The Women Who Stepped Up

I’ve been thinking a lot about the women in my life, specifically the ones who stepped up and into a positive role without really needing to. The women who didn’t owe me anything but paid it forward anyhow. In ways great and small.

The women at the laundromat who shared with me the value of finding a freshly used and therefore already warm dryer.

The women at the office who show you the shortcuts both to the vending machine that spits out two for one chips or that you can tab over on the keyboard through that page.

The teachers I reached out to long after leaving their schools, who reached back and held on. They had every right to ignore my messages but they did not. They reached back. Thank goodness.

Thank goodness for the women.

Thank goodness for smiles and nods and quiet hellos.
For scooting over to make room.

Thank goodness for the generosity of an ear or a shoulder.

Thank goodness for the friend who will drop off peanut butter.

Thank goodness for the women who share their wisdom, who bear witness to unrecorded history.

Thank goodness for the women at the park who practice patience and remind me of the beauty of taking the time.

Thank goodness for the women of faith and science who show me that there are things I need to know, things I want to know, and things I already know.

Thank goodness for the women of Poland who are leaving strollers at the train stations for Ukrainian mothers. And grandmothers, because many mothers stayed back to fight.

Thank goodness for the women who bring other people’s children into safety.

Thank goodness for those who reach back when someone calls out.

Uff da.

It is all so heavy and I am grateful for the women who keep me rooted. This web of women around the world, I believe in us.