When I grow up...

This has been floating in my drafts box since the day after Sarah Palin accepted the VP nomination. Oops.

I haven't thought of myself as a feminist before this morning.

But last night, I watched the entirety of Sarah Palin's acceptance speech, and loved every minute of it. I was ooh-ing and ahh-ing like the rest of the country at the jabs and verbal poison darts she threw at "O-bummer's" camp. I like a good battle of words as much (if not more) than the next person.

But this morning, it became more. This morning, on my drive in to work, with my husband and 2 year old still asleep in their beds I realized just how much her presence means to me.

The mere fact that she was standing on that stage made me proud. Hilary never did because she doesn't have the same values as I do. Sarah Palin holds the same values I do... freedom, family, faith. Working to make this world a better place for my kid, and his kids. Doing everything in my power to cling to the traditional family unit; dinner at the dinner table with a home-cooked meal, setting an example, even something as simple as nursing... all when a world says that you could just "have it your way", use the "easy button", blame someone else, take a pill for that...

Instead, she's successfully doing what I do on a smaller scale. She doesn't make me feel any less for the fact that I'm not as accomplished, she instead inspires me to be more. There's something about the fact that she could hunt or win a beauty pagent - turn heads or turn legislation - that makes her oh-so-very fairy tale come true.

And I realize that it means so much to me, the prospect of having a great woman in the White House. So much more than I would have anticipated. It means that maybe, just maybe, some day my boss will take me seriously... not just pretend to. He won't ask me if I'm dedicated enough to take the company to the next level because I have a young family at home...

Would he ask a man the same question? Doubtful.

Will I allow the conversation to continue without calling him on it next time? Doubtful.

We are on the front edge of a revolution. The glimmer of which, I can say with confidence, has already changed the environment of the workplace!

Palin is a self-sufficient woman. A get-it-done, and do it with grace, kind of person (in heels, a flawless hairdo and lipstick, BTW). She is strong and caring. She is the absolute opposite of all the women on the liberal left. She does not blame anyone for the hypocricy she meets, she works harder to rise above it. She has never expected anyone to bail her out or do anything for her. She has pulled herself up by her bootstraps, struggled thru, and risen victoriously with a beautiful family, successful career, and her faith in tact. She is the American I want to be. Not without struggles. Not with everything. But with freedom and dignity, faith and family.

When I grow up, I want to be like Sarah Palin.