I get a lot of crap for being crafty. Even more for loving to cook. I hear 'Oh, Martha' way more often than I would like. If it weren't for my incredible wit and self-confidence, I probably would have crumbled under the (I'm assuming) harmless comments long ago and hung up my aprons and needles before I ever really learned how to use them.
The thing is, I don't think of myself as Martha. Sure, I like preparing food and cutting paper and sewing, but I'd like to think I am a little less bossy and way short of having everything perfect. (Hold your comments please, Turbo...) Don't get me wrong, part of me really wants to be just like her. Not the dictator you see in her show, but the Martha that gets to make all of that really cool stuff using her own two hands, a stack of scraps, and some thread as a day job, then goes home to her handmade empire and lets loose listening to rap and sipping martinis. I mean really, who wouldn't?
But I'm a long way from that. I do what I do because I like to. I really like to cook. I come from a long line of people that cook and bake from scratch, so honestly, I think my love of the kitchen was inevitable. Same with sewing. I grew up with a mom that did it occasionally and grandparents that did it constantly. Makes sense that I would be destined for that too. More than anything else, it makes me proud to have come from a family that passed on skills that will keep me healthy and active, that fostered creativity and a desire to constantly learn new things. I don't have to blindly follow the masses to Macys or WalMart or McDonalds if I don't want to, because they gave me the tools to control what I put in body and what I put on it. I am extremely grateful for these gifts, despite the famous labels they have earned me.
That being said, I hate that loving to create automatically pegs my personality as resembling Martha, it sells the rest of rest of me short. I'd like to think I am more of a combination of many different lady-like icons. My 4 Betties, if you will.
Obviously, my first Betty is none other than Crocker. Cheery and warm and timeless, she's the ever changing face of bakers everywhere. As she was created for, she is the part of me that cares about what I do in the kitchen. She cooks and bakes for her family because she wants only the best for them. Bettie number two, hold onto your hats fellas, is the queen of pin-ups herself, Ms. Page. Mysterious, smart, coy, and a little naughty, she never thought of herself as an icon, or the girl next door. My favorite part of her, she made lots of her own sexy costumes. Third is my fave Golden Girl, Betty White. Witty, funny, and charming, not to mention an avid animal advocate, she is who I want to be when I grow up. My final Betty, is Barney's better half. She is a good friend, a great wife, and an even better mom. She's a homemaker, a volunteer, and, many times, an accomplice. She is me at my day job.
They are a collection of creative, smart, funny, sexy ladies that are confident in who they are and what they do. No one too perfect, nor too bossy, nor too egotistical to laugh at herself when there is nothing left to do but laugh. They are experts in their individual domains, they are not afraid of criticisms, and they are not sorry for it either. They are who I would describe myself as if you asked me today, not ever missing that there is no Martha in the bunch.
2 comments:
I used to get crap because I didn't cook, then the moment I did I started getting those same "Martha" comments. Not sure why some folks feel the need to make these comments, often belittling, but make them they do. Perhaps they lack creativity in expressing themselves better and/or more positively. Perhaps it says more about them and the path they've chosen for their lives than of yours. Perhaps they aren't able to embrace the differences in others as learning experiences and instead view it as some sort of threat.
All I know is that I can no longer care. I put in the time to find out who I am; others can either accept me or not. The comments won't make me change. Instead, I think we should bake up a mountain of sweet treats that would make Martha proud and celebrate the "Betty-ness" by dancing on the table tops until our sugar highs wear off!
Can’t say I know what drives any of my Martha comments, but I’m going to keep assuming they are harmless pokes at my crafty ways. If it is deeper than that, I’m happy not knowing why.
I know who I am too, and I’m pretty pleased with it. With that in mind, I certainly know that I am one for baking a pile of treats, however I’d need some wine too to dance on the tables. (Sugar alone won’t cut it for me…)
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