Behind Every Good Man

by Sara Goodman Confino

you may think women will vote how their husbands do, but I’ll tell you this much: behind every good man is an even better woman.”

For the first time in my life, I was speaking my mind for myself. Not someone else. And it felt like coming home.

“Mama told me once that behind every good man was an even better woman,” I said quietly. Anna turned to look at me. “You know full well he wouldn’t be anywhere without you. And Michael wouldn’t be here without me. It seems a shame to just let them make all the decisions after we put them in the room.”

But I also remember what it’s like to put yourself last and put everyone else first.”

I did this for her as much as for me. Because I wanted this little girl to grow up to know she could do so much more than just marry well and make the perfect brisket. I wanted her to see that she could do anything, be anything, from a wife and mother to an astronaut.

Because she deserved to be the person she wanted to be, not just who the world expected her to be.

“That’s the secret, you know. You never stop being a mother. Even when your kids are grown.”

That was at least one little girl who would grow up knowing mommies could slay dragons too.