Every Day Heroes

There are people we think of when the word "hero" is mentioned.  Police officers, firefighters, soldiers, and people who sacrifice themselves for a greater good are the images that typically come to mind.  Of course I agree, how could you not.  These individuals risk their own lives to save, improve, and protect others.  They should be honored and respected for all they do.

Today, as I did the typical duties of a stay at home mom, I was a bit enlightened.  Walking into my exercise class I saw the faces of women who live and work in my area.  They do not run in to burning buildings or capture hardened criminals, but they do care for, shape, and guide the lives of others.  Today I thought, women really are everyday heroes, albeit, different from the above mentioned figures, but the everyday things I see women do is absolutely inspiring.

There are women who regularly attend my exercise class with serious injuries, just recovering from surgery.  There are moms who recently sent their first child away to school and miss them intensely.  Moms who spend their days caring for their home and children, then spend the night working while their family sleeps safely at home.  I meet women who are pregnant with second and third babies running around the playground with their kids.  I know moms who spend their only free minutes volunteering their time to help less fortunate people in the community.

Besides the unrepresentative number of amazing tasks I mentioned, we do these while lacking months of sleep.  Women work that hard to care for their families regardless of what might be happening in the rest of their lives.  We are women with very personal stories who put it all aside to create, help, and enrich the lives of others.

We easily adjust ourselves as needed to fit the current role of the day, from business professional to house cleaner to nurse to chef.  We become teachers when our kids come home from school with homework, then wives when our husbands come home from work.

There are times I think I am jealous of my husband, sometimes being a man seems so much easier.  If they need to make a doctor appointment or get a haircut, they just go on the way home from work.  Being a man allows you to be just a professional when you are at work and then a husband and father when you get home.

I thought I wanted to be a man, so I can put on nice clothes every morning and head out the door, coffee in hand and just one job to think of.  They get to shower alone everyday, and listen to whatever radio station they want to listen to in their cars.  So many perks of manhood, how could you not be jealous?

But after my realization today I no longer want to be jealous of these small manly bonuses.  I am proud to be a part of the hero gender.  The gender that wholeheartedly cares for their families and takes on the roles of many to get the job done.  I love being a part of the feminine gender so that I can easily transform from a responsible mom in to a giggling best friend.  I am so proud of women and everything they do every day to make life special.  Women are my every day heroes.