Today, I’d like to tell you about an exceptional woman. Let the statistics speak for themselves:
- 93 years old
- 14 children
- 31 grandchildren
- 45 great-grandchildren—and counting
As a mother, this woman never slept a full night in 20 years. (I have a hard time functioning after just one.) She had not one but two cribs in her bedroom for nearly 20 years. Not to mention the number of diapers she had to change and wash. Of course, back then, they were all cloth diapers… so diapers and clothes—can you imagine how many loads of laundry she had to do each week? Well, this exceptional woman washed everything by hand and hung the laundry out to dry in the fresh air, even in winter. On winter evenings, if the laundry needed to be thawed to finish drying, she’d hang it up in the kitchen and make sure to get up before the boys got up to go to the farm, so she could put it away. She didn’t get an electric washer and dryer until after she’d finished raising her family.
Back then, in addition to taking care of her children and her husband, there was the family farm. But instead of stopping there—because, let’s face it, these days 14 children is more than enough and you stay home—she also ran the general store and handled the mail. She didn’t have time for maternity leave; there were always crates to lift.
All this to say that my grandmother is an exceptional woman. When I’m struggling with my two kids, when I’m barely sleeping and short on time, I take two minutes to stop and simply think of her. She who always worked and took care of others. She who had no choice but to keep going. Then, with all that in mind, I look at how far she’s come and tell myself that if she succeeded, I’ll make it too. One thing at a time.
Do you have an exceptional person who inspires you?