When I think of you, my women friends, there is commonality in your wonderful, beautiful qualities. So many women try so hard every day to be more, do more, try more. I write to honor you women and inspire you to stay the course. Your efforts are worth it in so many ways. You are:
· devoted caring mothers who put your children first in all aspects of your lives even when it requires great personal sacrifice
· lovers of books, reading, and sharing your thoughts and opinions
· health advocates who take time to exercise, walk with friends, go to the gym, and who are aging beautifully (perhaps better than a lot of men our age)
· social beings who love to spend time with girlfriends (or therapists....they offer some of the same benefits)
· keepers of traditions, either passed down in families or created yourselves. Every year, you bake, invite family & friends, dress the tree, place candles in the windows, put the leaves in the table, break out the china, and iron the tablecloth. You select birthday themes according to where your child is in his life even if it means long, stressful afternoons at Jokers.
· volunteers. You run the snack shacks at games, book sales, team dinners; you coach, chair committees, sit on non-profit boards. You volunteer in the classroom or tutor special needs children. You volunteer in your communities whether by teaching reading to English-as-second-language adults newly moved to our town, biking for the American Lung Association or doing triathalons for Breast Cancer.
· rocks in the storm. You are the anchor that so many in your life are tied to -- your own parents, siblings, friends and children. Your tentacles are far reaching. You persevere, keep your heads up, and always try to see the positive. On days you're down or when you're going through a particularly bad spell on your journey, you seek means you need to carry on and do the best you can day in and day out.
What I describe, I see in so many of you women, done in your own unique ways. You are beautiful and oh, so valuable to so many. I raise a glass of Veuve Clicquot to you in a beautiful fluted glass and send my thanks for all you do to inspire and show me the way.
(photo: Valentine's Day roses)
