Let Us Appreciate the Women in Our Lives, Including Ourselves.
{Photo credit: Sally Bartolameolli}
Years ago, my boyfriend Alan, who would one day become my husband, told me that one of the men from his men’s weekend had to arrange all the childcare for his daughter because his wife was working out of town.
“It was really hard for him to do all that arranging, pack his stuff up for the weekend, plan for meals, coordinate with childcare for his daughter and wife’s return. He was really stressed,” Alan said, as we began to enjoy some coffee and share about our weekends apart.
After a thoughtful and calming breath, I said, “I’ve been doing that for the last seven years, as have my single parent friends and women everywhere forever.”
“Oh,” was his reply, “I hadn’t thought of that.”
Women are amazing, yet largely still taken for granted and unappreciated. We do so much — multitaskers extraordinaire — and since our juggling is seamless in so many situations, we are often without acknowledgment.
As we now move in between International Women’s Day on March 8th which began in 1909 focused on women’s labor issues and suffrage, and Mother’s Day, a national holiday started in 1914 honoring mothers on the second Sunday in May, let’s focus on appreciating the women in our lives, and the women that we are.
Honoring women for their contributions societally, politically, in family care, and as companions on our personal journey, is essential, especially to counteract any transgressions of omission.
Today I applaud my grandmothers, my aunts, my mother, women role models, my teachers, my friends, my sisters, and I loudly proclaim that you are amazing, you are my medicine, you are my greatest love.
“Women are extraordinary creatures.” ~ Roman Payne
My mother cooked all my meals, cleaned the house, did laundry, paid all the bills, ran a business, and did all that was needed as a single mom. My aunts were nearby, also accomplished business-owners and managers of their homes.
Women teach me about community, about listening, about sitting in circles, about my anger, my deepest joy, about dreaming and how to manifest my dreams, how to fight without leaving scars, how to rest and renew when needed, how to cooperate, and how to achieve my heart’s desires. Women teach me about the life I choose to live.
And in our spare time, women also gathered with me in Washington DC for the Women’s March. We made room to squeeze past each other, like generous sardines, and we reminded each other that we are not alone. We are together. We are still here. We are the wall.
“Wolves and women are relational by nature, inquiring, possessed of great endurance and strength. They are deeply intuitive, intensely concerned with their young, their mate and their pack.” ~ Clarissa Pinkola Estés
To the women in our lives; we raise our voices and open are hearts in gratitude. We honor your great contribution to our lives, and thank you for having our back, for holding our hands and for teaching us about the life we want to live.
And to ourselves as women, we acknowledge our journey thus far, we pay homage to our struggles and our victories, our learned lessons and the commitment to receive them, we acknowledge our unique contributions in the world, and we deeply appreciate our own seamless juggling of our maternal lives, our work lives, our home lives, our self-care and our creative manifestation of our own amazing dreams.
I’m choosing three women who have made a difference to me, making a voice call, and expressing my appreciation. Then, for me, a reflexology session to acknowledge my seamless juggling of our family businesses, our home, and everything else I do all day every day.
So, what woman in your life would you like to appreciate today? How might you take a moment to acknowledge your own contributions?
“Silent gratitude isn’t very much use to anyone.” ~ Gertrude Stein
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Sally Bartolameolli, M.Ed., is a certified Shadow Work® facilitator & coach, Yoga instructor, and has facilitated emotional and spiritual intelligence for over 25 years. Sally believes that our issues live in our tissues, and that our pain offers us our greatest gift. Her first book is co-authored with Claudine Pletcher and focuses on addictive dynamics in relationships, and teaches how to create authentic connections. Her latest book is on Feminine Spirituality and how to find divine purpose. Currently, she is completing her third book, For All My Relations. Visit her website for more information.
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