A friend posted a question in honor of International Women’s Day…name five women who have influenced your life. No relatives, nobody who is currently active in their pursuit of goodness…five women from the past. So I replied, hit return…and of course two seconds later I wanted to edit. How could I have left off Frida Kahlo? I stand firm on my Harriet Tubman declaration because she is everything. But if I really took my time thinking before writing…Frida would have been there instead of Jane Goodall. I mean the art, the attitude, the eyebrows. Frida, how on earth did I leave off Frida?
I am very fortunate to be surrounded by spectacular women. My first plan for the accompanying photo for this Swoon was to make a collage of the women who make my life better, possible, meaningful. I started collecting images, smiling from ear to ear…my ladies, my squad, my pod…my lifelines. Then I started to sweat. What if I left someone off…this was not Frida, these were people I did not want to risk hurting. I needed to cover family, 54.5 years of friendships, bosses, clients, teachers, my kids friends and my friends kids, the women I volunteer with, the little girls next-door…impossible. Stop. I used pictures of my ancestors (Armenian left and German right), and mom, me, and my baby girl in the center. My everything.
No offense to men, but this is not your day. There have been a few men in my life who have influenced my whole being. I can count them on my hands…and not use all fingers. The women…I can not count them, there are too many. That is a good too much to have.
Women…they run countries and actually stop the spread of pandemics. Women…they create life while still living a full life. Women…they are able to multi-task like no other. Women…their love is endless. Women…when you find the right ones, they only want the best for their friends. Women…really can do it all (even though they shouldn’t have to).
Women. Gotta love them. Women. Respect them. Women. Cherish them…because anyone who is reading this knows…life would be a shit show with out them.
Swooning 