Dear Woman, As A Nurturer You Deserve To Be Nurtured Too

I had a conversation today with a friend about balancing work and family as women - mothers and wives.
This was a result of my response to her Whatsapp status about women balancing work and family, referring to Glenn Close' emotional speech when she won the award for Best Actress in a Drama at the Golden Globes.

I responded with "One of my concerns. My schedule now leaves little time for anything else and I wonder what it would be like when I start my family."

She noted that while she is grateful for her family she knows family has slowed her down.

I honestly can't count the number of times I have asked my colleagues who are married how they cope. They would laugh and say they always find a way.

Women are nurturers and I think it is the biggest privilege anyone can have. To give life and nurture that life is a privilege never to be taken for granted. 

However to nurture life while creating value with your gifts/talents and making your mark in the world is the highest calling anyone can answer to.

I have been privileged to have a mother who did her business travelling all over while raising us. She set an example for me about pursuing my dream and never letting it go no matter what. This isn't easy especially in a society like ours where women are called to sacrifice a lot.

I know many women who have given up their dreams to raise families, if you ever had to I must salute your courage. Some quit their jobs and relocate after marriage, if this is you I hope you are able to begin again.

I read an interview where Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie noted that having to nurture her baby has slowed down her writing. For someone as tenacious as she is, it shows that raising a family takes its toll on even the fiercest of us.

So dear Woman,

I hope that you are able to find your purpose and pursue it while raising your family. I hope that you choose a partner who holds your hand and supports you all the way while you both build a home. I hope that you are able to say like Glenn Close, "I can and should be allowed to do that."

And most importantly, I hope that you nurture yourself too and look beautiful EVERYDAY while at it.

See excerpts from Glenn Close' speech below:

"To play a character who is so internal, I'm thinking of my mom who really sublimated herself to my father her whole life,”
"In her 80s she said to me, 'I feel like I haven't accomplished anything.' And it was so not right. And I feel like what I've learned from this whole experience is, women, we're nurturers, that's what's expected of us.
"We have our children, we have our husbands if we're lucky enough, and our partners. But we have to find personal fulfilment. We have to follow our dreams. We have to say, 'I can do that and I should be allowed to do that.’