so cold. My mom would sometimes cut a whole in a plastic sandwich bag and then secure it between the elastic of my coat and the elastic of my mitten. I don't remember it working too well.)
"Why Winter Sucks" continued...
6. You think winter will end in March...but it doesn't!
7. There aren't any fun holidays in winter. (Don't kid yourself that Valentine's Day is fun.) And Christmas just passed, so now what do we do?
8. I like tank tops.
9. Beach trumps everything.
10. My radiator is 100 years old and clanks all night long and I don't sleep. At all. For 4 months.
But I am not dwelling on the negative anymore! New Year, New Me, New Favorite Season. There are a lot of things to enjoy in the winter! My sister and I went for a run today, New Year's Day - not to kick-off most people's resolutions of exercise in the new year, but to kick-off our Fall in Love with Winter Crusade. Hello list of reasons why winter's awesome!
REASONS WHY WINTER'S AWESOME:
1. Running through a snow-filled park - when the sidewalks are clear and it's not too cold out - is really pretty.
2. When there's snow on the ground - and it's sunny out - it's pretty.
3. My winter coat is pretty.
4. You can drink hot cocoa.
4a. And have a cookie with it.
That's all I have for now. I'm sure I'll find more as the days continue.
January 2nd
WHY WINTER IS AWESOME TODAY:
1. It's not snowing today.
January 3rd
WHY WINTER IS AWESOME TODAY:
1. It's not snowing or raining today.
New Year's Resolution 2010:
To fall in love with winter.
Why? Because I hate winter. I hate everything about winter besides hot cocoa and my leather boots - but those are two things that I'm not exactly longing for in summer. And for 24 winters of my life, I've just accepted the fact that I'm not a winter person. But I realized that winter in New York is 4 months of my year. That's 1/3 of my year. That's 1/3 of my life! That's a long time to be miserable. In an effort to be more positive, I am going to fall in love with winter. And try to love it just as much as summer. Maybe I'll find I love winter so much that I'll actually look forward to it! Maybe when people ask me what my favorite season is, I'll now have 4 to choose from! Maybe my friends will think of me as the winter-loving girl. They'll say "Oh Jodie's always in a good mood. She loves all seasons. She's such an any-weather-loving girl."
Good-bye to my list of reasons why winter sucks!
WHY WINTER SUCKS:
1. It's cold.
1a. You always wish you had one more layer on.
1b. You are uncomfortable walking anywhere.
1c. You feel lazy for staying in your apartment because you are too cold and uncomfortable to walk anywhere.
2. It's dark.
2a. Less time for playing outside.
2b. It's proven that the Vitamin D of the sun makes you happy.
3. Hats make my hair flat and static-y. (Is that a word?)
4. I takes forever to put on hats and gloves and scarfs and coats and long socks. Time that could be spent doing more enjoyable things. Like sipping iced tea on my porch in the summer.
5. Snow
5a. Snow makes sidewalks slushy and dirty, which make your shoes gross.
5b. Snow turns to ice, which makes you slip and fall.
5c. Snowstorms cancel things, like school and after-school activities.
(Ok -- yes I was the kid who was upset on snow days. When other kids were excited to build snowmen and have snowball fights, I was secretly sad that I could not go to school and see my friends and learn things. And snow was always getting caught between my mittens and my coat and it would be so cold. My mom would sometimes cut a whole in a plastic sandwich bag and then secure it between the elastic of my coat and the elastic of my mitten. I don't remember it working too well.)
"Why Winter Sucks" continued...
6. You think winter will end in March...but it doesn't!
7. There aren't any fun holidays in winter. (Don't kid yourself that Valentine's Day is fun.) And Christmas just passed, so now what do we do?
8. I like tank tops.
9. Beach trumps everything.
10. My radiator is 100 years old and clanks all night long and I don't sleep. At all. For 4 months.
But I am not dwelling on the negative anymore! New Year, New Me, New Favorite Season. There are a lot of things to enjoy in the winter! My sister and I went for a run today, New Year's Day - not to kick-off most people's resolutions of exercise in the new year, but to kick-off our Fall in Love with Winter Crusade. Hello list of reasons why winter's awesome!
REASONS WHY WINTER'S AWESOME:
1. Running through a snow-filled park - when the sidewalks are clear and it's not too cold out - is really pretty.
2. When there's snow on the ground - and it's sunny out - it's pretty.
3. My winter coat is pretty.
4. You can drink hot cocoa.
4a. And have a cookie with it.
That's all I have for now. I'm sure I'll find more as the days continue.
January 2nd
WHY WINTER IS AWESOME TODAY:
1. It's not snowing today.
January 3rd
WHY WINTER IS AWESOME TODAY:
1. It's not snowing or raining today.
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