I am one of the lucky ones. I’ve met one one, but various Wonder Women in my 22 years of life. I’m not talking about Diana Prince, the amazon princess-turned-superhero, I’m talking about the real kind of Wonder Women. The kind that we meet on a daily basis, but rarely take time to appreciate. The kind that we all have as friends, and family members, or even strangers who we pass by on a street and who we cross paths with at the supermarket.
I have a mom, who married my dad, knowing and fully understanding his past and his baggage, and knowing how hard things could get. She married him, not only out of love for him, but out of love for us, his kids, who she took as her own and has done nothing but fight with all her strength to make sure we grow up to be good people. She has treated us like we are her flesh and blood, and has not once made me feel otherwise. She had loved and respected me and my siblings more than our own birthmother ever did.
I have a sister, who fights for what she wants and for those she loves. She has been our brothers shield when I have been absent. She took on my load of work when I stopped caring. She can be someone’s best friend, or someone’s worst enemy if you hurt the people she loves. She will make her opinnions and ideas known, and stand by them no matter what. She will let you cry on her shoulder, even though she is the younger sister. She will make you feel at home, even when you love thousands of miles appart.
I have a grandmother, who could have ignored my existance and claimed “I’m not her problem”, but instead embraced me as her own, just like her daughter did. She may only have one functional eye, but she can see right through me; she can see when I’m hurting, and she can see when I need some tought love, which she is not affraid to give from time to time. She’s not affraid to get her hands dirty, or be ready to hit someone in the face with a 50+ year old fry pan. (Sorry, inside joke)
I have another grandmother, yes, I still have two, I told you I was lucky! this grandmother has gone through any mother’s worst nightmare, but she still managed to keep a family of 10 afloat. She devoted her life to her kids and her husband, and later on her grandkids, putting them first to the point of trying to comfort everyone else about her health. She has been the rock of a family for years. She is the perfect hostess, not once letting you see her sweat while juggling a not-yet-ready Christmas dinner and socializing with the family.
I had an aunt. Yes, had. She lost her battle to breast cancer a few years ago, and what a battle it was. She fought for her life for 10+ years. She was the kind of person who made you laugh out loud, she was the life of any party. Even with her illness, she danced around and sang and laughed. She laughed in the face of death and kept fighting. She loved her daughters and her husband, and everyone close to her. She made you feel loved and welcome wherever she was. She was one of the good ones.
So, yes, I am one of the lucky ones; one of the very lucky ones. I have not one, not two, but 5 amazing, beautiful Wonder Women in my life. In one way or another, they have made me the person I am today, some more than others, but still each and every one of them has thouched my life and my heart in a way. I may not tell them ths everyday, or maybe not nearly as often as I should, but I love them and I am grateful for their lives and for the fact that they are part of mine. I am very lucky, indeed.
-C.