What is going on in the world right now?! We are living with a pandemic, doing distance learning, trying to keep the laundry going, the house from falling apart, changing finances, exercising (if we are lucky), trying to navigate racism, bracing for an election, shopping while following the direction of the arrows & wearing a mask- all the while juggling child-care plans and oh yeah- work! The to-do list could go on forever, but after the death of one of our icons- Ruth Bader Ginsberg, I had to stop and cry. She led by example and chose each word with precision. She demonstrated that our lives are not a single event, but a crescendo of many moments through the years.
We are all trying to prepare ourselves for the winter months, when we hunker down and cope with shorter days of sunlight and colder weather outside. Seasonal depression sets in and wreaks havoc on our mood. But the reality is that there is no way to prepare. We need to just soak up the sun where we can get it- from friends, from songs, pets, the beauty outside of the window, a comedian on TV, seeing our children play with each other for a moment (while knowing that they will be fighting soon enough). I remind myself when I feel like giving up, that many women before me fought for this right. The right to juggle it all, to have it all; and to feel like we are being pulled in a thousand directions.
So, as we mourn the loss of one of our greats; we can ground ourselves in the strength of female role models to persevere. And when we don’t feel like we have anything left, we can call for reinforcements in order to survive. We can cry together, march together and know that we are all out there- just trying to do our best, one moment at a time.
(A special Thank-You Shout Out to my tribe;)