Two weeks ago was all about honoring the important women in our lives.  I think that we should be honoring them everyday.  I only have pictured two women that have influenced my life, but I can think of thousands through out my life that have impacted me on so many levels.

Since my blog is generally about Mary, and how to cope with life without her…I will speak to her truth.  The truth is, she never had to be a mother to me.  She was my stepmother.  She never had to show me how to brush my hair, put on makeup much less teach me anything.  We had no blood connection, no other connection other than she married my dad.

But she was a woman.  She was a woman who loved so fiercely and was so compassionate.  She knew how to be grateful, how to be graceful, but firm.  She knew her faith could make mountains.  She loved “you” no matter what.  She was always honest, and she did get hysterical when something didn’t sit well with her.  Yet no matter how mad she got, or how disappointed she may have been, she “loved.”

Every thing from washing dishes to folding sheets, everything had a lesson.  “Do everything with intention,” she would say.  She made everything look beautiful.  I always asked her where she learned it,  she would reply, “my mother.”

I’ve been blessed in my life with my birth mother, and I have been blessed with all the other women in my life that impacted me along the way. I can say that the females in my life whether friend or family or simply a customer in my store, have had an impact.

Over the weekend I got so sad and deeply grieved her.  I find that picking up the phone to call her, usually on weekends, doesn’t and can’t happen.  She always had time to talk with me.  Some days I have questions and she was my “go to.” She was my perspective.

But what I can say is this… That no matter the loss I have suffered, the love I got from her out weighs the suffering.  Her love has taught me to love, to be patient, and kind.  I try to always offer a compliment if I see something I really like on someone.  The other day I chased down a girl in Target to tell her ( I yelled it at her more or less) because I had to tell her I loved her hair… those are the little things Mary would do everyday to make someone feel good.

So when we honor women, we should honor what they taught us, good and bad.  I say this because we have all been in a situation with another woman that caused us problems, pain or doubt even so much as cost us friendships and relationships.  We all have something to gain by surrounding ourselves with passionate women who love deeply.  We all have something to gain by calling our mothers and those closest to us our hero’s.  We need to be in love with our selves as our mothers and those that have raised us see us.

We have the ability to give birth, so we naturally can give love.  We want to be loved and when we see that we are loved by those closest to us the suffering doesn’t seem so bad     (only if we choose to accept it).  I tend to cry washing dishes, that’s when my thoughts are my own and I think about Mary.  It happens more often than I want, but my little girl who is five always wonders in the kitchen at that point and doesn’t say anything, just wraps her little arms around me and gives me hugs.  She hates to see me cry, but I have to tell her its because I miss “grandma Mary.”  She understands somehow even at five and she looks up at me and says that she cries too.  She misses her too.

So I say cry when it comes, don’t fight it, let it happen and honor the women in your life everyday by teaching the lesson’s that they taught you.   Use the gifts of love, compassion, courage and your work ethic to make your point.  Honor thy self in ways that makes women proud of one another.  Take care of yourself, show respect for yourself so that we can show our self worth through action.  Be proud of yourselves and be proud of all the women all over the world because we can give life, give grace, be love.  We can be what we already are…beautiful women with beautiful gifts.

I will leave you with one of my favorite women quotes from one of my favorite movies… Its meant to be funny but in the spirit of women its more valuable then ever… Be that as it may…

“God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God Creates man. Man destroys God.  Man creates dinosaurs.” – Malcolm from Jurassic Park

“Dinosaurs eat man. Woman inherit the Earth.”  – Ellie from Jurassic Park