Hello and happy March 8th, AKA International Women’s Day 2020!

I have to admit that I recently searched “How long has there been an International Women’s Day?” online because while it’s a day that gains greater significance for me with every year that passes, I don’t recall ever hearing about it as a younger woman or as a kid. Apparently that’s just the circles I lived and grew up in, however (something . . . interesting to me for a lot of reasons, in and of itself). It’s been around for over 100 years.

Anyway, the best site I came across is called (very cleverly, LOL!) InternationalWomensDay.com.  I heartily recommend checking it out and (especially!) sharing any of the tidbits that interest you with kids in your life. Recognizing International Women’s Day, honoring it, talking about it, celebrating it, is not a slight to men or an attempt to denigrate them in anyway; it is about starting to address how much (and for how long) history failed to acknowledge women’s personhood and our contributions to the world (and, sadly, often still does). We’ve all heard and learned lots about male inventors, male pioneers-in-various-fields, male explorers, male artists, male authors (and so on and so on), and that’s wonderful because the things people have done are inspiring and great to learn from, regardless of their gender. But it’s really important to see opportunities for your own unique self, as fuel, fodder and motivation for your personal dreams, inclinations, talents and strengths. If you’ve never seen or heard about someone like you doing a particular thing, it’s difficult (maybe even impossible) to even understand it’s an option for you.

And on a personal note, if you’re a woman reading this, I  encourage you to do something special, even if it’s very small, to celebrate YOU and the hard work that you do, the dreams (secret or “out there”) that you nurture, and the things you’ve overcome. 🙂

I also use the day to think about the women in my life (too many of whom are gone now) who guided, shaped and encouraged who I’ve become. (For better or worse, LOL.)

I come from a long line of incredibly tough, resilient, hilarious, deeply intelligent women—something I appreciate (and recognize!) more and more as I age. I try not to waste time beating myself up for not expressing my gratitude to some of them when I still had the opportunity (like my mom, for example), and instead strive to be someone they would say similar things about. Do I succeed? . . . Sometimes, maybe. Sometimes, not even close . . . but I think that’s one of the most important things they collectively taught me about how to live: to persevere in my goals, to keep trying.

🙂 Ev