On Feb. 8th, the world recognized International Women’s Day. Citizens all over the globe could celebrate, appreciate and commemorate the amazing females on the world -- past and present. As is the case for most other citizens of planet Earth, I have some pretty awesome females I felt were worthy of honor on this day. Among others, my grandmothers stand out to me as spectacular women who rock my socks every day! To explain why I feel this way, I have prepared a list of reasons why grandmothers inspire, support and humor the mess out of their grandkids!
1. They’ve lived a long life
Grandmothers have killed the game through elementary school, high school, college, married life, mom life and, now, grandmother life. (As a freshman in college, I do have the math skills to calculate their exact ages, but, as a respectful granddaughter, I will just stop at the assumption that they’ve lived a longer life than me.) All of my little issues are “been there, done that” for them and that is the beautiful thing about having built-in family mentors (A.K.A. grandmothers).
2. They say what they want
Maybe it comes with age, but both of my grandmas say exactly what is on their mind. Perhaps they understand the value of honest thoughts, opinions and words.
3. They do what they love
One of my grandmothers spends her days rocking back and forth on her porch reading novels and doing cross stitching. That might not sound like the ideal pastime to me, but it makes her so happy! Her pursuit of happiness is matched with the wise words that remind me that doing what you love is a lifelong commitment. It is not selfish, but necessary.
4. They are bold
My other grandmother has taught me the value of being true to yourself. With the beautiful pink streak at the front of her stereotypical short, white grandmother haircut, my dad’s mom stands 4 foot 10 with enough swagger and fleek to scare the galaxy-print Vans off of a sixth grader. She told me that she started dying her hair because she did not care what others thought and to trust the value in your own opinions.
5. They make amazing food (and a lot of it!)
I don’t know if the magical power of baking and cooking comes with age, but visiting your grandparents means endless food (that is better than what is served at a five-star restaurant). This may not be as important as my other points, but my grandma's brownies are life-changing.
Although these points accurately explain how amazing and influential these women are to me, there are so many more reasons why grandmothers are important to countless other people. From coworkers to employers, from teachers to neighborhood children, from church committees to volunteer organizations -- my grandmothers have changed the hearts and minds of everyone they have come in contact with (while handling every situation with love and respect). In my opinion, grandmothers embody what women stand for, march for and crawl for every day -- being leaders and agents of change in every aspect of their lives.
