I had an amazing discussion with the publisher of Marvelous! Magazine today. Tonight...after a day of near giddiness...I spent the evening with my 89 year old Granny Dee. She had me rolling in laughter. As I am looking at my Granny (and at times secretly filming her telling stories), I could only think that she is the epitome of a "Marvelous Woman" though way ahead of her time and she definitely moved to the beat of her own drum.
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| My Amazing Granny Dee and Me |
Then I thought about Wesley's mother, Doretha, who is spotlighted in the current issue of the magazine, and I am floored thinking that I have been formed and loved by two women who could not be more different, yet more similar, and both marvelous. What a lucky girl I am! With all of the ick in my life in the role model department, I am really a very fortunate girl. I have had these two amazing women...and they came (and went) in my life at different and unique times. Isn't God wise?.?
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| Me and My "Adopted" Mother Doretha |
I owe a great deal of who I am and who I aspire to be as a woman to the examples set for me by both Granny Dee and Doretha. They have taught me respect and unconditional love...both lessons it took them and an "adult" me to really learn. :)
Thinking of them both today (and) in the context of the past few weeks I have experienced....it is an important reminder that each of them have evolved as women over their lifetimes...I cannot emphasize enough the importance of this point or the importance to me as a woman to remember it...Every. Day. Their cores are the same (I believe), but their lives, experiences, dreams, desires, and aspirations were different...are different...and of course they evolved.
I am not the same person today as I was at 15 years of age (and lets all thank God for that). It is perfectly okay to evolve, grow, and become who you are over time.
It is also okay to change over the course of decades. I always said I wanted to have a "Jeffersonian life"...what I meant by that was that I wanted to do something for a time (a decade for instance) and then move on to a new "adventure" or career or town (...yes, I am a gypsy at heart...).
I am going through something right now, and I am struggling to find the words to describe it. I have SO much rolling around in my head (and heart) that I feel a little tipsy (without the alcohol) when I think about it all too long.
I have been here before too...on the cusp of something...just not knowing what that something is...
I digress. :)
What I know for sure is that it is very important for me to listen over the next few days and weeks. Whether it will be my inner voice or someone wise around me...I don't want to miss the lesson.
Tonight I could have been working but instead I spent the evening with Granny. I listened to her stories. I listened to her laugh. I answered all of her questions (that to anyone else would seem odd). I smiled and laughed as she delighted in hearing the mundane happenings of my day...of my work...the day of her granddaughter.
Maybe the point is that there are Marvelous Women all around us...they are our grandmothers, adopted mothers, the amazing teller at the bank, the leader of a non-profit, the "Rock Star" loan officer, the fabulous editor, the patient teacher, the amazing manager, the checkout lady with the big smile, and the future Marvelous Women who looks back at you through the gleaming eyes of a three year old who has an entire "marvelous" life ahead of her...
I have a voice. Whether by birth or divine intervention...I have a voice.
I represent the dreams of those that came before me....the sacrifices they made.
I represent the little girls that will come after me...the gleam in their eyes NOW that you want to remain...Always.
Thank you to the women that sacrificed so that I can sit here...40 years old...with a buffet of options in front of me and not knowing which path/road/choice to take.
Choices. Options. A Voice.
When I was in 6th grade, I was asked to sing a solo at the choir concert. I sang "The Rose" and though I was no Bette Midler, the opportunity changed me and the words have always stuck with me. Tonight the words are ringing in my ear...
"...Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows
Lies the seed
That with the sun's love
In the spring
Becomes the rose..."
There will always be winters in our lives...but it is the hope of spring combined with the seed buried deep within...that will drive us to become the rose and fulfill our potential...our destiny.
What is the seed that is buried inside you? Have you lost your voice? Don't lose hope...seek out the sun, grab a hoe, and see what you can discover (or uncover). :)
Sunshine Dreams to You ~ Today and Every Day! :) Labels: Doretha, Dreams, Granny Dee