Knowing who I am and feeling confidant and self assured was normal for me for a good part of my life. I did well in school, had a nice social life, knew my role in my family and had a comfortable relationship with God. I even managed to get through the late 60’s and early 70’s with my faith and morals pretty much intact and marry a wonderful guy, and all this happened by the time I was twenty years old.
I remember Helen Reddy belting out the song “I am Woman” in 1972 and somehow not really being able to relate to her battle cry. I never felt held down or unable to reach my goals. I never looked at being a woman as something inferior, nor did I feel looked down upon. I was always someone who achieved the goals I had set for myself. I did not feel like I had missed out or was limited by life’s choices because I was a woman and now, a wife and hoped to be a “stay at home” mother. The role and identity of women seemed to take an even greater shift in the late 70’s and 80’s and by the 90’s, finding fulfillment in “just” motherhood was almost extinct.