Fuzzy Pink Bliss

Cat got me a fuzzy pink robe for Christmas and it is a gift I treasure for every time I put it on I feel as if I'm wrapped in her love. Pink isn't normally my color, but the bright and vibrant pink of my fuzzy robe never fails to make me smile as it reminds me that life is good and that someone loves me.

Interestingly enough, pink is the favorite color of one of my best friends so in addition to feeling wrapped in my daughter's love, my fuzzy pink robe also makes me think of my friend Alison and how much joy and friendship she has brought into my life.

One of my favorite things to do on a Sunday night before the long and arduous work week starts is to throw my pajamas and robe into the dryer, take a long hot shower, and then douse myself in moisturizer. Putting on warm clothes over the moisturizer makes it soak deep into my skin so that when I wake up I feel soft and silky all over. The ritual is made more special by the loving warmth of my fluffy pink robe.

It's only recently that I have begun embracing pink as a symbol of the strength and endurance that the so-called weaker sex brings to the world. Despite hundred of years of being dominated, being stuck in the kitchen, and being treated like second class citizens, women have persevered and the world is starting to embrace the kind and collaborative talents that women bring to the world and to the workplace.

I was a daddy's girl growing up who didn't have any strong, working role models and even though my daddy loved and encouraged me, he was still somewhat of a chauvinist. I can remember early in my career my dad scolding me for wanting a woman to get a high paying job because if she did she'd be taking it away from a guy who needed the job to feed his family. My dad was still of the era that thought a woman's true place was in the kitchen while a man went out and worked to feed his family.

In the days since my childhood, I've learned that no one should be pigeonholed by their sex and that women can be strong and capable leaders and that men can be soft and compassionate parents. Individuals should be judged for their own talents and traits and not what society deems them capable of.

Sitting in my pink and fluffy robe, I think of all the strong, capable, compassionate, nurturing, and amazing women that have gone before me and that I am blessed to call friends and a blissful smile crosses my lips.