An extrovert goes grocery shopping!

This weekend I went to my local shopping centre on Saturday - the day between the two Easter public holidays. Rather than dreading the inevitable madness as people shop like there's no tomorrow, I kind of looked forward to being there on this busier than normal Saturday. 

After my shopping was done and as I walked out into the car-park, energetically pushing my trolley, smiling and singing to myself, I had a bit of a self awareness light-bulb moment. I really love the buzz of being with so many people in this mundane environment. Does this make me weird or a bit sad? Many of my friends can't stand grocery shopping, and avoid our daggy supermarket whenever possible, whereas I've noticed that I actually get an adrenaline buzz from the interactions I have with people as I buy my groceries! 

When I shop at my local I enjoy chatting to the shop assistants - at the fruit shop, at Woollies, at Bakers Delight, and to the woman who runs the florist. I've been shopping here for years, so I feel connected to these people and we know a little about each other and our lives. I teach at a local preschool so I also run into lots of current and past children and families as I shop, and once again I love the ongoing connection that this contact gives me. It's great to briefly catch up, to reminisce, and to watch children grow and see the changes that time brings. 

I often run into friends while I shop, and I also enjoy the interactions with people I don't know at all as we drive our trolleys around the aisles, or wait in lines at counters, We share a smile, a laugh, an offer of help, or a roll of the eyes when its appropriate. 

This realisation confirms that I am more of an extrovert than an introvert - I am energised by interactions with groups of people. I love going to see bands and big concerts, and I work with lots of people, so this is no surprise to me. However I think the shopping thing goes a little bit deeper - I think that being a part of this routine reminds me that we are all connected and are all just doing what we need to do to get by. Obviously shopping for food is a lot easier than trying to hunt for it, or grow it, and I am among the privileged few in the world who can just go down the road and get everything I need and more. However when I shop at my local supermarket I feel that I belong and that I am part of a community. 

My happiness comes from my sense of good fortune as I shop, and the reminder that what really matters is how we turn everyday moments into opportunities to connect, to be kind, and to be grateful.

                                                                    I just had fun drawing this on Paint! Vanna xxx

Busy Work.

It was International Women's Day yesterday and perhaps because of this my feminist radar was working well when a four year old girl at the preschool where I teach said to me:

"My Mum picks me up because my Dad is too busy". 

I acknowledged this statement, then said that I was pretty sure her Mum was also busy and that picking her up and looking after her was something that made her busy too.

She thought about this but then told me once more about how busy her Dad was.

What messages are we still (unbelievably) giving our children, especially girls, about the value of the work that women do? I happen to know that this Mother's 'work' is typical of so many women with young children and involves juggling unpaid and paid work, 'busily' moving between 'jobs'.

Is caring for and raising children not important enough to be considered busy work? Why not? I know people have been discussing this in much more academic terms for years, but it really bothers me! It also relates to my work as an early childhood teacher as I have struggled my entire career to have my 'professional work' valued fairly.

The power of the words we use with children must not be underestimated. If we hear something often enough we start to believe it. If a child hears that what their Mum (or Dad or whoever cares for them) does isn't seen as being as 'busy', we can translate this to being unimportant or of less value, since 'busyness' is regrettably seen as an achievement or a 'badge of honour'. (I just googled 'busyness as a badge of honour' and there are loads of articles about this as well - interesting stuff.)

I think its really important that we continue to challenge the way that our children think about the work we do, and to acknowledge the significance and hard work involved in being a parent (or carer). We can advocate for women and women's rights by valuing the complexity of what women do each day as we work to raise our children and work in our paid jobs, and somehow manage to usually do a pretty good job at both!

Vanna