What’s a Woman to Do?

That sort of funny, sort of frustrated question is from an old commercial I saw years ago.  And I find it a perfect question for today’s tumultuous times.

I almost dread opening the newspaper each day.  I still love the feeling of the paper in my hands, the quiet solitude of the moment when I sit and catch up on the world.  But the news is so unsettling.  I am eternally grateful that the editorials in The Dallas Morning News have taken a turn over the past few years and truly express some of my frustrations about the challenges we are facing.  Kudos to them for joining us in the 21st century and not just spouting the same old line rhetoric.

So what IS a woman to do?  We are the peacemakers and peacekeepers.  We are the ones who get up in the middle of the night and take care of children.  We are the ones who, no matter how tired we are, make sure that we do what needs to be done.

I recently explained to one of my male coaching clients that women never stop working.  He kept expecting things from his wife that she simply couldn’t deliver–because she is busy!  Women never stop thinking about what needs to be done next–whether they have children or not, they are still care-givers.  It may be a neighbor they offer support to, an elderly relative, a friend.  They keep giving and supporting those around them for their whole lives.

[I know there may be a few women out there who really only think of themselves.  I just don’t hang out with anyone like that, so I can’t write about them!]

I can remember my mother, in assisted living, with mild dementia and Alzheimer’s, worrying about her friend Shirley, who was in a wheel chair, not showing up for lunch and wondering if she needed any help or support.  Or that the man at her table looked depressed that day.

Women take care of people!

And that is what I think we can do during this difficult, transitional period in our world.  We can give each other support, encouragement and strength.  We can keep being the best women we know how to be.  We can keep telling the truth as we see it and not worry about the opinions of others.

We can keep challenging each other to think about important things, stop worrying and keep going forward.  We can model dignity and integrity to our children and the children of the world.

I believe that is the best way for us to nurture and keep taking care of people.  By taking care of ourselves, by living our lives authentically and keep talking about what we believe in, what we value.

The world needs us to be great.