WHAT WOMEN HOLD

My Mom’s hand held by one of her best friends as she passed.

This is a love letter to all women on Mother’s Day.

A few weeks ago I left my home in New York City for our home in Turks and Caicos. And for the first time in weeks, I allowed myself to feel my body.

I felt the pressure in my head, the constant squeeze of the vice. For the first time I felt the pain in my knees and the tension in my buttocks. The constant ache in my wrists and forearms from typing and carrying of EVERYTHING.

And I cried. I cried for myself and for all the women I know. For all we carry.

We are the carriers of not just children, but we are their safety net for the rest of our lives.

We are the ones protecting that which needs to be protected.

We hold marriages together and keep workplaces tolerable.

We hold justice and we hold peace.

We hold your hand and your head.

We hold this Earth in our hands and the buckets of tears when we see it destroyed.

We hold all children in our hearts.

We hold community, and are the beams, concrete and roof that protect the men who have taken the world away from us. Allowing you to shine, and also destroy.

We hold you even when you have beaten us down literally and figuratively.

We hold your hope and dreams and pain along with our own.

We hold the sick, the ostracized and the forgotten.

We hold our fellow women when they can hold no more.

And we will continue to hold, even when you try to banish us as the mere image of all we are reminds you of all you are not.

We hold your fear. And we also hold your enlightenment.

Today I write not in arrogance and certainly not in separation or wishing to cause conflict.

In the secret society that is womanhood, we know what we do, we know just how much we do and how strong we are. My wish on this Mother’s Day is for the entire world to acknowledge this and give it the respect it deserves.

Don’t fear us. Hold us up.

xo Christine