Solutions – My Friend Temper

Exploring Patriarchy – Chapter 28

Temper. My Friend.

You keep me safe

when the load gets too heavy and they won’t give me a break.

I could let your loose

but I’ve learned much better.

So I hold on to you tight and let things simmer.

Let things simmer till I know what to say.

Till I find the words

and ideas that will bring a different way.

Bring a different way that they’ve never tried.

A way that pushes their lazy

and their petty mindedness aside.

They won’t give me a break so I stand firm and hold on

to you.

Temper. My Friend.

You help me stay strong.

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There are times when one need to work with quiet patience. To work with less visibility so no one notices. But MM’s days of working silently were gone.

Chores had eased to such an extent that the change could not be hidden. And this brought on a fresh wave of pushback. Criticism and resentment from a family that suddenly realized that their traditions around chores had been dispensed with.

But MM had skills now. Skills that came from the self-reliance she learned early on in her married life, when the only support system she had was herself.

Speaking out calmly and assertively when there’s pushback is always a risk. Now, it was a risk she was willing to take. A risk she was angry enough to take.

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I invite you to read all chapters of Exploring Patriarchy and walk with Microwave Madam as she explores the impact of patriarchy on her life and on society. And looks for solutions.

I tried to write this with a lot of repetition just for fun. All repeated text and the line that’s repeated in italics. Please let me know if the repeats work for you when you read them.