Mother's Day Musings

I had the privilege of spending the day with four generations of the women of my family--my grandmother, mother, sister, and her little girls. I am struck, looking at this picture, by how strong the women of my family are and how strong we have needed to be.

We have always worked hard. My grandmother and my mother both dropped out of high school to start working at fifteen and neither of them have stopped. My mom has raised three daughters and is now helping raise her three grandchildren. My sister is working three jobs to support her kids as a single mother. And none of them has ever complained.

We have survived a few difficult marriages, a few painful divorces, and some abusive men. And we have refused to let go of our self worth. We have also refused to let go of our humanity. We have come through and we have remained strong and remained ourselves.

Our story is rooted in the U.S. working class, in generations of hard working women who have raised families, worked multiple jobs, and supported each other in a world less and less secure. We hope, of course, that the little girls that we now hold will have an easier life. But we cannot guarantee that. We can hope, however, to give them some of the strength that is their heritage. For now, I can only stand in awe of the women in my family and feel privileged to be the daughter of strong women.