Living: the ultimate team sport

My Heroines: International Women’s Day

Posted on March 8, 2015 Updated on March 8, 2015

International Women’s Day: My Heroines. My heroines may look different from those posted in the attached article, and they certainly will look different from those you may consider as your heroines.  That’s a very good thing because we all have different takes on the subject but the outcome is the same: heroines we admire that made a difference in their world, and in ours.

My mother: Patricia Constance Conroy Desonier was born in 1917 and died in 1994.  Mom was a fair disciplinarian to us three kids and a fabulous confidant as an adult.  To lose her when I was forty years old was a devastating loss for me.  My biggest disappointment is that she didn’t live long enough to meet my current husband, an extraordinary man whom I met – almost  exactly to the date – two years after mom died.  Words to describe my mother (in addition to the above): talented musician, seamstress, faithful and supportive wife, involved parent, community activist, volunteer extraordinaire.

My sister: Mary Patricia Desonier Riesche is the best sister a younger sister could have.  As children, we endured the normal squabbles inherent with siblings.  As adults, we are devoted to each other – would do anything for each other – and have.  Mary is the consummate mother and grandmother.  Oh my goodness, she gives, and gives, and gives, and then gives some more.  She’s way more patient and indulging than I’ll ever be and all of her local family members would say the same thing.  Mary is a dedicated artist who has been painting since she could hold a brush.  She has been married to her husband for nearly thirty-seven years and is the best household/family manager a husband could ever hope for.

My daughter: Erin Maureen Wong Green is the most beautiful (inside and out) well-rounded, energetic, giving, talented and successful business woman I know.  I say this without a single shred of bias.  I had only one daughter of my own; thankfully that’s all it took to anoint me with the easiest job of motherhood a woman could hope for.  I can’t take all the credit for the way my daughter turned out: her father and her other mother – my ex-husband’s wonderful wife – completed the parenting team for most all of Erin’s thirty-nine years of life.  I’m blessed that she and her husband, Kirby, live nearby.  Being able to spend time with both of them is a cherished gift that keeps on giving.

Cathy, Mary’s biological mother:  Cathy’s selflessness in putting my sister up for adoption in 1952 afforded me the opportunity to have the relationship I have with Mary.  As a teenager, Cathy endured the scorn of her father and the bullying of her classmates so that she could give birth to an adorable baby girl on August 30th, 1952.  Cathy’s dedication as a mother to my sister allowed for the adoption that my parents carried out after mom suffered several miscarriages.  Mary and one of her daughters, Paula, searched for and found Cathy several years ago, thus completing the circle of Mary’s life.

 

I’d love to hear about the heroines in your life.  At the very least, I hope you’ll give thought to who those may be and celebrate their contribution to your life.