Ode to Grandmothers

My dearest readers,

As a blog dedicated to young female professionals, I feel that it is important to dedicate today’s post to the act of remembering, honoring and paying tribute to the remarkable women that made a difference throughout history.  In light of this, I wanted to pay tribute to a group of very special people in our lives; our grandmothers.

Many grandmothers, like my own grandmothers, may not be mentioned in textbooks…their names may not be articulated in lecture halls or referred to in academic papers…yet each and every one of them has shaped the world we call “present” and the history that has led us to where we are now.

Along this train of thought, I wanted to dedicate this piece to those women, to all grandmothers, who may not have led lives of fame but whose stories nevertheless resonate all around us; their stories share whispers of surmounted challenges, personal triumphs and life experience with each and every one of us.

Grandmothers connect the past with the future as they inspire us, their granddaughters, through love and wisdom, to become the best we can be. Their own lives inspire us to work towards leaving a legacy of our own on this planet.

I grew up very close to my maternal grandmother and sadly never had the honor of meeting my paternal grandmother in person as she passed away from cancer much before I was born. And yet, both these remarkable women have had profound impacts on my life and shaped me into the woman I have become. My maternal grandmother immigrated to Canada in the 50s as a domestic, in search of a better life. She accomplished great success through hard work, tenacity, and hope and faith far too strong to be described by words. She has and always will have a special place in my heart; countless hours spent together in her warm, sunshine-filled kitchen, chatting about life. Her joie-de-vivre and innocence, despite a life of hardship, war and challenges, inspire me every day. Despite never having met my paternal grandmother, by the way people’s faces light up when they speak about her, I feel a special connection to the way I imagine she was and lived her life. Throughout my life, the best compliments have always been those alluding to the realization that I am “just like my grandmother.” I am brought to tears by this notion because, by being “just like her”, I feel as though I am an extension of her, of her life. It is an honor to be part of her legacy. The memory of her is enough to make people smile, to laugh, to cry…that is legacy.

My dearest readers, I feel grateful to have been able to share this piece with you; this ode to Grandmothers. May their stories serve as reminders of their triumphs and inspire us, the women of tomorrow. Through us, their legacies live on. 

I originally wrote this post for Stilettos on the Glass Ceiling – You can find the original article at http://stilettosontheglassceiling.com/2014/03/an-ode-to-grandmothers-by-maria-psihogios.html