The Heart of a Woman

What makes us who we are? Is it our upbringing? Our parents, friends, our religion or education? To me it’s everything, from my Grandmother who fought for what she believed in to a bad marriage and my struggle to simply survive it.

My heart is vulnerable, fragile and yet made of something stronger than steel. It loves unconditionally, openly and with trust and that is amazing to me since it has been broken practically as many times as it has loved.

Even those who we love in our daily lives, children, parents, and friends break our hearts. And yet that very heart keeps on beating, hopeful that tomorrow will be better, will bring another shot at love; a chance to feel the joy and buoyancy, of laughter bursting from us because of the simple act of love. I’m an optimist, I can’t imagine life without love, both giving and receiving.

My heart looks for different things in those I love; from my daughter I look for validation of the unending love I feel for her, for it is the buttress of my very foundation. She is the best part of me and her dad, a bright shining star I adore. What would my life be like without her? I can’t imagine how bleak it would be, how colorless and depressing without her in my life. Yes, we can argue like two wild cats fighting over the same piece of meat, but we never stop loving one another.

The woman she is, is in fact partly due to me as her mother. I can’t and won’t take all the credit for her, because like me, she has been shaped and influenced by many things, many people. I hope that I instilled a sense of love and loving in her, that she knows that she is precious and beautiful and capable of anything she sets her mind to. I told her stories of the strong women of our family and how they stood up for what they believed and protected what was theirs. I see the ferocious fighter in her and it makes me feel so proud that I could have a hand in making that wonderful young woman.

This journey is for you Boo Bear. I love you with all my heart.