What does it mean to be a woman?  Better yet, what does it mean to be a women today in our Westernized society?  These are critical questions.  Critical questions my mother challenged and empowered me to answer.  Still her fighting voice ignites inside me.

Not everyone experiences a mother-daughter relationship.  And not everyone who has experienced a mother-daughter relationship has the chance to experience a multiple generational mother-daughter relationship.  I consider myself to be lucky.

In all the years I’ve wanted children I never envisioned having a girl first.  I always pictured myself with a little boy.  Most likely because I heard boys were “easier.”  I don’t always jump up when something is deemed harder- even though time and time again I’ve learn it’s more rewarding.

Having a child has drastically changed my relationship to my parents, but having a girl specifically, has created a separate and special relationship to my mother.   I’m not sure I can fully describe what that relationship looks like; however, I know it involves the meaning and importance of being a woman, mother, daughter, and friend.

When my mother looks into my eyes she can say a million things without saying one word.  It’s as if now I truly see the woman she has been her whole life.  Dedicated. Hardworking. Patient. Compassionate.  Don’t get me wrong you can see those things without having a child, let alone a baby girl, but still somehow it’s different.  When I look back into her eyes I feel lucky. Honored.  Inspired. Understood. Complete.  And now, it’s my turn to pass the flame.

Do you have a special relationship with someone? How has that relationship changed your life?