Am I a feminist?

I have always thought of myself as a little anti-feminist. Not that I don't appreciate what those women way back then did so I can vote and fight and basically do whatever I want and feel equal to men. Buuuut... I don't really feel like I have to rip off my bra, lace up my boots, and argue the issues right now. (Yes, I know, there are still career lines where women still aren't paid equally and issues people shout in my ear, but I just am not bothered enough to join in a protest today. I think we've hit a mark where people can say, "That guy isn't treating that woman equally." And the rest of society will agree, "What a douchebag!" I'm okay being in that spot.)

On the other hand, today I decided to do some yard work and realized some of the feminist in me may have come out.

The "grass" on the side of my house has gotten really tall and I've been wanting to cut it for a few weeks. It was four feet tall in some areas. I just am not ready to open some mosquito breeding ground or random animal habitat in my only bit of yard. This especially comes now, because I am still looking into planting a vegetable garden and have started a little spot in my yard to prepare for future food.

It was around three in the afternoon and I was with my neighbor for lunch. I was asking around for a machete or some other tool, because I wanted this "grass" cut. The women who were there all agreed that I needed to tell some little kids to do it for me. So the women call over a group of boys that had been playing in and around our houses and told them they needed to cut my yard. It was decided that they could, but it wouldn't be until tomorrow... The sun was peeking.

I had also been told by my old doña that I needed to have my land lord do these types of things for me, but his dad just died and I don't have time to bug him or wait, so I looked elsewhere.

My neighbors daughter came around so I basically asked her for some tools and set to work. The girl I was meant to be teaching English never showed up and I didn't want to waste another afternoon, so I set to work. I changed my shirt grabbed the tools and hit my yard.

The guys drinking and playing dominoes at the Colmado started babbling about the Americana doing yard work while the sun was peaking. I want to point out that this American from Colorado knows how hot this island is. The sun was not even out. There was actually a nice shade I was fully enjoying.

So I cut and raked and cut and raked. Every so often a neighbor would stop by and say something about having someone else do the work, or that if I waited I could have a man with a different tool do it later.

Later does not help me keep insect and mosquito levels low. I don't want to get dengue because I have 5 feet of weeds and brush in my yard. I also noticed that my neighbors had started throwing their trash over the wall and into my yard, which does not make me feel better about the trash clean up I did when I first moved in. A trashy place just looks like a place to leave trash, so I am determined to clean my yard up.

It was only a little frustrating when around six o'clock my neighbors came out and started curb appealing the front of their house. I guess try were keeping up with the Americana. Maybe that's why I'm here... To inspire yard work.

Anyway, as these people kept telling me to wait for a man I just kept thinking about how I may be a bit of a feminist after all. I don't have time to wait for a man to show up. Does a girl like it when a man offers to do something for her, sure, but you better believe I'm not waiting around for you to think the weather feels pleasant when I am clearly capable of moving a rake myself.

So in the end, I'm definitely not one of those girls who says things like, "Don't bring me flowers! I'm strong not delicate!" I definitely am capable of gettin' stuff done when I want to.

Side note about flowers:

No one, besides my mother, has ever sent or given me flowers. I was dating this guy for about a month that I was convinced was going to bring flowers. He used to say things like, "It is a man's pleasure to treat a beautiful woman to a nice meal and a fun date." Okay, I'm not that drastic, but wouldn't you think a guy like that would have brought flowers to one of our seven dates? If you can't get flowers from a guy like that, you probably can't get flowers from anybody.

Are flowers just a movie thing? Have flowers lost all their luster? Do any of you still, or did you used to, get flowers? Where did the flowers go?