It seems to be the common consensus these days that America isn't the great country it used to be. Some blame Bush, others blame Obama. I blame Oprah. You see, Oprah was the first person to introduce the idea of "Me Time", and the rest of us just took it and ran. Somewhere along the way, Me Time mated with technology, and Facebook was born. Then, that bastard Facebook held a caucus with iPhone, and the result was the preeminent profile picture. You know the one-- self portrait took at a down angle from extended arm, boobs pushed out, squinty eyes, pouty lips. To be fair, if I had any boobs and/or lips to speak of, I'd probably have this picture too. Then again, that hasn't stopped scads of pre-pubescent girls (and some dudes) from adopting this signature pose again, and again, and again. How many pictures does one need of one's self, anyway? But I digress... My point is that we have become so egocenric, that the state of our union can hardly come as a surprise. If divided we stand, then united we fall.
Me Time (MT) is the idea that if we spend any time focused on our jobs or on others, we become entitled, nay, obligated to spend some time on ourselves. Really? This nonsense seems to run especially rampant among stay-at-home mothers. And their MT drug of choice? The spa. I must say, I'm kind of surprised all the revenue generated by the hoards of mani-pedi seekers isn't doing a better job of stimulating the economy. I stay at home with my two children. Yes, it's busy, but I can hardly call it stressfull, especially considering occupations such as military, police, and Kardashian. I mean, no job that lets you wear pajamas all day and considers teeth-brushing optional is going to land you in the hospital with ulcers. My life is hardly all kids, all the time. Once a week I treat myself to a grocery excursion, and I almost always get 2-3 solo bathroom trips a day. My grandmother raised fourteen children. I'd love to be able to go back and ask her opinion of MT, though I suspect she would have been far more interested in the concepts of Food on the Table, and Clothes on Our Backs.
Generally, I would use this paragraph to explore the various ways men use MT. However, I have had an exceptionally difficult time finding a man who will admit to taking time for himself. Key word: ADMIT. Daniel likes to point out that during his last deployment, he had exactly 16 days off- in a year. He thinks MT is just something "chicks do", but I contend that no female I am aware of ever uses the bathroom as her own personal library. Fellas, you're finding pockets of solitude somewhere.
Don't get me wrong- I'm not saying that people shouldn't take time for themselves. I'm not saying people don't deserve time for themselves. Hell, I'm not all together sure where my 10 month old is right now, but I'm still taking the time to bloviate (pot, kettle much?). I just think there is a time and a place for everything. I see far too many people focusing on the prize without giving the actual task at hand much thought. My fellow Americans, we should band together, roll up our sleeves, and rob Oprah. I think there's about $8 in it for each of us if my math is correct- although it probably isn't since I used my 6 years in college to major in Me Time.
To help along your male MT hypothesis, I will chime in to say that almost every episode of "House hunters" I've ever seen included a search for the perfect house with a man cave.
ReplyDeleteHow could I have forgotten the man cave?? That's the place where productivity comes to die!
ReplyDelete