I’m sitting here watching Steel Magnolias. With Queen Latifah, Phylicia Rashad, Alfre Woodard and so many other great actors. I almost deleted this film without watching it because I was running out of space on the DVR but something kept saying don’t, watch it first. I am so glad I did. Now I don’t want to delete it at all. In watching it I got a confirmation of what I already knew, Mother’s especially but women are strong. It’s a strength not always seen on the outside but it is overflowing on the inside. We look to the men in our lives to hold us up and when it comes to what’s happening around us on the outside they can rise to the challenge but when it’s happening on the inside we must hold them up. This movie reminded me of when my middle child was in the hospital, he wasn’t quite two yet he had suffered a pretty bad asthma attack. He was on just about every machine except life support. His dad walked in and couldn’t take it, I told him to go back out to get himself together. I held him for a moment or two then I gave him a forced smile and told him to go ahead. They sent him in a Helicopter to another hospital and wouldn’t even let me ride with him. That was the hardest thing for me, I didn’t know how things were going to work out but I didn’t want him to endure it alone, but I still didn’t have time to break, I had a drive to make We got there just as the helicopter landed on top of the hospital, yes I was speeding I don’t even know how fast I was going. Our son is doing a lot better today, he still battles with asthma but I educated myself and I learned to listen and pay attention to when his body communicates and I’ve taught him the same.

When my dad was transitioning from this life to the next my sister’s husband happened to come into my parents room and saw my dad take a breath and then for what seemed like a long time before he took another. He went to yelling and getting loud, I told him no, you got to get out of here with that. We women are so quick to say what we can’t handle, that we’re not strong enough. What I do know is the hearing is the last thing to go when a person dies. People in prison who have murdered and did some horrible and mean things to other people are given the respect to leave this earth under peaceful and respectful situations. Despite the pain I was feeling in my heart, my dad was going to transition under those same peaceful and respectful circumstances. Tears rolled down the face of my mother but even she was at peace as she rubbed the head of her husband of 63 years just like a mother would her newborn baby as she said so long. Only Gospel Music was softly playing in the background which kept the room from being completely quiet.

Little girls grow up to be women, so little girls, young ladies stop saying what you can’t do. You never know what you can or can’t do until you are challenged. Once you are presented with a challenge, one you can’t refuse and or walk away from, you’ll find out all you can do.

When life hands you lemons you find the strength to make the best homemade lemonade known to mankind.

I direct this toward women because even little boys will believe they can before a woman will believe she can. For some reason men believe in themselves more than we believe in ourselves, but they do eventually realize there are things that they have doubts if they can do. Life is hard, and the older you get the harder the choices one will have to make. No matter what, never forget, The Strength of a Woman.