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Strong Women

I met my friend M for lunch after three years. M to me, embodies the strength of a woman at its finest. She is exceptionally good at her job while spending an incredible amount of energy in raising her special needs child with a couple of challenging medical problems. She balances all that with being a wife and a daughter-in-law. 
Amazingly, she does well at everything. She has a warmth of personality that sets everyone around her at ease. The smile is disarming and she laughs without holding back. Thanks to her efforts, her child is one of the rare success stories and on her way to leading a normal life. Just that is an incredible achievement. Meeting women like M is a very humbling experience. I have had my share of adversities and overcome but compared to what M does everyday, it is nothing. 
There is value is being reminded of that - of the difference in order of magnitude of life's challenges, of the true value of what I do have and tend to take for granted. Women like M are also a tribute to our sex - they combine immense strength and tenderness in a way only a perfect woman can. They are not chic, fun and bubbly, oozing "femininity" from every pore but when it comes to being  the yang energy that soothes, comforts and nurtures they define the height of femininity - the yin.Women like M, demonstrate what is possible from a feminine interpretation of things "typically" considered masculine - being the primary provider for the family, being able to decouple emotion from decision making both at home and work and being the steady hand the guides the family at all times. The understated Chanel bracelet and French manicure completely become her.
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