The age old saying, “It takes a village to raise a child”, is true. I didn’t realize this until I had children of my own. As a child I never noticed the amount of women coming and going in my life and how they influenced me as I grew. Even today as an adult, the women in my life continue to shape me in to a better version of myself.
I want to thank all of you.
To my Mom: Thank you for supporting me and guiding me when I need it most. Thank you for the discipline that I so hated as a teen – we both know I needed it.
To my Grandmas: Thank you for always being there with a smile (and usually a cookie) to fix all the bad days. Thank you for some of my most precious memories and sleepovers. I pray my children get to experience this with their grandparents as they grow.
To my Stepmom: First of all, I don’t like the word stepmom. But, alas. Thank you for loving me, and now loving my children, even though you don’t ‘have’ to. You want to. That is irreplaceable.
To my Aunt: Thank you for being fun, loving, and ever supportive. I hope I can be a refuge and place to turn for my future nieces and nephews like you have been for me. Thanks for bringing the party.
To my sister: Thanks for always being there and loving my babies. Growing up together truly was the best – fights and all.
To my Great Grandmas: You never showed me anything but love. Thank you for being a refuge and a truly precious memory.
To my cousin: Thanks for being my best friend when I need it, my sister in others, a confidant always, and for telling me to get it together when it’s needed. I’m glad my children get to grow up with you on their team.
To my Mother-in-law: Thank you for taking me in and treating me as your own. Thank you for letting me be unapologetically me. I pray I always extend the same grace to my childrens’ future spouses.
To my friends: Some of y’all have seen me through it all. Thank you for being beside me through high school, seeing me through marriage, and now babies. Thank you for the random text messages and for being available as a sounding board no matter the time of day. Thank you for not questioning my parenting abilities and showing up in support and solidarity when it’s needed.
To my sister-in-laws: Thank you for letting me love your brother. He’s special. You let me in and never questioned it. I want to be like that.
To my friends’ moms: Thank you for letting me in your home, no questions asked. Growing up you were always there with food, a good time, and a listening ear when it was needed. I want my home to be as welcoming to my children and their friends as your homes were to me.
To all the church ladies: Thank you for always greeting me with a smile and offering a hand to help me with my squirmy children on Sunday. It truly does take a village with little ones in church.
The role as a woman is ever changing. It is a lifelong commitment to continually be better. To do good and be well, to raise babies and birth companies, to be vulnerable yet stay stoic. Being a woman can be, and is most of the time, exhausting.
Times change and people change, but one thing won’t ever change and that is the village that shapes us. It doesn’t change; it just keeps growing.
I’m so grateful I have a plethora of women who have guided me to who I am at this moment. You have provided me with an arsenal of tools to handle whatever comes my way. I know how to be a better wife, mother, sister, aunt and friend because of each of you.
I’m so glad my children have you in their village now, too.