Welcome to my site!

Here is where I blog about growing up relatively gender neutral, about raising my kids, my wonderful husband, my dogs, and my horses. I'm sure to cover a wide range of subjects in between as well!

If you like what you see, or if you don't like what you see, please comment below! If you'd like to hear about something in particular, let me know, I'll try to answer any questions you might have.

Being raised in a Gender equal home

Growing up in the countryside of Montana was not always so easy for me. There were four of us children, and both of our parents were always working. I don't think my parents were perfect at raising us, but it's not like they had the support of their families or even close friends. Back when I grew up, there wasn't internet to just look things up. If you wanted to know something you had to go to the library and find it, and while both my parents are educated and intelligent people, they were both working very hard to keep food on the table and a roof over our heads. That being said, I do believe they did a great job in raising us as gender neutral as possible for the 80's/90's.

That does not mean it was easy for me! When I went to school, and other people asked what my favorite color was, telling them black tended to get a frown. Girls apparently were expected to like purple, or pink, or just some color; but I didn't know that, I didn't know why I was getting frowned at! When the boys were having a burping contest and I came along and out burped them all, they all stared and mocked. I couldn't figure out what I had done wrong! Didn't I burp the loudest, for the longest?

My parents let me join in wrestling in elementary. Oh! That was my favorite sport. I loved being able to do a bridge, push ups, and pinning someone? That was pure bliss. However, when we went to a wrestling meet I got told repeatedly that girls are NOT supposed to wrestle.

I did wear dresses, but mostly because I found that finding two pieces of clothing, underwear and a dress, was a lot quicker and easier than pants that I was bound to put holes in anyway. My Mom did dress me up for special occasions, like a concert or picture day, but that being said, on regular days, if I didn't want to brush my hair, they didn't make me.

Early 90's were not a time of leggings, which were the absolute most comfortable things ever. I wore leggings and stirrup pants almost everyday. Which, apparently, did not help me win any popularity contests. If I told you I didn't care, I would be lying. Children are ruthless in their desire to destroy the different among them. Even my teachers didn't know what to do with me most of the time, and from about 4^th grade on, I hated the hours in which I had
to be at school.

My little sister was tiny, like baby sized, until about middle school, when she had a growth spurt and had to abandon all hope of being a jockey. But up until 3^rd grade, she was immensely popular in the school we went to. See, our older siblings were in middle school to high school when we started elementary, and the school we went to had maybe 200 students all together, from elementary to high school. So the high school students that found my brother and sister totally rad, thought my little sis SO cute!! And the kindergarten had to post a rule that people were NOT allowed to carry my little sister around. Which made me, the pariah, all the more alone, not due to my sisters fault. She tried her damnedest to be there for me.

When the time came for hay bails to be picked out of the field, thrown on the truck, stacked, thrown off the truck, and restacked, I can recall many times where it was my Mom, my sister, and me all out in the field. My little sister was tiny remember, and so she drove the truck in compound low. Which left Mom and I throwing 90# bales.