Among the most admired

All of my life, I’ve been around strong women. They might not think so, and maybe there’s some who would agree with them, but I’m not one of them. I know I can’t peer inside and see what’s going on in their minds or hearts (we’ll call that a good thing), but whether it’s only bluster, or true grit, the women in my life are among the bravest, most independent, most dedicated and most valiant people I know.

Many of them are wives and mothers, in addition to being someone’s sister or daughter. I think that combination of mother and wife produces some of the toughest women of all.

And when I say tough, I’m not talking about female bodybuilders, soldiers, police officers or athletes. Physical strength can be part of it, but the toughness to which I speak comes from within.

None of these tough women I know are big talkers. Maybe because they know talking doesn’t get the job done. Doing does. The women I know not only pull their weight, but they often push others to pull theirs. They even find the strength to pick up the slack when others can’t or won’t.

That’s not to say they don’t get weary, cry, get upset or frustrated. Quite the contrary. Emotions can run the gambit, and will often be on full display. However, most of the women I know don’t let a bad day, an impossible situation, an unruly child, or anything else, slow them down. They keep ploughing through.

At the same time, these women are compassionate, loving, understanding and charitable. They can give you a tongue lashing one moment, and in the next, hand out smiles and hugs. For a guy whose emotional range is much more limited, it’s mind boggling to me. All I know is, things get done.

I don’t think I’m intimidated by strong women. I grew up around them, so I just kind of expect it.

That’s why I’m befuddled, and  dismayed, by the way women are often betrayed in movies, on television, and in literature.

I know it would be a statistical improbability for all women to be as strong as the ones I’ve known. There’s bound to be some weaker ones, just as there are bound to be weaker men. Still, are they so much in the majority that they deserve to dominate the airwaves, the internet and the printed page?

I hope not, but maybe I’ve just been fortunate. Undeniably, there is plenty out there to make a woman question her worth, or lose self-esteem. From women’s magazines to entertainment programs, with their models, starlets, singers and celebrities, women are as likely to be portrayed as objects of desire, or just plain objects, than they are real people.

Yes, women can be fixated with fashion and material things. I get that. However, most of the women I know aren’t ruled by those things. Ultimately, they want what’s best for their families, and they hold the most important things above all else, including their own wishes or desires.

They’ve put education, careers, fame, fortune and their own self-interest aside. They’ve done so, because some times there are causes which are greater than self. Raising children, to them, is the highest calling of all. How they got to that conclusion in this day and age is a miracle, especially when it’s possible to have even their own gender railing against them, or ridiculing them.

Mothers are not weak. Those who put the interests of others before themselves are not fools. They are the best among us. For all that they give and endure, their praises should be sung daily, and they should be among the most admired.

Most don’t rely on their own strength anyway. They look heavenward when their own will and wisdom are found wonting. It is that quality, that faith, that surrender, which makes them among the strongest on earth.

I am grateful for the women in my life, and I thank all of them for who they are and for all they hope to be.