Little by little, in the 20 years between my 18th birthday and her second one, I had learned how to live in the world. The constant stories about the under representation of women, on the tenure track, in the film industry, in government, everywhere, had become commonplace. The rape cases. The sexual harassment stories. The demeaning comments.
Life goes on.
Learning to live in the world meant seeing the glass half full. Ann Richards was elected governor of Texas instead of a good ol' boy who said that if rape was inevitable, you should relax and enjoy it. There are so many opportunities unheard of when I was growing up. And then I had a daughter, and suddenly I saw the glass half empty. Little by little some will close, as their individual capabilities and limitations emerge.