My Heroes

It used to be that most of the women that I admire were older. And by "older" I mean that they are older than I am, not necessarily "elderly". Women like my amazing mom (who celebrated her 56th birthday yesterday) and my grandma and my step-grandma and Sue Kane and my mother-in-law and my sisters-in-law and and that English professor at BYU and Sister Hinckley and Sister Beck and  . . .

I still admire these women. I still look up to them and appreciate their wisdom and examples of virtue and integrity.

During a conversation the other day with Utah Dad I realized that the older I get, the more I find that many of the women I find truly amazing and remarkable and worthy of my of my admiration are actually younger than I am. It's inevitable, I suppose. But so many of the women I know are just amazing!

Women like my cousin who lost one of her premature twins and has helped the surviving twin overcome his myriad of trials with grace and dignity. I know she has had and will continue to have difficult, draining days but she is always so hopeful and positive. Her smile always brightens my days.

Or another cousin who has finally been blessed to adopt two beautiful children after years of desiring and longing for a family. Her ability to love is amazing as she has opened her arms and home to not only her little babies but to their birth families as well.

My dear college friend who works long hard hours to support her family while her husband is ill.

The neighbor women and girls who send their husbands and fathers to fight and protect in the Middle East and then serve the other soldiers' families left behind.

Frankly, my neighborhood is full of women I admire. Women who genuinely care about their neighbors and go out of their way to serve.

I really am supremely blessed to live where I live and to know the women I know--young and olderish.