Hi, I’m Judith Ashley, author
of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, soul nourishing romantic women’s fiction
that honors pagan spiritual practices. My stories show you what life could be
like if you had a place like The Circle where you are unconditionally accepted,
supported and loved. And where, with this support, you do overcome obstacles and
find your happily-ever-after.
If your
2020 has gone much like mine, you are finding your second or maybe even your
third wind, that time when, in the midst of exhaustion and numbness, a burst of
magical energy and creativity shine through. One of the advantages in having
been around for many decades is that I know “this too shall pass.”
While I
wasn’t here in 1918, I was here and a child during the polio epidemic. I had
schoolmates that survived polio but could only walk with braces on their legs,
using a cane or walker. Other survivors lived their lives in iron lung
machines.
I
remember being “bummed out” during the hot summer months that we couldn’t go
swimming in the community pool. Somehow running through the sprinkler in our
backyard just wasn’t the same. I also remember the sugar cube with the Salk
vaccine.
In the early 1960’s I
couldn’t complete my Student Teaching, the only thing left for my Bachelor of
Arts degree because I was pregnant with my son. Teachers who became pregnant
during a school year, lost their positions. The thinking at that time (of school
boards (male dominated) school superintendents (men) and principals (all male)) was that it was harmful for children to be exposed to pregnant teachers.
Domestic violence, sexual
harassment, stalking did not exist because there were no laws that named it or
said it was wrong. When I was in a domestic violence situation in the 1960’s
and went to the police, I was told I “belonged” to my husband and I should go
home because there was nothing they could do. A husband had the right to hit
his wife.
Why am I going on and on
about the past?
Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote
Because a couple of weeks
ago, Tuesday, August 18th, marked the 100th Anniversary
of the passing of the 19th Amendment ensuring a Woman’s Right
To Vote. White and Black Women had been asking, demonstrating and protesting
for the right to vote since Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.
Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote
Celebrating the passing of
the 19th Amendment to our Constitution in many ways seems like it
happened centuries ago but the fact is I’m the 3rd generation in my
family who has had the right to vote. I may be off a generation because I don’t
know for sure if my great grandmother voted. When my great granddaughter is of
age and votes, she will be the 5th or maybe 6th
generation to benefit the passing of the 19th Amendment.
What does all of this have
to do with Hope, Romance The Genre’s
topic/writing prompt for September?
Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote
Today being
able to vote has given women the opportunity to be heard, to see changes made
to protect themselves and generations of women to come. The opportunity to take
positions of leadership, to be active in their communities beyond their
children’s classrooms, church auxiliaries, husband’s organization’s wives
clubs.
Today if
I went to the police with bruises from my husband’s fists, I would not be told
I belonged to him and to go home. There are shelters and resources to help me
and my child recover and get back on our feet.
Today if
I was in college or teaching and became pregnant, I could continue my
education, my profession until I went into labor should I choose to do so.
Vote Vote Vote Vote Vote
Today I can vote. I’m
fortunate to live in Oregon, a state that has had Vote By Mail for over 20
years; a state that registers a person when they get their driver’s license; a
state that gives voters the option of taking their ballot to an official ballot
drop off box. I’ve never missed voting since I turned 21 and was eligible to do
so however, being able to complete my ballot in the privacy of my home has been
a blessing as I’ve aged. And in these days of Covid-19’s increasing numbers due
to community spread, I feel safer and that my life, my health and well-being
matters to my local and state governments. I do still take my ballot to the library less
than a mile from my home so I can personally drop it into the ballot box.
One of the gifts of living a
longer life is Hope because I’ve seen change not only in the decades I’ve been
alive but in the lives of my grandmother’s generation.
If you are feeling events
are whirling out of your control, you are right. If you want to be in more
control of those whirling events, consider purchasing my first non-fiction Staying
Sane in a Crazy World.
Here are a couple of reviews
that were posted on Amazon:
This is a short book but packed with good
information about focusing on what you can and can't control. It provides a way
for you to develop your own plan to keep you going every day. The author asks
good questions to consider and leads you through the process of looking at the
world in a different perspective and by the end you can feel that you are not
lost in a world out of control.
This short read is chock full of helpful
information and ideas to help the reader reclaim peace and calm in the
craziness of day to day living. Straight-forward, to the point – no nonsense
mumbo-jumbo. I can’t wait to put some of these ideas and strategies into
action.
You can
find all of my books at your favorite e-book vendor. Be sure to ask your local
library if you’d prefer to read my books through that resource.
