You know that saying, "Being a woman in a man's world" this saying bugs me. Since when did we all decide this was a man's world? Now maybe in bigger cities a woman doing the job of men may be more common, but here in small town Saskatchewan it seems to be a rare thing.
Besides this job I have a full time job working home construction which entails such tasks as dry walling, roofing, framing, siding, that sort of thing. I am 5 feet tall and I weigh just over 100 pounds but I have managed to keep this job for almost a full year now. When I first told people I was taking this job I got many raised eyebrows and a lot of "Oh really?" There were lots of people who were sceptical of me being able to succeed. I even doubted myself for a little while and who could blame them really? You take one look at me and probably don't believe I can carry box after box of bamboo flooring across a room (that's about 75 pounds per box just so you know). Well sorry to disappoint you all but I can in fact carry a box of bamboo flooring across a room, amongst other things. I may be small but I am mighty!
I spent a majority of my life on a buffalo farm right here in beautiful southern Saskatchewan. I had chores just like any farm kid does. My dad raised me more like a son then a daughter, so I grew up knowing what physical labour was about. Now, even though I spent most of my time playing with my horses and quadding, climbing trees and catching baby magpies, I did have to help my dad repair fences and feed the buffalo which required me to carry two 5 gallon pails filled with grain at a time out to a herd of 30 some wild buffalo on foot. Doing something like that you need to be fast, strong and always keep your eyes open. Buffalo are unpredictable as you can imagine (trust me, I was chased by one!). He also taught me some basic mechanics, how to drive a tractor, how to blow up buildings with dynamite, you know, typical things like that that every child should know and even though I have forgotten some of those things I was still taught at a young age that you have to work to make a living, physical labour and all.
Sometimes my construction job requires me to run and grab supplies from a hardware store whether it be lumber or tools or other materials required. This is always fun for me. It always amuses me when I go into a hardware store wearing a bandana, safety glasses and dirty jeans to grab supplies and men of every type gawk at me like "What are you doing here?" Kind of like I just invaded their tree fort or something. It's even more amusing to see their reactions when they realize I actually know what I am talking about, like they just witnessed a monkey using tools for the first time. Me being the monkey.
It seems that some men cannot grasp the fact that a women can do this type of work. Now don't get me wrong it can be hard work, there are days where I go home so tired and sore and stressed that I vow I am going to quit and find myself a more cushy job, maybe a comfortable desk job, or maybe simply be a homemaker. Why not? No back pain or injuries, no super long showers after a demolition of a room, no itching from dealing with insulation, no slipping well installing a tin roof because its covered in snow! Life would clearly be more simple right? But nope, I always get up bright and early the next day and drag my butt out of bed and go do it all over again, wind, snow, rain and shine. What can I say? I'm a sucker for punishment. But honestly, I love my job, I love learning new things, I also love the fact that I have proven all those people wrong, myself included.
Back in the day women were taught to speak softly and carry a lipstick, we were taught to be delicate- sorry boys but those days are over! This is a good thing, us women are just as capable (if not more so) to do most of the jobs that men do. So be proud to be a woman! Don't hide behind that delicate wall, if you want to do something that seems unnatural or completely out of your league go for it! We all deserve the chance to confuse a man with our intelligence and strength, physical and mental. Heck! Even thow out a bad curse word or two, That ought to surprise them!
