Every month should be dedicated to celebrating women, humanity, and empowerment. However, I will settle for the beauty that comes from celebrating women’s history month in March. This week we celebrated International Women’s Day and I saw so many fun social media posts with links to various Instagram accounts and influencers but what I was looking for was the reason, the “why”? What about that specific woman made you want to post about her? What makes her stand out? Then I thought about my girlfriends, my aunts, cousins, and even my mom… all women that in one way shape or form have molded me into the person I am today.
Here is my shout out to Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day to honor the women in my life…
To my girlfriends: Thank you for being there. It’s simple. Friends are important, having someone that I can lean on, count on, and look forward to being a constant presence in my life is invaluable. I can’t imagine my life without several key friendships. You know who you are. You know that I message you or marco polo you. I take the time to invest into you because I love you and value your friendship. I admire you, I’m inspired by you, and I hope I lift you up and encourage you, too. You deserve to hear me cheer for you. I want to celebrate your successes, I want to comfort your heartaches, I want to also simply be there for you when you need me. My friends, you are intelligent, bold, beautiful, and ridiculously good at multitasking. Seriously, what some of my girlfriends manage to accomplish on-the-daily is impressive. If only you could see my face right now, beaming with pride. Yes, I am proud of you. I am proud of you for showing up for your life, yourself, your families… even on the days that challenge you the most. My friends hold so many important titles, they are impressive individuals, mothers, wives, athletes, entrepreneurs, and leaders. I am not offended if you don’t text me back. I always assume you are doing something remarkable, because you my friend are extremely remarkable and deserve to be celebrated EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
To my Aunts and Cousins: You are my family and I am so grateful for you. I carry the thought of you with me everyday and am linked to you so deeply. It’s easy to overlook the relationship with family because you are connected by blood (or name) but in reality YOU are who I wish I could spend more time with. Even when I was little my heart would burst just thinking about you… I could hardly contain my excitement to see you, hug you, and be in your presence. You have always been special to me and when we get to catch up or spend time together, I’m truly filled to the brim and I hope you are too. I am also extremely proud of you. Proud of the women and role models you have been in my life. For the constant way you’ve showed up for me and my family. I hope you have felt my support and love throughout the years. I am looking forward to more family gatherings in the future and to the next time I get to hug you and see you. I can’t wait for you to meet my little girl and for her to have so many amazing women in her life that she can also call FAMILY. I love you.
To my Mom: Well what better person to acknowledge on Women’s History Month than my own mother. Strong, beautiful, and kind. You’ve been through more in your lifetime that most would even begin to imagine. With unwavering faith and grace you have been a gentle yet powerful leader in our family. You’ve taught me the ways of the world, how to show immeasurably more kindness than what people deserve, and how to stand back to let others shine. Thank you for your grace and love, you are the example of Christ that I wish the world could see and know. I never take it for granted that you are my mom and I am so lucky to call you mine. I can’t wait for my little girl to have a relationship with you. Thank you for cheering me on, showing up even when you didn’t need to, and for loving me through every season. I hope you know how proud I am to be your daughter, how much I look up to you and admire you, and I hope you know that when I think of celebrating women in my life, I always think about you FIRST. You mean the world to me.
To the women I haven’t met yet: I look forward to sharing a slice of your life. I am already thankful that I get to know you at some valuable point in my lifetime. May we be able to lift each other up and bring so much joy and positive influence to each other’s lives. You are smart, dedicated, and honorable. You are the type of person I am proud to have surrounding me. Thank you for being a genuine friend and presence. I can’t wait to spend time together and learn from each other.
This is my tribute to the women, albeit a generic shout out but one filled with gratitude for the women in my life. If you fell into one of these categories I hope you know how much I truly mean these sentiments. You are a treasure to me. Happy Women’s History Month, may we honor women in our lives today and everyday!
The Salty Exchange 