Since I started this blog several months ago I have been asked the question “Why?” more times than I can remember so here goes.

Over the years I have had the privilege of hearing many amazing accounts of women with stories that need to be told. Not surprisingly, at least not to me, these have been mostly about strong, formidable women that just stepped up and stepped in when and where they were needed.  Many never considered themselves special nor were they looking for accolades but I feel they need to be recognized for the inspirations they have been and continue to be.  That is what I am trying to achieve through this blog – offering a platform to share the stories of fabulous women of different generations and backgrounds. Their extraordinary lives should be documented and not forgotten.

My own mother, whose story “Remembering My Mom and Her Incredible Life” is the first one I posted, was an awesome woman that openly told her life story to anyone who would listen.  She wanted the world to know how tough it had been to live through a war in a labour camp and what it was like to be a displaced person without a country.  When she finally settled in Canada, she wanted those around her to realize how lucky they were to be living in a country safe from strife and knowing where their next meal was coming from.

Françoise was married off by the time she was 16 and had birthed 5 children by the age of 21, only two of which survived.  This happened in rural Québec in the 1930s and she lived a long life filled with the joy of family, grandchildren and great grandchildren however she never stopped mourning the 3 children she had buried.  Although 80 years have passed since Françoise lived through her ordeal we still see child marriages in many parts of the world where young girls are neither physically or emotionally ready to become wives and mothers.

I have been told stories of women living through war and near starvation; women surviving abuse; women as second class citizens; and women as sole providers struggling to make ends meet.  I have also heard the stories of perseverance and survival; the need to quickly adapt to changes in life, language and customs; the ability to support others emotionally and financially; and women working to change the injustices they see around them.

We read about many women in history and their contributions.  Marie Skłodowska-Curie was a physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity.  Rosa Parks, an African-American activist whose refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus helped end public segregation in the United States. The Trung sisters who were Vietnamese heroines who led the first national uprising against the Chinese. Florence Nightingale was a philosopher of modern nursing and social reformer. Dolores Huerta was a co-founder of the United Farm Workers, and has been an activist for labor, Hispanic and women’s rights.

However, we need to be reading more about the woman that managed to feed and protect her children in the middle of a war zone; the grandmother that took in her grandchildren when they had no one left in the world; the doctors, the nurses and the caregivers that dedicated themselves to taking care of others; the women that fought for freedom, for the right-to-vote, for women’s rights; all the unsung heroines that walked and walk among us.

So there it is, the reason I started InspiredByMyMom.com – to create an opportunity to share the extraordinary stories of what on the outside may look like an average woman but one that has made a difference and is someone’s hero, someone’s inspiration.

This blog is for you and the women that inspired you.  Please contribute the story of an extraordinary woman that deserves to be remembered.