My heroines

After reading this post by my friend, it occurred to me that there are many many women in my life that I look up to, who inspire me, and who may not even know it.  And they should know it.  There are too many to list out here, but I'll make a start:

Sarah- who is strong and smart and beautiful, who inspired me to run, and who is getting back in touch with the things it's so easy to lose as a lawyer- creativity and community outside the law, through running and choir  and so many other things, and who constantly and energetically improves herself.  She is the person I look to for inspiration when I need to shake up my life and get things going.

Sara- who is my heroine for wearing heels at 6' tall, and rocking every inch of it; for holding on to her music through law school and beyond, for her insight and understanding and her truly inspirational baking.  She is the person I look to for finding grace in the daily things, for holding onto one's essential self through the transitions of life.

Betsy- who is the strongest person I know, who stood up to the wearing forces of illness and injury and the institutionalized abuses of science academia though they spent years trying to grind her down, who is brave enough to say "enough is enough" and to walk away when that is both the hardest and the best thing to do. She is the person I look to when I am really not sure how I can get through something, because I know that she can get through anything and I draw strength from that, and because I know if I am not strong enough to get through on my own, she will literally pick me up and carry me, as she has so many times before.

Miriam- who is my heroine for being the most genuinely herself  of anyone I know, for being so gratifyingly and delightfully real  that people instantly love her, for being so lovely, so silly, and so loving that I wish I could wrap myself in her as I would a fluffy yellow blanket.  She is the person I look to for humor in any situation, for instant understanding no matter what, and for reassurance when I have gotten too far inside my own head.

Angie- who is my heroine for being, every damn day, as polished and put together as I could never quite manage even on my best day, who is stylish and sassy and confident in a way that I wish we could all be.  She is the person I look to when I need to remind myself that I really am a grown up, big girl lawyer, and I really can be a beautiful, professional, accomplished woman, even if I can't be quite as a with-it as Ang.

Effie- Who is my heroine for being so smart, so beautiful, so frugal, so hardworking, and so loving, so absolutely and completely delightful that I am overwhelmed with pride that she is my sister.  She is the person I look to for a reminder of how to really live the values we were raised on and how to make that balancing act look easy.

There are many more women to add to this list, like Hillary, who is the smartest and hardest-working person I've ever worked with, and Kali, who is hilarious and inspiringly irreverent, and Morgen, who is amazingly ageless, and Erica, who is startlingly beautiful every time I see her.  And, of course, my mother and grandmothers, who showed me how to be a woman in the world, to value education, family, independence and to love myself no matter what.