Only four days left until the month of March is over. What with St. Patrick's Day and Easter, it would be very easy to forget that March is also the month we celebrate Women's History. Now I am no Gloria Steinam, but I do think it's nice to acknowledge the women who came before us and the contributions they made.
The idea... sometime between now and Sunday host a family dinner celebrating special women in your family's history. Here are a few ideas to get you going and then - today of all days - I will count on some of you to post additional suggestions:
- Dig out old photographs of aunts, grandmothers, sisters, or your mom to be displayed at the dinner table. You can mount them on thick paper and then have each person read a one or two line fact written on the back.
- Feature a special recipe of one of these women and then spend time talking about who else they were besides cook extraordinaire... special interests, significant accomplishments, etc...
- Generate questions you would like to ask women in your family, so beginning today, you can preserve history for tomorrow. If you have kids, they might find this this especially fun.
- Host a special woman in your family's history. History doesn't have to mean deceased, so pick up the phone and invite a grandmother, aunt or sister for dinner or dessert. Let each person think of a question they might like to ask.
- If you're not married with kids, make a dinner date with your friends. Each of you can bring a photograph of one women in your family history who you would like to talk about over dinner.
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6 comments:
Honoring women in our lives this way is probably the best idea I have seen on this blog yet. It seems it could be very meaningful and not at all contrived if planned with the right spirit.
However, I read something that made me very sad. "If you're not married with kids, make a dinner date with your friends." Highlowaha--if your husband and your children are preventing you from making a dinner date with your friends, this concerns me deeply. It suddenly puts into perspective the perplexing blog I have been reading. I think if I felt that isolated, I would also plan like crazy, theme every day and try to construct meaning in every moment.
Once you are over the flu, I beg you, create a "boys fen for themselves friday" and spend some time with people you love whom you are not legally or biologically bound. I suggest Cheyrl. She sounds like a helluva good time.
Concerned Anon
Anon - I feel the need to respond to your "concern" about our dear blogger. She does have a social network outside of her husband and sons. That said, when you have 3 sons - two under the age of 5, days are crazy busy.
Also, the planning, themes, etc. is embedded in her very genetic design. She is all about making memories for her family and friends to cherish forever. I, for one, applaud her for that.
Feel better soon, Claudia!!!
Dear Anon-
Thanks so much for suggesting me to hang with Claudia. I have only met her once and feel like through her blog I have made a great friend. I don't get the feeling at all that she doesn't have a network of friends to draw on and I look forward to seeing her at Bunco in April. But, I must say, your concern is sweet.
Now, for honoring Women of History... Darn, I wish I had this idea last week when I was at my moms house for Easter. This weekend I plan on spending it getting sloshed, eating like a pig and staying up late. But even that plan is already been side-tracked due to me catching that darn strep bug again. Thank goodness for penicillen! I just may be a bit wimpier.
I wish I knew more about my deceased grandmother. She married my grandfather at the age of 17 and they had 7 kids. They seemed to be the greatest couple and I wish I knew how they did it.
Sorry for all who are sick. It is never fun, except it does provide an excuse to force ones self to rest and get better.
I liked the idea behind today's blog. What a great idea to recognize the amazing women in our lives. I have been working on a small memory album of pictures from my mom's childhood. When I work on it, I wonder what it would have been like to know her through the lens of another child, versus the lens I see her through which is my mom. It is a great way for me to preserve her pictures which up until recently sat in a box and it also allowed me a chance to express my creativity. I hate the commitment and time constraint that scrapbooking requires and so taking a regular photograph album and adding paper and quotes is my way of making it special.
I also like to take old photographs or newer photographs and make them black and white and give frames to family and friends with these pictures.
I am a self proclaimed femi-nazi. In my family, my grandmother and i have started a tradition. We don't necessarily do it in march, but it's a great way to remember and pass on the stories of family members and those who have made an impact on our lives. First a little background on my grandmother. She has worked for 30+ years with the American cancer society after my uncle passed away from bone marrow cancer at the age of 18. She was diagnosed 6 years ago with breast cancer and has BEAT IT!! This tradition started then. We take a day at least twice a year where we remember someone we have lost by documenting their lives and doing things they loved. I am the oldest grandchild and the only one who remembers my 2 great grandmother and great aunt. We have been able to remember them and share stories with all of the grandkids by having family members write down memorable stories about them to keep in a book. It is always a nice day hearing about the strong women that came before me. Some of their amazing accomplishments, in times where women weren't equal to that of men, make me proud to see where we have come since they were young and makes me want to make the world even better for my future children.
Hope this helps you to remember a strong woman that affected your life :)
Ms. Howard, They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery. I fully intend to borrow your idea. Thanks for contributing.
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