I'd like to make a toast to women! In my humble opinion, we make the world go around. Most of the softer, kinder, warmer things that fill our world, women are responsible for. Don't get me wrong, men are wonderful, but the niceties in life are usually provided by or taught to men, by women.
My mom is a wonderful example of womanhood. She worked through my entire childhood. She then came home and made dinner and most importantly, made time for my sister and me. She had a very difficult life with my dad and yet she was never harsh or hard with us. She didn't drive, didn't have a washer and dryer in our home and worked long days 5 days a week. On Saturdays she did the food shopping for the week, took the clothes to the Laundromat and cleaned the house. And when I say food shopping, she walked, with a cart to the grocer, the butcher and the fruit store. On Sundays she cooked for the week. I don't necessarily think being a working mom is easy today but it sure is easier now than then.
My grandmother was a stitch. Totally hearing impaired and didn't care two figs how hard you had to try or how loud you had to talk to get her to hear you. Mean as a snake and funny as all get out, she actually would cheat at cards to beat her grandchildren. She walked everywhere, every day, for miles and she seriously cracked me up.
My friend Doreen's mom, my Aunt Flo, was a strong, opinionated and loving woman who taught me many things, including sticking up for myself, how to iron a man's shirt and to stop pressing my nose to her glass door to see if she was coming to answer it when I rang the bell. I spent hours at her home as a kid and even as a married woman, made a point of stopping at her home to say hi during the holidays. Her daughter lives in Virginia and while we don't speak to each other often, she remains one of my favorite friends.
My best girlfriends, they know who they are, who make me laugh daily, both near and far, who make me see my value when I forget it, who point out my strong points when I see only my imperfections and who I turn to daily for inspiration, fun, friendship and laughter.
I'd like raise a toast to my sister, my sister-in-law, my nieces, my aunts and cousins, my neighbors, my gym buddies, my online women friends. Life is richer, fuller and much kinder thanks to the women in my life. For this, I am thankful.
Carpe Diem!
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