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1.18.2012

the kind of woman i want to be:

i want to take my makeup off every night before bed.
i want to floss my teeth just as often as is recommended.
i want to wear high heels. or not.
i want a little garden. whether it be mounted on a wall, contained in a window-box, or a full backyard plot, i want my own greens. want to mark time by their progress. want to pick them fresh for dinner.
i want to bike to the farmer's market. i want to like green tea. or not. but drink it anyway.
i want my food to be rich in the colors of the earth.
i want to live near the water. or the mountains. or both. i want to pray and give thanks beneath trees that reach upward and out.
i want balance. balance between investing in all the right things and paying attention and putting in the work and then letting it go and not giving two shits.
i want to turn off the lights when i leave a room. and i want to find a partner who can honor that.
i want pictures everywhere. frames everywhere. i want the words hung right up there on the wall. i want to wake early. to move my body because it's good for my heart. because it keeps me light and kind. i want breakfast in bed on saturday mornings. and fresh flowers and gifts for no reason at all. i want to be the kind of friend who honors commitments, takes the time to make the call, sends ridiculous emails just because, who speaks truly and freely, and plans birthday trips to paris.
i want to wear colorful socks and knee-length skirts. bright lipstick and my hair in a high bun.
i want to never go another six-year-period without owning a pair of bluejeans.
i want to return to a bar just because i thought the bartender was cute. and i want to sit late into the night, as darkness folds over itself, falling in love, if only for a morning.

44 comments:

Brittany said...

i love lists and i love this!

Sladja said...

Can it be said more nicely, more clearly, more beautifully... no... I don't think so! Blownaway!

xoxo
-S

Louise said...

this is so beautiful. end of.

Mary said...

Me too. It's perfect.

Abby said...

This is so great. I aspire to be like you. I follow many MANY blogs and yours in my favorite by far.

Anonymous said...

love this:)

Brady said...

Love, love, love.

The Lewicutt's said...

Be her. You're splendid just the way you are, but if you want to be her, then be her. Or maybe you're already becoming her...

kate said...

Man.. I always love a little Meg Fee words in the morn.

And I'm laughing at the turning off the lights and finding one to honor that (how's that for butchering words?) I am the WORST about turning off lights. I don't know why. It drives my husband crazy though. Famous words as I'm running out the door after him.. "lights?" Ha.

Ashley said...

i love this a whole lot!!

Glamour Drops said...

I'll toast to this! So beautifully said, and SO much simple wisdom in there it almost hurts.

Jenni Austria Germany said...

try as i might, i have never been able to be remember to take off my makeup before bed. maybe that can be one of my new year's resolutions....?

April said...

I love this so much. I've done the last one one too many times.

stephanie said...

Love this.

Taylor said...

Yes, wholeheartedly yes to all of the above!

lizzy said...

you are such a treasure.

Anonymous said...

Okay, but, so...what's stopping you from being that woman?

Nikki said...

This was wonderful. Reminded me of how I should make a list like this, and maybe try keeping to it for once.

Nicajoice said...

love this list, as always. :)

Nica
http://nicajoice.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

The kind of woman you want to be?

...I'd find a list about the kind of woman you actually are much more interesting.

You're too old to be making lists about the woman you WANT to be instead of living as the woman you ARE, silly (as evidenced by the majority of bloggers who comment on this, most of them are under 25, if not under 22)... so instead of writing a list about HER, go be YOURSELF.

Ashley said...

I've thought about this quite a bit today, and tonight (as I was flossing) the fleeting answer to this came through - who you are won't change at all with these things. What makes you, YOU...what makes you dream, makes you wistful, makes you create these lists...will not go away.

I take off my make up every night. I floss every night. I shop at the Local Market and eat organic, locally grown, grass fed things. Until Sept, I lived at the beach. I have an entire hallway devoted to a picture wall. I fell in love with the man of my dreams at a bar at 1am. And that man brings home flowers on a Monday, just because.

And with all of this, I still dream of things...of what I want to be, what I want to do, where I want to go. So do you. This dreaming is a beautiful part of you. It makes you an exceptional writer. So as much as you think flossing will make you "that kind of woman" please remember that you will always be YOU. So be HER.

