Hello everyone, my name does not matter as much as the names I am about to mention. Today I do not stand here as an expert or a public figure. I stand here simply as a daughter. I was not raised by one woman, I was raised by many. My mother, who worked a full day and still found energy to help me with homework at night. My grandmother, who told me stories that taught me kindness without ever using the word lesson. My aunts, my teachers, my elder cousins, each one added a small piece to who I am today. From my mother I learned resilience, watching her face setbacks and rise again without complaint. From my grandmother I learned patience, watching her tend to a garden and a household with the same quiet devotion. From my teachers I learned that a woman could be both gentle and unshakably firm at the same time. I did not always recognize their strength while I was growing up. As children, we often see our mothers simply as mothers, not as women with dreams of their own, fears of their own, and battles of their own that they fought silently so we would never have to. It is only now, older and a little wiser, that I see clearly how much they gave up so that I could have more. So today, I want to say thank you, not just to my own family, but to every woman who has ever poured herself into raising someone else. Your sacrifices are not invisible, even when they go unspoken. Whoever raised you, biological mother or not, by blood or by love, take a moment today to thank her. We are, all of us, the result of some womans quiet, unending devotion. Happy Womens Day to the women who raised us all.
feelthewords.com