When I talk about the 2012 Rock Star, I’m not talking the Katy Perry’s or Lady Gaga’s of the world; I’m talking about the new 21st century woman. These women are ROCK STARS.
This past year, 2011, was a year of reflection for me. A lot of time trying to be present, looking around, and a lot of holy cow, as women we’ve accomplished so much up until this point but man do we have a long way to go! That’s from my own personal experience all the way up to the millions of blog posts and articles that are written each and every year about women’s equality in the workplace, and lack of support and resources to move up the ladder. You know what I’m talking about; the glass ceiling, why are there no women mentors, my boss just thinks I’m being difficult, how am I supposed to juggle job and kids… the list goes on and on and on… if we let it.
This year, 2012 is going to be the year of awareness. My goal is to uncover and highlight shifts in our culture that are happening right now, today, and in this moment that are monumental deal breakers for the next generation of women. Some shifts I talk about will be positive, some negative, and some that really need to be looked at now in order for us to make intelligent choices as women, and as a society moving forward.
So why am I doing this? I have read so many articles lately that are just talking, providing content, complaining, or just cluttering inboxes with “stuff” regarding women’s leadership initiatives. There are no solutions being discussed – just a bunch of chattering. I wouldn’t even care if there were bad solutions being brought forward at this point, but there’s no action happening towards changing women’s rights in the new 21st century work force.
We’re playing a whole new ball game from the one that was being played even 20 years ago, yet, we’re all playing by the same old rules. How can that be? I can’t promise that this blog will be the solution, but what I can promise is that you will get something different here. You will be challenged to get involved, and you will be challenged to make a difference.
I am going to highlight a new topic once a week that gets to the core issues of women’s equality in the U.S. and how it relates to future outcomes of our society. I then welcome dialogue around ideas and/or solutions as to how we can improve the situation, or make the current one better. In conjunction with the article, I will spotlight a ROCK STAR of the week. This could be someone famous, in the news, or it could be someone like Jennifer Antonini below, who is just trying to make a difference in her community by contributing her talents as a lawyer in Toledo, Ohio, yet make a difference in the world by being a good mom and raising her boys to go out and make their own contributions.
With all that the 21st century woman encounters today, she’s got ROCK STAR written all over her. I cannot wait to see how many of you are yet to be discovered… “Will the real 21st century ladies please stand up?”
Today’s Mom is a Rock Star
When I was about 9 years old, there was this book that sat on the bathroom vanity called, “I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can.” It was there for two or three years before we moved. On the cover was a blonde lady, as I recall, with a tutu and a pair of jeans, capris maybe. She didn’t look very happy about the dancing, exasperated really. I used to see that book every time I went into the bathroom, two or three times a day. With it sat other books, one was “I’m OK, You’re OK,” and the other was “The Road Less Traveled.” I didn’t know, at the age of 9 and 10, what any of the books were about, but I always wondered about the lady on the cover. I could never figure out what was so bad about all that dancing.
Fast forward 30 years and it hit me. The book wasn’t about dancing, it was about the life of a busy mom. I’m sure my mother picked up that book looking to find some solace in its pages, only to find she rarely had time to actually read it. Face it, the book was in the bathroom, her only chance to read, and I’m sure we never gave her more than 30 seconds there before the next request, demand, or problem arose.
I can only imagine that if my mom felt she was dancing as fast as she could, mother of five at that time (six later), then I must be spinning circles around Michelle Kuan. I want to take nothing away from my mother’s generation, but the mother of today is in a whole new ball game. Whether working full time, part time, or keeping a career at bay, today’s moms and upcoming moms-to-be are faced with more on the to-do list than ever, and it all starts with the early years.
Remember the playpen? No more of that. Young mothers are told to engage their children and let them explore their environment. Instead of getting your laundry done and dinner made, you are guilt ridden if you haven’t had several hours of intense learning play with your child – and yet, the laundry and dinner still await and must be done, so dance faster.
Sending your child to preschool offers some respite from the constant engagement we are expected to perform, only to find out that you now have fund-raisers, pumpkin night, ice carving, and several pre-school shows to attend. Dance faster sister, faster.
By the time your child is in school, you are juggling school schedules, sport schedules, homework, book reports, science projects and a truckload of paper every week. You might also be trying to hold a job, volunteer at school, have an exercise schedule, shop for groceries and return that book to the library that is four weeks overdue. Speed it up.
Junior high and high school are the pinnacle. You are likely driving your child to and from school because the bus is just not cool, commuting to various cities around the state for travel leagues, picking up poster board on a moment’s notice, keeping everything at the office under control (just under), and, oh yes, trying to maintain some form of a relationship with that guy you live with – your husband. Go, go, go!
Keep in mind this is what happens when you have one child. Now throw in one or two more and you are managing overlapping paragraphs. This level of demand has never been seen before in the history of the world, and yet it is being handled by today’s mothers on a daily basis. It is an amazing dance, a whirlwind, but truly amazing.
There are many times in a day that I feel like the lady on the cover of my mom’s book. I’ve got on a completely mismatched outfit, and I feel exasperated. I wonder sometimes if I can keep up this pace. I wonder if I am doing anything well or just everything mediocre. It is a busy, busy world for today’s mothers.
The amazing thing, the one thing that often keeps me going, is that I know I am not in this alone. I am not alone like the woman on the cover of that book from so many years ago. Every mom I know is handling life at the same pace and generally managing pretty well. It is almost as if the world has set a higher standard and we relish in reaching it.
I salute the mother of today. It is the chorus line that keeps the world going, and the dance floor is bigger and better than ever. Despite the occasional madness of it all, there is no indication that we can’t handle life in the new millennium.
If I could re-design the cover of that book today, for today’s mothers, she wouldn’t be wearing a tutu, she would be wearing a sequined jacket, she wouldn’t be looking tired and worn out, she would have her hands raised triumphantly over her head. She’s a Rock Star. ~ by Jennifer Antonini
Drop us a line and let us know what Rock Star lifestyle you’re leading and leave us any tips on how you’re holding it all together… outside of just your “Rockstar” energy drinks 
It’s no surprise that the the new Governor of Ohio, 
It’s 2011. How did that happen? My mother always warned me that as I got older time would start to fly by in the blink of an eye. As always, she was right. But what causes the clock to feel like it’s on fast forward?
One minute ago?