Emily said...

so inspiring.

meg fee said...

i'm not saying that i am not this woman, or that i'm not in transition to become her. some of these things i do now. some i don't. some aren't currently feasible, some i've done since i was a little girl.

i felt the need to write this down to remind me of what some of my values are.

i hope i never stop growing and evolving and becoming. that's what this list is about.

it's not about saying oh, one day... and doing nothing about it.

to the second anonymous commenter: i'm quite blown-away by how sure you are of everyone's age. and who are you to pass judgement on what stage any one person should be at in their own personal development? unless you sit with me in my therapy sessions each week and have the wisdom and where-with-all of the very wise man who sits across from me, then i must kindly ask you to refrain from judgement. or refrain from public judgment, and anonymously at that. your comment was not cruel but a little short-sighted. you, my dear, missed the point.

i am this woman. i am becoming this woman.

Emily said...

MEG, WHY ARE YOU AMAZING?

I am going to Guatemala for a year and a half (wahoo, Mormon missions!) and I am going to miss reading your beautiful words every week.

I want you to know that I think you are really cool. And classy.

Stay fantastic!

P.S. This list is SO GOOD.

Unknown said...

Oh man.
i need to make a list similar to this one. thank you for sharing!

Erin

http://ewinmawie.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Heck Anonymous 2,

I'm 42, run my own business, own my house in a beautiful rural town - have a pretty perfect life and a great partner/family and I still make lists like this! In fact it was making lists like this (I want to work for myself, I want to move out of London) that got me here.

Maybe you're not old enough to understand this yet, but making explicit to yourself what really matters to you and makes you joyful helps ensure that you don't spend years and energy chasing things that don't. Try it for yourself!

J, Sussex, England, UK

VC said...

your words are an inspiration....

Unknown said...

Well said J from Sussex and Meg--Anonymous 2 you def missed the point.

Meg I love this list, I do these lists all the time and it keeps me centred, dreaming, strong,and moving forward appreciating what I have.

Your words are beautiful meg you are a very talented writer.

Sonja said...

this is lovely!
Why not make a list like this? why not work towards it?
Everyone can change things no matter what age they are and we should all have the right to goals and dreams.
Just from following your blog forever, I'm pretty sure you are most of these things though :o)
you go gurrrrl! (haha sorry I had to)

m_b said...

a gorgeous manifesto. we all should keep track of who we want to be (attainably) and strive for it.

p.s. your comment today made me go, WOW! thank you, thank you. :)

Anonymous said...

http://tulipsandlattes.tumblr.com/post/16116046255/i-want-to-take-my-makeup-off-every-night-before :)

Anonymous said...

Also, it appears my first comment didn't post,

I did a little happy dance while reading this! YES! YES! YES! You get it!

Jennifer Rod said...

beyond lovely. thanks for sharing this with us, to help us reach for this too.

just sayin' said...

WOW! How is it that you and I have so MANY dreams the same and have never met!?

Alex said...

Sounds like a helluva woman!

Erin said...

my mom always told me (while i was growing up) that we may never be perfect, but the point is to STRIVE for perfection.

Leighana said...

don't listen to those silly anonymous people. keep setting these goals. also, it's so nice to think we can be whoever we want to be isn't it?!

Jennifer M. said...

Your ideal self would fit in well in Portland, Oregon! Maybe that's where your Mister is hiding. ;)

Kate said...

I saw this on Tumblr [credited, of course]! And I definitely reblogged it.

theoxfordcomma said...

I'm frankly disappointed by the commenters who don't get it. You're never to old to dream and aspire. Like you say, in some ways you already are the woman you want to be. Boo, anonymous.

emily said...

"i want a little garden. whether it be mounted on a wall, contained in a window-box, or a full backyard plot, i want my own greens. want to mark time by their progress. want to pick them fresh for dinner.
i want to bike to the farmer's market. i want to like green tea."

i want these same things.
i love this little list. thanks, pretty lady.

JM said...

Beautifully written. Love your site so much that I just featured it in my own blog (if that's OK!)

plainjanem.blogspot.com

Elizabeth said...

You inspired me-

Let us rock the bring lipstick and high buns :)

Julie said...

P.E.R.F.E.C.T.I.O.N