Down the Rabbit Hole

Raising Strong Women

30-Day Blogging Challenge
PROMPT November 5th
Bust those Monday blues with Motivational Monday! Share a motivational quote and why it inspires you. If you do not have a specific quote, share a story about a person, object, or place that inspires you.

As a mother raising a daughter, my favorite inspiration quote is one that honors that important responsibility.

"Here's to Strong Women, May We Know Them, May We Be Them, May We Raise Them."

I've never seen an author assigned to the quote but I imagine she is a strong woman of substantial character herself. The words inspire me to remember the strong women in my life as I pay it forward by raising my daughter with the same ideals. The world she will inherit is going to be different from mine and she will need all my lessons as well as tools of her own forging to succeed in it. She will to know all the wonderful women in our line and understand what made them the artists, the explorers, the teachers and the business women that she should always seek to emulate in her own ways.

I have tried to introduce her to some of my personal heroes, the women who inspired me growing up. Women like, Dr. Eugene Clark - the Shark Lady, who was one of the first female scientists to gain accolades in the largely male dominated field of marine biology. She was a fearless explorer who made many discoveries and tirelessly used to passion to launch awareness and conservation efforts for sharks and for marine habitats all over the world. My daughter has several books about Dr. Clark on her bookshelf and has been fascinated by her story and her work.

Dr. Clark is a real world example but I have also tried to introduce her to literary characters and works that champion the female heroine. We've begun reading Scott O'Dell's "Island of the Blue Dolphin" that tells the true story of a 12 year old girl left alone on San Nicolas Island to survive on her own for 18 years. Then of course, there is Alice, of Wonderland fame. She is a character who is unafraid to question her world, examine her opinions and find herself through the cause of effect of her actions. She believes in impossible things and packs all the bravery it takes to slay the Jabberwocky all by herself.

I notice that my daughter is quick to attach herself to the strong women in her life. She recognizes the virtues of strength and independence. She appreciates the authority they command and the knowledge they possess about their professions. It makes me proud to hear her regurgitate some advice or piece of husbandry knowledge she learned from her riding teacher Courtney or her Aunt Becky. I've seen her employee some artistic trick my grandmother taught her. She is readily open to trying things I like, interested in the things that interest me. I'd like to believe it is because she also sees her mother as a strong woman too, one she looks up too.