Peggy's Musings

Tribute to Strong Women

Women serve as the foundation of the family, and one of their primary roles has been to preserve the family history.

Below are the words from a greeting card I sent to my great-aunt Roberta - which perfectly expressed the role of this very special woman in my own family. She was the one who had maintained the most detailed history of the family going back many generations - which meant a lot to me because it allowed me to know more of my Cherokee Indian heritage.

“It is the women of our families who keep the traditions,
preserve the memories, and hold us close.
Where would we be without our grandmothers, aunts,
sisters, and others who add so many ‘motherly’ touches to our lives…
Who encourage and sympathize, build our confidence,
and let us know that their love is always behind us—beautiful and strong.
Where would we be without wonderful women like you?”

Ironically, although Aunt Roberta and I have corresponded for more than 20 years, we have never met in person. But I've saved all her letters, and her importance in my life has been significant.

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Another wonderful woman in my family was my Daddy’s oldest sister, Aunt Carmen. I greatly admired and appreciated her in life; and when she died, I wrote the following eulogy.

A Remarkable Woman.

Aunt Carmen was one of a kind, but also part of a special breed of women with a quiet, inner strength forged from difficulty. She was loving, caring, and giving "above and beyond" the call of duty; also independent, strong-willed, and determined - even stubborn. She forged her own path through life and "did it her way."

Above all - she had a strong sense of family, always helping, advising, coordinating, and keeping various parts of the family connected to each other. She strongly valued family get-togethers (even when she might sleep through them).

A mark of the importance of a person's life is the degree of impact on the lives of others when they're gone. In other words, what difference did they make? She made a special difference - the kind of difference that will be greatly missed.

I’ve always felt a special connection with Aunt Carmen – partly because she was the oldest daughter of one generation in the family and I was the oldest daughter of the next generation.

Her life gives me strength as I remind myself of the kind of stock I come from. I will carry some of her wonderful spirit within my heart to help guide me through the rest of my life.

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The Special Strength of Women who are Mothers

Many years ago, ‘New Woman’ magazine did a survey of mothers, asking them to consider the following question:
“I might be driven to kill another human being, if need be, in order to protect my child(ren) from serious harm or death.”

Here are the responses they received from 12,500 readers:
81% said yes
4% said no
15% said they didn’t know

As the magazine said in reporting these statistics:
“Throughout the animal community, females with offspring are very aggressive. Certainly in the woods there’s nothing worse than to run into a female bear with three cubs; compared to her, a male bear is nothing. The maternal instinct has always been in women, as well as in female animals. Women aren’t passive ‘in nature;’ they have simply been cast in that role.”

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Yes, women are strong in many areas, and we can all take inspiration from their strength. So as families gather during this holiday season, I hope we will pause to appreciate and acknowledge the special role of the women in our families. This is a great opportunity to show our appreciation and respect for what they do - now, before it’s too late.

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NOTE: If you enjoy these blog posts, please check out the list of 107 similar 'musings' (and read 8 of them) included in my book Musings on Life.

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