Happy 14th Birthday-Welcome to the Sisterhood

Dear Giana, 

Today is your 14^th birthday.  I am so proud of the woman you are becoming but I will save that for a private message.  

Three weeks ago, we had your first undergarment shopping experience.  You said, “Wow, Mom, being a woman is expensive”.   

To that I say, “yeah, it sure is!”

A week later, you had your first serious leg shaving incident. 

 To that I say, “It will not be your last!”

One week ago, you attended the Women’s March on Washington and made history. 

 To that I say, “I officially welcome  you to the Sisterhood.”

And now that you are part of the Sisterhood, I ask that you understand a few things.  Be a good friend: this means first and foremost to not be judgemental.  It also means that you should always try to show-up and to listen. It means gather an eclectic group of friends from all different backgrounds who will teach you new things, who will be loyal to you, and who will always have your back.  Make sure you always have their backs.   Be there for them when they ask.  Be there for them when they don’t ask.  Never give up your friends for a romantic relationship. That’s it. The Sisterhood Code. Your "Sisters" will get you through some really hard times and be there with you for your most joyful. I promise you that.

I want you to know that I will never stop fighting for you.  That I will never stop fighting for you to be able to walk down a dark street without fear.  I will never stop fighting for you to be able to have fun at a party and not be rape material.  That you won’t have to walk on the other side of the street.  That you will have fair pay for your work.  That you will have proper healthcare and a real paid maternity leave if you decide to have children.  And speaking of having children, I will fight for you to own your own reproductive choices whatever they may be.  

I love you baby girl.  My smart, funny, kind, and, yes, beautiful daughter.

 I will never stop fighting for you. And all the girls!

Love,

Mommy

I March For, I Stand With, We Rise Up

Next week, I march.  I march for……and I stand with…… and  I Rise Up!
 

“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare of, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America.”  There it is.  The Preamble.  Our nations “mission statement”.  I know it by heart.  Truly with heart and soul.  (Sometimes I have to sing the song that goes with it) But I have it committed to memory.  Because I believe in it.  Because it matters.

I am the great-granddaughter of immigrants: immigrants with a third grade education who came to this country at the turn of the century, who settled in the lower east side of NYC only to live in more deplorable conditions than they ship that brought them here. 

They worked in the garment district.  They worked hard. But early on they fell in love with the ideals of their new country; the country they would soon call their own.  They did it all so the next generation could have the opportunity promised to them by the ideals set forth in the Preamble of the United States Constitution.

To be able to Rise Up. ”Secure the Blessing of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity”

None of my grand-parents, first generation Americans, graduated high school.  All of their grandchildren have post-graduate degrees. Hard work mixed with opportunity and fairness and love all taught to me; how exactly to Rise Up! I am a living example of the American Dream.  And I believe in that too with all heart and soul; that this is the foundation of our great nation.

I am the granddaughter and great niece of decorated World War 2 veterans who fought bravely for the country they loved, all first generation Americans.  Both of my grandfathers were purple-heart recipients.

I am the step-daughter of a United States Naval Boatswain's Mate Seaman who was sent on a ship one night in 1962 to sit in the Caribbean Sea outside the shores of Cuba.

They were all asked to Rise Up.  And they did.

I was a “liberal” before I ever knew what the word liberal meant. “I pledge allegiance to the flag……… and Liberty and Justice for all.” Since as far back as I can remember, human rights have been my thing. I believe in humanity.  That all people are equal.  That all people deserve the blessings of liberty.  That all people should be allowed the opportunity to Rise Up.

Immediately after the Preamble comes the 7 Articles, and then the Amendments, 27 in all. The first 10 are called The Bill of Rights.  Now the very first amendment- let’s talk about that. 

The First Amendment says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

So the creators of this amendment not only intended to protect our freedom of speech but most likely hoped this measure would insure that whatever contradictions existed in the constitution at the time (and there were many) would be available for self-correction as history would unfold.  They knew it was a living document and that it could only be improved by the people, for the people, and that the injustices within could be corrected though this “redress of grievances”.  And Hallelujah, it has! Over the course of our short history as a nation, people have protested, people have assembled, the press has exposed injustices, and, as a result, our country has grown closer and closer towards the ideals for which it was initially founded, the mission statement, the Preamble, “secure the blessings of liberty”.  

Those same founding fathers call to us from the graves; they call for us to Rise Up.  They said then and they say now that not only is it our right to peacefully protest, our right to assemble, and our right to march but it is, in fact, our civic duty to do so.

It will require us to Rise Up.

So next week, I march for, I stand with, and I Rise Up.

I march for all the times I was afraid.  (I am not afraid anymore).

I march for my daughter.

I march for my son.

I march for my immigrant great grandparents. 

I march for my mother and my grandmothers and my aunts.

I march for the sisterhood.

I march for the brotherhood.

I march for the children; for all the children but especially for those with disabilities.
I march for the elderly and the sick.

I march for my friends: my friends of every race, religion, ethnicity, immigration status, and sexual orientation.

I march for the friends I have yet to meet.

I march for the strangers I may never meet.

I march for the founders of this country who made sure I could march.

I march for those who have marched before me.

I march for country.

I march for love.

I march for peace.

I march for equality

I march for fairness.

I march for liberty for all.

I march for justice for all.

If you don’t already know the Preamble, today would be a good day to learn it.

Next week, I march for.  Today and everyday I stand with. Today and everyday We Rise UP!

The Women's March on Washington, January 21, 2017?   yeah, I'll be there.