Realitychecks. They occur every now and then and every now and then I feel the need to share my realitychecks with you. After my not-so-serious ode to the here and now, it’s time to get serious.

This ode has to do with a story that I’ve read in a Dutch newspaper. It’s about a woman who wrote a very open article about the past with a clear (tragic) link to the here and now. In a nutshell: the article is written by a woman whose mother unfortunately took her life in 1983. The most important question after such an event is always: Why? After years her daughter was ready to find an answer to this question. And it was answered alright. Her mother had kept a diary in the past. This diary was an important source which helped the daughter understand the thoughts and feelings of her mother and how that led to her radical decision.

Rewind to the 1970s and early 1980s.
You’re a woman. Just like the decades before, your career perspective after marriage is usually: becoming a housewife and in your career perspective horizon  staying a perfect housewife is priority number 1. Do you want more? The Housewife police (society and your environment) will try to bring you to the housewife pad. Are you ambitious and would you like to have your own career? What’s wrong with you? It is unthinkable.
This state of mind actually reminds me to some “vintage humor” pictures which are literally made to mock the vintage times a little bit, but… in every  joke there is a serious amount of truth.

Flashforward to the present.

What are we?
Woman, writer/doctor/whatever you want, daughter, girlfriend, mother, wife etcetera.
What can we become?
Anything we like.
What do we want after that?
More.
When do we want it?
As soon as possible.
When can we start?
Right now

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