"Well behaved women seldom make history"
Women taught me everything I know. Well, except for some drinking tips and even then, I learned from some women about that, too.
My grandmothers were two of the strongest most independent women I ever knew. At my Moms mom's funeral last week, I learned that my dear old grams had an abusive mother. I never knew that until that day. How could've a peaceful, giving, chipper women come from such a background? Pride. Inner strength. Humour. The way she could peel an apple and see something that resembles a dog in the little remainders of the red skin. This built a wonderful example of what kind of wonderful person could come from a broken family.
My Dad's mother was also very strong. Outer strength was her key. Quick wit, a caring smile and a joyful exterior. She could also put down her hand if needed be. She was the Go To person if you wanted to escape from elementary school at lunch and run to
the playground inside McDonalds. She was the Go To person if you wanted a home cooked meal after a long night out and needed somewhere to crash. She was the Go To person when you needed some sound advice.
My mother was a mini version of her mother and it seems like the line of Persaud women kept on hitting the jackpot as I ended up having eight wonderful female cousins, two excellent sisters and not to mention, four amazing aunts. All of these women are a bit more like the other, but still have their own little Thing about them that makes them them.
I used to date a girl back when I was in school. We just got along. Our friendship got to a point where the next logical step was to progress it to the following level. There wasn't any meeting or talk about it. It just happened. People asked, we looked at each other and basically just said "sure". We rolled with it. Most of the time, when people set out to make a relationship work they concentrate mostly on the "business side" of things while not looking at the "love side" of things. Lisa and I were fitted for each other. We shared some interests, but didn't share many interests. It worked. She was strong willed, and I still had low self-esteem who didn't know the first thing about rolling with the Cool Kids. I mean the real cool kids. The ones outside of your school who didn't know you but wanted to know you because you had a vibe surrounding you because you were just so cool. I wanted to be that kid. Lisa taught me that I was that kid. That my modest real composure along with my insight on music and television brought the kids in. My sense of humour helped a bunch too. I learned that I was a
Bart while thinking I was
Milhouse. She brought the Bart out to play. Over the years, I still think of that conversation I had with her and it still helps me with my self-assurance and self-esteem. She taught me self confidence.
Laura was a Guys-Girl. A girl who could roll with the guys while still having a bit of the girl in her. She was an outgoing spirit and fun to be around. We were high school chums - me being three years older than her. However, there's many times when I questioned how old she really was. Outside you saw this girl jock who liked to have a good time. Inside I saw an old soul who had a lot to say. She was around during those couple of years when life was getting tough. She was a true friend. We went out for late night coffee, drove around until the sun came up and even walked the whole of
Richmond Hill on Bathurst street because we were so interested in each others words that we forget where we were going. Usually after a session with "Dr. Laura", I would tell her that she should run for president as she would make the world such a better place. She had idealistic dreams, but made them simplistic and realistic. She had a knack on knocking out all the BS and just concentrating on the real nitty gritty stuff - the stuff that mattered. Last I saw her she was writing poetry. But I'm still waiting for her to run for an election. She taught me to keep it real and what true friendship should be.
Many other women taught me many other things. I learned how to enjoy life from this old women who used to frequent a coffee shop I used to work at. I learned the beauty of poetry and storytelling and how to use the word as a tool to feed the imagination of the reader from the great
Maya Angelou. Professionally, I learned form some of the best women to ever be heard on local radio…..
And what did I learn about the women in my family? Unconditional love is the greatest feeling in the world.