March is designated Women’s History Month in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Women’s contribution to history, culture and society are celebrated. We may admire a movie star, a singer or an activist who is in the news, but we never know the real person.
I think we should also remember the women who didn’t make headlines, but have made us who we are. Of course, mothers come to mind first, but there have been many more including grandmothers, aunts, cousins and big sisters. We also need to look outside our families such as older friends, teachers or mentors at work. There also are a few who are stark examples of who we don’t want to become.
When I was a newlywed, I vowed I wasn’t going to be like my mother. She farmed alongside Dad and didn’t take part in neighborhood women’s activities. My husband was the hired man on his brother-in-law’s farm and I was a housewife and mother. I would also be a community volunteer.
After a few years of working with various committees, which drove me nuts, I decided that I was probably more like my mother than I had wanted to admit. She rarely talked about her feelings, but I thought maybe we both tended to be loners.
When my husband left the farm to become a cop and our three children were enrolled in the Durand schools, I discovered a part-time job reporting community news for our daily newspaper, the Rockford Morning Star. I was a freelancer working on my own from home, which suited me just fine. I dropped most of my organization memberships.
Who are some of the women in your life who never made headlines, but made you who you are?
I have spent some time thinking about this weeks topic of Women, and none come to mind who shaped me. I never wanted to be like my mother either, but unlike you, I never came around to thinking that I was like her – quite the opposite, mother was an introvert, & I am an extrovert. Dad was also an extrovert. I like to be with women one on one, but I don’t like to be with a group of women. I have been a member of quite a few organizations in the past, but I prefer to do rather than sit & listen. Even with genealogy, I prefer to do research rather than go to meetings. I’ve mainly thought for myself & maybe men have influenced me more than women & then, sometimes in negative ways. I’m kind of a rebel.