Inspiring Women—Strengthening Each Other Through Our Trials

by Jyl Johnson Pattee on June 26th, 2009 | 9 Comments »

I attended an event last night sponsored by Cherish Bound where I was taken back to my childhood as I listened to professional story tellers share their growing up tales. If I were an artist and could have captured one sketch of the room it would have included women laughing, sharing, talking, delighting in delicacies, and relishing in the beauty of a simple, yet rejuvenating girl's night out. And yet, one element would have been missing, because how do you capture strength and dedication in a drawing?

If you could look closely—perhaps only possible through a 3D sketch, allowing you to go much further beyond the surface—you'd realize that the laughter and sharing was made up of far more than glee and fun. It was made up of experience, learning, and LIFE!

You'd learn that one woman in the room has breast cancer and had recently undergone a double mastectomy. One woman has Lupus and she made a choice to trade one night of connection for several energy-less days after. Of course, we only saw her laughter. One woman has had 42 staples in her head and 4 screws in her jaw from Epilepsy. Another is in and out of the hospital on a monthly basis with her toddler, hearing shifting diagnosis and unanswered questions. Yet another is fighting a court battle to keep her adopted son. A couple are on the brink of bankruptcy. More than one woman is pregnant and one in particular is experiencing the joys of all-day/all-pregnancy sickness. Another was experiencing her last hooray before uprooting her family to move them cross country for her husband's education. More than one woman didn't know a single soul in the room. One gal was recently divorced and many were single parents. A couple were empty nesters, vying for more time with their grandchildren. Yet another was fighting to keep her business afloat during these hard economic times. The list could go on, making the stories within the stories much deeper and richer in color.

But to look at the room—or the sketch I would have drawn—wouldn't have told you all that. And yet, that strength, that dedication to endure and triumph through life's challenges is what makes inspiring women out of us all. It connects us, draws us to each other, gives us the compassion and knowledge to support each other. Ultimately, it empowers us to change the world one mom at a time.

Today's "inspiring moms" post is a dedication to women everywhere who have stories upon stories, some for public view and others under lock and key. The tightly woven and intricate patterns of your lives, with broken thread and mistakes and all, make the world a better place to be! Thanks for inspiring me!

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Jyl Johnson Pattee

An active part of the Mom It Forward team, Jyl primarily writes about parenting, social good, and all things travel related. In a past life, Jyl was an award-winning copywriter and designer of corporate training programs for Fortune 100 companies. Offline, Jyl is married to @TroyPattee; a mom to two teen boys and a beagle named #Hashtag; loves large amounts of cheese, dancing, and traveling; and lives in the beautiful Rocky Mountains. Topping her bucket list is the goal to visit 50 countries by the time she's 50.