No Bans on my Body
Well I have had an interesting day. It started with me in a hotel room in an NC city and ending with me in a hotel room in a SC city. Living one day at a time means I have no idea where my HP may lead me. I was supposed to have tomorrow off- I actually had several plans including virtual work with my teaching job, but there was a need for me to fill in with clinic down in SC. Did you know, my dear readers that SC is about to ban abortion? Yes, we are living in 2021 and even though Roe vs Wade made abortion legal in 1973 in our United States, there are folks trying to chip away at this legal medical procedure that a woman chooses for her own self and body. If that is not some patriarchal malarky, I don’t know what is. Can you imagine if men could get pregnant and then have themselves burdened with not only the lifelong physical changes that motherhood entails (including stress incontinence, abdominal hernias and vaginal tearing) but also the social changes of being responsible for a human life for 18 years (because women are still saddled with the majority of child rearing in the US)? I truly believe the abortion debate would look very different.
I get on my soapbox to say that if SC bans abortions next week, as it looks like they may, many women in that state will not be able to have access to a medical procedure that could change their entire lives. Suffice to say, how could I not say yes to working on my day off? I’m grateful to be in the position as a childless- by- choice woman with a supportive partner, to be able to travel for work.
Let’s get to my letters. Tonight’s is actually a postcard. My grandfather addresses it to my grandmother without a street address in Taylorsville, NC. That is where my grandmother grew up and her sister was the postmaster. I am assuming that either a.) the town was so small that the mail carrier knew where to go or b.) as the sister of the postmaster, my grandmother had extra privilege. My Grandfather includes my grandmother’s maiden name with her married name perhaps for this reason.
An update too on the bulbs that my Grandmother bossily instructed me to plant. I did in fact follow directions and as you can, we have some beautiful potted bulbs, anxiously awaiting to blossom to reveal their secret identity. (If you have no idea what I’m talking about then you are not following along with the blog. ;)) I will let you know their status as we go. Hopefully Nik and I won’t kill them before the big reveal!
Enjoy and remember to keep fighting the patriarchy and systemic racism! We cannot rest on our laurels.
