Angela, Loretta, and Me

With the recent passing of the accomplished and influential Maya Angelou I got to thinking about strong women, women who make a difference. I know a lot of those women! I think of my sister-in-law Marliss, whose whole life has been dedicated to caring for kids - her kids, the neighbor kids, foster kids, grandkids... me, when I'm acting like a child (and not in a good way).  I also think of my daughter. Life has hurled a lot of lemons at her over the years but she each time she puts on her catcher's mitt and says, "Bring it on. I like lemonade." I think of my first ever writing teacher, Colleen Reece, who is in her eighties and just beat breast cancer. It was Colleen who taught me how to write a query letter - something every aspiring author needs to master! Colleen has probably helped hundreds of beginning writers during her years as a writing instructor. I sure owe a lot to her.

And then there's Loretta. Just this week I had lunch with this woman, who started out as a friend of a friend and has become a treasured pal over the last few months. I think of Loretta as a cross between a warrior princess and an honorary guardian angel. Having battled breast cancer and won, she makes it her mission to help and support other women who are battling the disease in some form. So many times she'd message me on Facebook, asking how I was doing, offering support and advice. It always lifted my spirits to get a message from Loretta. And it lifted my spirits to visit with her at one of our many local restaurants on the water out here in the Pacific Northwest. We swapped "war stories" and laughed at some of our adventures. And I came away inspired. This woman taught spinning classes when she was doing chemo and radiation. How did she do that?!
None of these women are famous. They may never be. And it may never make the news when they finally wend their way heavenward. But they'll all leave every bit as big a hole as the amazing Angela. And right now, they're all impacting other people with their lives. Angela would be proud.