Open Letter: Dear Femme

[Bit]

I like this picture! Thanks very much for posting it, honeybarbara. It might have been a posed photo, but she sure looks like she knows exactly what she's looking at and exactly how to fix it.

I think it's amazing you changed the bearings in the driveshaft without breaking a nail!

At this point in my life, doing anything without breaking a nail is an accomplishment for me. I never knew they could get so... well, so careworn. I guess I know what that word means now in a way I didn't used to. And I know something else, too; I know that my nails are more a symbol to me of my femininity than I thought they were.

It's really ironic that a huge marker of femininity, bleeding, is what caused the problems with my own personal symbol of femininity, my nails. They're weakened from anemia. Who knew?! It would probably help if I kept them polished--another one of my personal markers of femininity--but they're in dishwater every day and I hate chipped nail polish with a passion. *wry smile*