Happy International Women's Day

It's International Women's Day.  Gone pretty quietly in our family this year.  When Mother was in Panama, she got to celebrate a lot more and would send us fun things.  But that's okay, it's still a wonderful day to be a woman.

I just saw google doodle for it and it made me a little sad.  There are lots of pictures of women doing wonderful things.  All sorts of wonderful things (science and teaching and sports and what not).  But no pictures of doing what women do best--nurturing others.  No mothers with babies, no woman hugging her sister and saying kind things to her, no woman taking care of a sick child, no mother listening on the phone for two hours while her adult daughter tells her all the cool stories from stake conference and all the not so cool current leftovers from her surgery.  I am deeply, deeply grateful to live in an age when women can do most anything they want.  I rejoice in it and speak often of my gratitude to live when and where I do. But oh, I hope that in the joy of this freedom, we never stop celebrating the divine characteristics that make women feminine, the attributes we have learned from our heavenly (and hopefully earthly) mother.  It is good to be a woman!  Good to nurture and to love and to care about others. 

Today I was touched by wonderful women.  A good friend who shared her baby with me so my mother heart could be comforted by cuddling an adorable, chubby, happy bundle of delight (the same friend who brought food and called every day this week to see how I was and listened to all my gross stories).  Another lovely woman who sacrificed showering so she could get to church early and visit with me and who lingered long past ending so we could share time together. Another woman who, to me, is the epitome of nurturing. Sometimes I think people think of babies when we talk of nurturing--and of course we do nurture babies.  But let me tell you, as an adult I still need to be nurtured and I'm grateful for those who do it!  And Sister Taylor is one of those who expresses her love and admiration and listens and shares stories and fills special needs in my heart. I sure wish we saw each other more often because I love being around her. And then there was my mother who just spent two hours listening to me on the phone. 

And of course hundreds of other good women who bless my life on other days and in other ways.  I am so grateful for beautiful women!*

So, happy Women's Day!


*And I'm infinitely grateful for wonderful men.  I won't drive the Spirit away by having a rant about that, though I could.  But I love men too and I think we could do a much better job celebrating the men in our lives and that which is noble in men, as well.