I can't tell you how much I love strong women. Not strong like beat you up strong although I do love that quality in a woman but maybe passionate would be a secondary definition. In all the women I call friends, there is a quality of strength. From the grown one I gave birth to - to the little one that calls me nana, there is just something about these women that makes me want to be a better woman where there is much room for improvement.
Since my early experiences with woman role models were few and terribly wrong. There have been real women placed in my life that have helped my immensely trying to figure this woman thing out. I couldn't have done it without them. I am indebted to these real women who have shared so much with me - I can never repay their love. There is also another group of women who have shown me that it's gonna be ok no matter what it feels like. Although they are pretend, they have been very real to me. What I wouldn't give to have been in group therapy with Murphy Brown or had big girl lunches with Joy (My Name Is Earl). I want to talk spiritual things with Grace (Saving Grace) and check in with Roseanna to see how her writing is coming along. I had to turn to television to define what I wanted womanhood to look like on me. They have made me laugh, cry and see that it doesn't matter what our culture is telling women to do, we have had it all along. The ability to be who we are and be good with it.
Having always been a Martha, I still see the value in being Mary but am able to admit, that would never have been me. I have trouble slowing down, always have. At our sleepover the other night, we took Gage coffee in the morning and we were just hanging out. Gage asks me, Did you have coffee, you sure talk fast!. He never noticed this before - this from the King of Talk???
Whether real or pretend, these women have been my friends. They have taught me the value of being a woman, in the best sense. Not the Gloria Steinem type which never agreed with me. There is strong and there is obnoxious and I will admit, sometimes that line is muddled. It takes work to figure it out.
The real women in my life are a great joy. They never cease to amaze me. They can bend and stretch, fall and get back up - all the while with a strength that defies normal understanding. Thank you ladies, I love you so...
