Apologies...

It seems everywhere I go lately, I run into women who are, like me, busily hurrying along, trying to get it all done in a day, when she does something as normal as opens a door, sees me on the other side, and abruptly apologizes. No, she hasn't slammed it into me, she hasn't opened the wrong door, knocked a tray of hot food into my face, neglected to "wait her turn", or any infraction at all, yet she apologizes. Why? No man does this. Something is happening to women, that I am constantly seeing women apologize for everything. Running into an elevator whose doors are about to shut, realizing that I have been waiting for the stall they are leaving n the restroom.. pushing themselves out of the way... why is this happening?

And so, since it seems I always circle back to the same point, I submit the text of a blog post written by me many moons ago, on the very same topic. (Originally written 1/24/08)




I'm seeing a trend in blogging lately, that disturbs me greatly. We bloggers, (women bloggers exclusively, it seems) are apologizing for things that require no apology. Why is this happening? I am seeing apologies for mussed hair, dark circles under eyes, crooked stitches, slightly imperfect photographs, messy studios, slow posting, unfinished projects...

I made most of the above jacket a few years ago (this photo was taken while it was in progress), when I thought I was going to love purple forever. Now, I REALLY hate it, but the fabric was quite expensive, so I hold on to it, thinking maybe someday... well...let's get real... This will likely remain in my nearly completed stash until I can transform it into something I will like for a long time. Who knows how long that will be... a poorly conceived project... sometimes that happens... even when you're $250 into materials for the project. Yeah, oh well.

I see many very professional, well-produced blogs as well... which are great -- don't get me wrong... But we all know how much time a person needs to dedicate to create a "perfect" post, with great photographs, masquerading as something casually dashed-off while sipping your morning coffee.

Isn't the beauty of life in its imperfection? Isn't life messy and unpredictable? Let's celebrate that. Isn't the person you love the most absolutely breath-taking when he/she first wakes up in the morning? Isn't your favorite sweatshirt threadbare in just the "right" places?

Isn't that what life is all about?

In this high-tech, highly-polished environment, super-glossy and over-produced, don't we all read blogs to engage and indulge our inner voyeur with real people leading real lives? People to whom we can relate? Really, who would trade their mother's famous chili (or insert your loved one's specialty here...) over the finest restaurant meal money can buy?