© 2020 Judith
Ashley
11 comments:
Great post, Judith. I remember how proud I was, as a kid, to be the one who got to pass out the sugar cubes with the polio vaccine. I wanted to be a nurse after that. And after reading Cherry Ames nursing stories. I just looked up the books and noticed one of the titles is Dude Ranch Nurse- hmmmm - I wonder if that was when I decided to someday write about romantic cowboys :-) I do remember male bosses telling me I couldn't do something, or in the mid-70s, the dealership telling me I couldn't buy a car without my husband's signature (I marched out as I shouted over my shoulder that I was using my own earned money, NOT my husband's, and they just lost a sale.) I also did not tell them I had just filed for divorce :-) I bought a car elsewhere. So Judith - it has been a long march for many of us, and here we are STILL FIGHTING, STILL MARCHING - VOTE VOTE VOTE!!!!
The car dealership scenario you painted was a familiar one in those days. And when I was divorcing my husband, the bill collectors thought I should have to pay for the car he had with him in Ohio (I was in Oregon). I was very grateful that my pitiful tears as well as giving them his contact information got me off the hook.
Definitely see that handing out the sugar cube polio vaccines and reading Cherry Ames set you on the path to writing about cowboys! Interesting I wanted to be a nurse until, in high school, it came to dissecting a frog in biology. I didn't - wrote several (no longer remember how many) special reports to make up for it...and my biology teacher, a very kind man, was clear about what I'd need to do if I went into nursing. I'm sure I had a horrified look on my face at the time.
Great blog post Judith!
I remember getting a pin which I still have that said "Polio Pioneer". living in Tulsa, OK , I was 5 or 6 years old when I my polio vaccine. Now with COVID-19 I am very hopeful there will be a viable vaccine by early next year. I mean, if the scientists could create a vaccine that prevents polio and small pox, surely they can create one to prevent COVID-19.
And I agree here we are still fighting the good fight for equality for all. Very distressing.
Diana, I'm sure a vaccine for Covid will be developed. The polio and small pox vaccines took years and years to create. I know countries are cooperating, etc. but I'm still skeptical of a viable C-19 vaccine being available in October. I'd see that as a political ploy and have No Faith at all in its efficacy. But that's me...and there are many people who'd jump at the chance. My concern is that once the vaccine is available there will be a rush of people who will stop wearing masks, etc. similar to when counties started opening after the Stay Home mandate.
Wonderful post, Judith! I also remember the fear on my mom's face every summer, not letting us swim, etc. I was Pregnant in nursing school in 1976, no one then dared say I "had to quit" but "caring instructors" often took me aside and asked, "oh, my dear, aren't you tired. You look so tired. You could take time out and come back next year." My answer was always, "No. I'm fine. Just fine."
I was truly exhausted, but would not quit, knowing I'd probably not come back. Had the baby, shared breast-feeding with another plucky new mom on the two days a week we had clinical and carried child to class on the in-class days. We had very supportive fellow students of all ages and I had a supportive partner.
Yep. Things have changed for women and people of color but obviously not nearly enough. I'm so grateful I'm elderly. I do what I can, yet observe from the sidelines, so to speak.
So true Bonnie. things have changed for women and people of color and even though its not enough, it gives me hope that we are moving in the right direction. And I totally agree about the "elderly" part. I do see grey-headed protesters out there but it won't be me. I'm sending positive energy for their success, voting and in other ways supporting the changes.
Great post, Judith. It makes us all realize that, even though we still have a long ways to go, especially this election season, we have come a long ways and are now free to exercise our vote as we see fit.
Great post! I wish my home state of Texas had some of the voting options that you have in Oregon. Instead they are in court even now in the midst of a pandemic fighting tooth-and-nail to keep large urban area voting officials from expanding the absentee or vote-by-mail options for Texans. It's insane and infuriating. I have a strategy that involves assessing the early-voting lines from afar to gain some sense of when it will be most low-traffic to go cast my ballot.
Peggy, thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment. I wish everyone saw the right to vote as Everyone's right, not just the right of the privileged few.
Eleri, I'm glad you have a way to gauge the lines from afar so as to minimize your risk when exercising your right to vote. I may be "off base" but it seems to me that the majority of people who want to curtail our right to vote are the ones who most likely have always had the right to vote since the beginning of our country.
It's so interesting you wrote about women winning the right to vote after 100 years of trying; and yet it would be another x before black women were allowed to vote. On the day groups were celebrating that accomplishment, I happened to wear purple that day.
I didn't remember it was the anniversary. I just woke up and needed to wear purple--mostly remembering that poem about old women wearing purple and learning to spit. At the grocery store, I saw other women wearing purple and they would give me a thumbs up sign. I though tit was strange. I didn't know any of these women. Did we all wake up and decide to wear purple that day?
Finally, in the properly-social-distanced checkout line. The person in front of me (who was wearing a purple shirt) turned and gave me the thumbs up and said happy suffrage. Vote to change our leadership.
Suddenly it all came back to me. Perhaps there was a subconscious reminder when I woke that morning? I was wearing purple as a means of rebellion (because of the poem and my frustration with the state of things). What an empowering day with so many women saying "way to go" even though I didn't complete understand.
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