Women's Month

In line with this month’s celebration of International Women’s Month, I want to honor the women who shaped the woman I am today. My mom is the eldest of nine siblings. Alongside her are my six aunties, women who carry strength in different forms. When my grandmother passed, they decided to have her initial inked as a symbol of their love for her. My mom was already 70 when she got hers. Funny enough, she and my dad were both against me getting a tattoo, and there she was, getting her first ink in her 70s. 🤣 One of my aunties never married or had a partner. She chose to work and help the family instead. She’s a nurse who spent most of her adult life working abroad; from Saudi Arabia to Chicago. Now in her 70s, she’s still working overseas, though she comes home yearly because she wants to spend more time with us. Another aunt also never married. She was with someone for decades and years of companionship that never led to the altar. When she left for Canada in 2006, she asked him to come with her. He refused. After that, she never dated anyone else. Another aunt got married and had four kids, but the relationship didn’t last. Her husband worked abroad most of the time, and raising all four children on her own eventually took its toll. Then there’s the aunt who is happily married with three grown, working kids, and the funniest aunt of the pack, if you ask me. She once told me she gave her husband an ultimatum: either he marries her or she’s out. He agreed without questions. They’re now living abroad together. The youngest aunt also has four kids. When she was pregnant with her fourth, she was studying for her nursing board exams.....and she passed in one take. All of these women, I know for sure, drew their strength from my grandmother. She endured so much in her life; survived three strokes and even COVID-19 like a true champion. Whenever life feels heavy, I remind myself that I owe it to them to be strong. I am my mother’s daughter. I am my aunts’ niece. I am my grandmother’s granddaughter. I come from a line of women who fought silent battles, all for the love of family. Their bloodline runs through me, and it would be a shame not to live up to their standard of strength, love, and resilience in the face of whatever life throws our way. I am proud to be her daughter. I am proud to be their niece. I am proud to be her granddaughter.