International Women’s Day 2023
International Women’s Day 2023
In today’s world, where everything happens at breakneck speed, it is important that we appreciate days like International Women’s Day to pause and reflect on the amazing job that women do. This year, I wanted to focus on four women who have helped me personally throughout my life.
I have been blessed in my life to be surrounded by strong female role-models. From an early age it was just my mum, my sister and me (if you exclude the variety of hairy rodents that came and went before we upgraded to a dog). As a child I am not sure one can ever fully appreciate what a parent does for you, which is something I shall be reminding my children of regularly, but looking back my mother worked a variety of jobs to keep a roof over our head and food on the plate. This love has never wavered and even today when things go wrong, which they invariably do, my mother is the first person I will call to talk things through. What makes this even more impressive is that my mum, who won’t let me disclose her age in a public forum, still works a full-time job yet always finds the time for me when I need it.
My sister has evolved, no I am not saying she is the missing link (although I am not not saying this either) from fractious sibling to one of my closest confidants. Although we were never close growing up, which is unsurprising given that I was away at boarding school and Karla’s interests were, perhaps, on the more hedonistic rather than academic plane, Karla has become a person I regularly turn to for advice. Karla’s chosen professional as an oncological nurse is driven by her desire to help. Karla’s passion for what she cares about can, at times, be scary but her support is one of the central pillars of my world.
My daughter Amy, while only 6, already shows the same, caring nature as her mother. When I am sad, which with mental health issues can happen fairly regularly, she is always there with a stuffed animal or hot water bottle to make me feel better. While I am not sure her regular offers of chocolate biscuits are entirely altruistic, apparently these still need sharing even when you are sad, the words, “hug daddy?” can still shine a light in the darkest of places.
Finally, Emily. When Emily first met me 20 years ago she was driven by a need to take care of waifs and strays (and I was probably both). This desire to care for people is what makes Emily a fantastic and caring doctor. As a community paediatrician she is constantly helping people. When not working or looking after me and the kids, which is, of itself, a full-time job, Emily is volunteering to continue to help people through outreach programmes at church. When, recently, someone attended the church with a three-year-old girl who had nothing to her name Emily immediately went into her loft (it is, to be clear, her loft as I have no idea what is in it) and came out with bags of clothes and shoes for this girl. Emily always keeps me humble, there is no limit to her compassion and she is someone that I admire everyday.
To these and all the other women who have helped in my life (whether that is at work, games club, the gym or elsewhere) I tip my hat, raise my glass and simply say, “Thank You”.