1.) I am going to start with my mother, as she did give birth to me. :-) Cynthia Jean Stagnaro Moore. Wow. What an incredible person. She is without a doubt, one of the strongest women I have ever encountered. She is also probably the most selfless person I have ever met. She taught me (without knowing so probably) to always put myself in someone elses shoes before jumping to any sort of conclusions about them. She taught me to love people. To help people. To (try) and put myself last when thinking through any situation. Although, she doesn't have to try, she just does. She taught me to be grateful for what I have (in many ways...and again I don't even know if she knows she taught me this). She also taught me how to be my own person. She always told me and showed me that the person that I need to be is me, and to not try and please other people or be untrue to myself. She gave me so much knowledge about love, and life and at least once a week in my married life I realise another thing that she has instilled in me. There are actually too many other things to list about my mother that have made me into who I am, but I will say that my first day of University when I was trying do laundry by myself, I thought to myself "mom was right about everything". I love you mom.
2.) I feel it is fitting since I just spoke about my mother to talk about her mother. The woman from whom I gained my middle name. Ann Sandner. Again, what an incredibly strong, and stoic woman that I had the pleasure of knowing, and being related to growing up. My grandma always had a certain amount of strength that I could just sense, even as a little girl. She also is incredibly loving. She taught me that love of a family member conquers all. She might ask me how this is so? Well, when I was little ( and more so as I grew up) I saw how fiercely she loved all of her loved ones. She has one of the kindest hearts that I have encountered. She also taught me to pay attention to people's interests and likes. By this I mean that all while I was growing up she was always careful to know exactly what my interests were that year so that for my birthday or Christmas, the perfect gift was always from Grandma. From dollhouses, to books, she payed attention to me and that is a very important thing that I have taken from her. She even continued to do it when she met my husband (before we were married). She found out that he loved to receive lotion and so what did he get in his stocking every year? She is such a thoughtful person and I hope that I can be like that too. I love you Grandma.
3.) My Nana. Betty Jean Moore. This woman is amazing. Again, with the strong (wow, I have a lot of strong women in my family!) My Nana taught me a lot of things. One of them is to laugh. Now, I don't know about you but when I was an eight year old there were only some adults who could truly make me laugh. Mostly it was my peers and friends that I laughed with. But I will tell you that one of my strongest memories that I have, was camping with my family as an eight year old, and laying in the tent sick with laughter because of my Nana. I can't even recall the specific stories or jokes she was telling...something involving the frogs croaking outside...but I will never forget it.To this day when I hear my Nana's laugh it makes me feel deeply warmed all the way to my core. She also contributed to my love of words. I love to tell stories. So does my Nana. Sometimes my husband says that I sound just like her when I am on a tangent story. I love this about her. She taught me to enjoy life. Even when life was tough, or when she was in pain, she always had a smile on her face. Now maybe this was for my benefit, but I think it's also just a part of her and it's something I will carry with me forever. I love you Nana.
4.) My Aunties
Firstly my Aunt Judy. This woman is incredible. I didn't grow up geographically close to her (but I always wished I did) but somehow I always felt like when we saw each other we had never been separated. She has a knack for making people feel at home and comfortable. I always said I wanted my house in the future to be like Aunt Judy and Uncle Ray's because it felt so warm and inviting. One thing that she taught me (which I am not sure she knows she did) is that in any situation or conversation, your thoughts are important and valid. My Aunt Judy always made me feel like my opinions and thoughts were important enough to be heard. I can remember being 9 years old and her asking my opinion in an important "adult" discussion. I am forever grateful for this. This taught me strength and feeling like I had a voice. My small addiction to beautiful tea pots also comes from her ;-). I love you Aunt Judy.
Secondly, (and this one is very hard for me to write) my Aunt Leanne. She passed away a few years ago, way before her time, and the world lost a light when she left. Aunt Leanne. I am smiling so big right now. She brightened up a room when she would come in. What a life force. She taught me to LOVE life. Again, I did not grow up in the same state as her and my amazing cousins, but when we or she would visit it was like we had seen each other all the time. My Aunt Leanne was fun, and she taught me to want to have fun, in daily activities. One story that was told at her funeral was about her being stuck in traffic and blowing bubbles out the window to pass the time. This was just the kind of person she was. She enjoyed life. I want to make the most out of life like she did. She also taught me to take scary or serious situations and look and the funny or positive side of things. I will never forget this one time with her that I was visiting her in California. Me, and my parents and cousins were at Costco and it was the summer before I was going away to University. I had been telling my Aunt about how I was really nervous to go but I felt like everyone expected me to be brave so I didn't tell anyone. After I told her this, she disappeared for a few minutes. She came back and handed me something. It was a toothbrush that lit up in colours and played ridiculous music for the full two minutes you were supposed to be brushing your teeth. She grinned at me and said "all the cool kids will have them". I took that toothbrush with me and used it all the way through my freshman year. I will always be thankful for the lessons I learned from her and for the memories I have. My deeeep love for vinegar comes from her as well. (From my Daddy too but this post is about women!)
Thirdly, my Aunt Shaun. I grew up around my Aunt Shaun. I am so lucky because of this. She taught me so many things. Number one. Never tickle her. Okay... so that's more of a rule, not something she taught me. But seriously, don't tickle her. I am joking in this one because she and I share a very similar sense of humour. I could always laugh with her and she could always make me laugh. She taught me to never take myself too seriously because life should be joyful. She also taught me determination. She is such a driven person and I could go into the specifics, but just take my word for it. She taught me that it's good to be an ambitious woman and that it's okay to go after what you want and to try very hard to get to where you want to be. Another important thing that I learned from her is that being a woman that is driven is not a bad thing. It's admirable and it should be encouraged. I also think I got my obsession with Cherished Teddies from her but yeah..... I love you Aunt Shaun.
So lastly I want to mention that I wrote about people that were already women when I was growing up. Because I really have a lot to say about my two amazing girl cousins Simone and Kaelia, and of course my incredible sister, Heather. Because of this I am giving them an honourable mention because they too, shaped me into who I am in so many ways but this post was dedicated to the "older" women in my life. (Not that any of you are old!!!..... ;) )
I love the women in my life. Thank you for the life lessons you have taught (and continue to...) teach me. These women are all feminists in their own way and they have made me into my unique version.
I hope someone enjoyed reading this and I hope you take a moment to think about the women that have influenced your life.
Big love,
~M
Emma Watson's UN speech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-iFl4qhBsE
