To the women...

Years ago, when I was in my graduate program in Los Angeles, I would leave the house really (really) early on Tuesday and Thursday mornings in order to drive to my practicum placement at an all-girls Catholic high school.

On these early morning drives, I would often listen to Brooke Waggoner. You know how certain songs immediately take you back to a particular point in time? Well, for me, the song that defined this time was Brooke’s song – Go easy little doves.

The song stirs up a lot of emotion for me. It makes me feel a bit melancholy and introspective, and it also makes me feel really in touch with my femininity. I’m listening to it as I write this – and I’d totally recommend listening to it as you read on.

I still listen to this song sometimes on a rainy day or when I just want to be in my feelings. The events of the last week, with the news of the potential overturn of Roe vs Wade, has had me in my feelings. 

I love being a woman. I think there is something so beautiful and sacred about it.

I love thinking about the history of womanhood. How Abigail Adams implored her husband to “remember the ladies” when setting up the government. How abolitionist, Sojourner Truth, inspired others through her “Ain’t I A Woman?” speech in 1851. How Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton co-founded a national woman’s suffrage movement. How Claudette Colvin and Rosa Parks helped launch the civil rights movement by refusing to give up their bus seats to a white person.

I love that women can create life, build businesses, care for aging parents, win national championships, launch movements, and serve at every level of government. I love that we can organize marches and rallies and baby showers and board meetings.

I trust women. I think we are smart, intuitive, and thoughtful. I believe in our ability to make good decisions about our lives and about our bodies with our doctors. I believe all healthcare decisions should be made between a patient and her/his/their doctor.

I also believe in each person’s individual right to practice their preferred religion, and to make personal choices about their own lives and bodies based on those beliefs. 

I believe that history has shown us the importance of agency and choice in determining our own destiny. I believe we’ve seen this, too, as therapists – as we witness the power of helping our clients find their own voice and make their own decisions.

To the women who are reading this, I find that it can be a bit exhausting to watch debates and commentary about our bodies play out on the state or national scene, especially when those speaking are not women themselves.

If you, too, are feeling that exhaustion, frustration, or discontent – no matter which side of this debate you fall on – may we find some comfort and unity in our sisterhood. May we hold space for the differing perspectives with respect for our fellow woman. May we also fight to ensure our voices are represented in all decisions, but especially in decisions that impact us exclusively.

Sisters, if you have anything you’d like to say or share, my inbox is ready to receive it. I’d love to hear how you’re feeling.