I think of the courageous women that I have known over and over again. I think of a neighbor who bravely rescued children from their father who had just murdered their mother. That same woman raised her family alone after her husband died unexpectedly. She talked her way out of a carjacking incident that left her with a broken arm but still alive. She was and always will be a hero to me. I loved her courage to say and be whatever she thought was right.
I do my best to honor the women who have been steadfast in standing up for themselves and others. I think of a former student who confronted her peers when they were hiding the misdeeds of a student who had stolen a test and distributed it thinking that he would be protected by a wall of silence. The brave young woman who begged her classmates to be honest was diminutive, quiet and usually shy, but on one glorious day she proved to be stronger than anyone in her class.
I remember a brash woman from upstate New York who had startled me with her colorful language and her bravado. When the need arouse she was the one who rescued little ones from a father who was mercilessly beating his wife. I witnessed her charging up the stairs to their apartment like a woman possessed. She was a Joan of Arc in her ferociousness and lack of concern for her own safety.
I think of an older woman who defied the silliness of a boss consumed with himself. She calmly did so in front of the entire organization, voicing opinions and complaints that we all had been stealthily whispering while on breaks. With truth on her side she was unafraid to tell him how we were all feeling and her confidence won the day.
Women have come a very long way from the times when my grandmother was pulled out of school before she even learned how to read and write so that she might help her mother care for her younger siblings. Back then women had few ways of controlling the number of pregnancies they might have and so my great grandmother had a very large family that she could not handle alone. So it was that my grandmother fulfilled one of the most common roles of women in that time, helping to keep the household running smoothly rather than learning in school.
In spite of her illiteracy my grandmother developed a folksy knowledge of animals and agriculture that was quite amazing. She kept her family afloat during the hardest of times with her willingness to cook and sew and cultivate crops to keep food on the table and generate extra funds for my father’s education. She was yet another hero of mine.
I think of a young woman who has traveled to an island in Alaska, into a kind of wild place in order to provide better medical care to those living in a medical desert. She is a trailblazer who does what she tells others they should think of doing. I admire her with every fiber of my being and follow her new adventure with great interest.
I could go on and on and on about remarkable women who overcame the limitations that were placed upon them by a society that seemed to think that they knew what women really need. I was thrilled when the subjugation of women began to change dramatically. I was the recipient of a world in which I got to decide how to live my life. I was able to choose how many children to have. I earned two college degrees. I worked at a job that I loved. It was glorious to be able to be free to be me and I did my best to help my own daughters to understand that they need not be inhibited in following whatever dreams they desired for themselves.
Now I have a granddaughter who seems to be a culmination of all of the courage of so many women before her. She is brave and strong and willing to assert herself to build a better future for others. She is unafraid to talk with strangers and move across the country to learn about other places and opportunities. She knows what she wants and what she believes and is willing to try to understand and steadfastly fight for those who have few allies.
There are at this moment attempts to co opt the freedoms that woman have received over time. No longer does a woman have to wish that she could earn a college degree without making her spouse feel badly for not having one. We are past the days when women cried because they were exhausted and ill from having children year after year. Our world has seen the magnificent contributions that women bring to the table. Like me, we have all seen the courage of women fighting for a person or a cause. We can’t go back!
All It Takes Is A Little Love 