I think society expects women to be strong almost all the time. When a woman is used to taking care of others, people sometimes forget that she also needs someone to take care of her. They see her handling different responsibilities and assume she can always manage, even when things are difficult for her. I have seen how easily people get used to a woman's strength without thinking about what it takes for her to keep going.
When I think about this, I remember my mother.
My mother is one of the strongest women I know. I have watched her handle situations that I sometimes wonder how she managed to get through. She has a way of making things work, even when things are not going as expected. Something I particularly admire about her is that she doesn't spend her time complaining about what she doesn't have. She appreciates what is available and makes the best of it. I have learnt a lot from watching her live that way.
But sometimes I wonder if people realise that she gets tired too. Because she is my mother, I am used to seeing her take care of things and look out for everyone. It is easy to get comfortable with that and forget that she has her own worries.
I don't think being a strong woman should mean having to hide every struggle or pretending that everything is fine. And moreover, women don't usually hide their feelings. She should be able to ask for help without feeling that people will think less of her. Even the people we admire for their strength need support sometimes.
And yes a woman can really be happy with her life even when it doesn't look the way she once imagined.
Growing up, most of us have an idea of how we want our lives to turn out. We imagine the things we will have, the places we will reach and the kind of life we will be living at a particular age. But as we grow older, we begin to understand that things don't always happen according to our plans. Sometimes we achieve what we wanted, sometimes we have to wait longer, and sometimes life takes us in a completely different direction.
I always want to use my mother as an example. She doesn't seem to spend her days worrying about what other people have or what her life could have been. She appreciates the things she has and finds a way to be content with them. That doesn't mean she has no dreams or that she doesn't want better things for herself. I see it that it simply means she knows how to appreciate her present life while still hoping for better days.
There is nothing wrong with wanting more from life, but it becomes difficult when we are so focused on what we haven't achieved that we forget to enjoy what we already have. Just imagine spending years waiting for everything to become perfect before allowing yourself to be happy. Sometimes, we miss so many good moments that way.
A woman's happiness shouldn't be measured by whether her life turned out exactly as she planned. She can have unfulfilled dreams and still find reasons to smile. She can want a better life and still appreciate the one she is living now.
Women don't always have to be the ones holding everything together. They need attention, care and understanding too. And when it comes to happiness, they deserve to enjoy their lives without constantly feeling that they are behind or that they haven't done enough.
