I Hope You Dance
After I heard Lee Ann Womack sing the popular, "I Hope You Dance" song, I went to the store to purchase the CD to give to my children with a heartfelt note. I hoped the words in the song would encourage them, as they express my prayers and dreams for their future and happiness.
While each line has deep meaning, the phrases, "Never settle for the path of least resistance; Livin’ might mean takin’ chances but they’re worth takin’ ... And when you get the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance ..." give you the gist of the song’s content.
With this month being Women’s History Month, I reviewed the firsts in women’s achievement historically—those listed truly made a difference in the lives of their peers, and continued for future generations. I wondered who encouraged them, or if each individually broke through the gender role barrier like the first trains broke through the wild frontier linking a young nation. The time line I reviewed dated back to 1775, when Mary Katherine Goddard was the first woman postmaster; the more familiar Betsy Ross was the first person to be a U.S. flagmaker in 1776; Hannah Adams, the first woman to become a professional writer in 1784; Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to receive a medical degree in 1849; Amelia Jenks Bloomer, was the publisher/editor of the first prominent women’s rights newspaper in 1849; Lucy Hobbs, the first woman to graduate from dental school in 1866; Arabella Mansfield Babb, the first woman admitted to the bar in 1869; Belva Ann Lockwood, the first woman to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1879 ... the list continues to Sandra Day O’Connor, who in 1981 became the first woman justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; and Madeleine Albright, the first woman Secretary of State and highest ranking woman in the U.S. government in 1997.
Those are just a few women recognized for their courage in leadership. While we recognize leadership sometimes takes a more quiet, backstage role, especially for women, these women provide a role model—for my grandmother, mother, myself, me daughter and someday, my granddaughters—in more public ways.
But one only needs to read this issue of The Peoria Woman to recognize the remarkable courage of one woman in our community, the Honorable Judge Mary McDade. Her story reveals the strength of character and passion for truth and fairness, passed on from previous generations, which certainly influenced her to excel in motherhood, in her career, and through adversity to become Judge Mary McDade.
Her wisdom gained through experience, education and perseverance, earned her a position as first African-American female appellate court justice outside of Chicago.
The YWCA Leader nomination form is included in this month’s Peoria Woman magazine. Judge McDade, one of last year’s winners, is just one example of the amazing role models we find in central Illinois.
I wish I could ask previous winners who or what gave them the courage to succeed in life. I smile to think someone encouraged them to "never take one single breath for granted" and that "when one door closes one more opens;" to "never fear those mountains in the distance," to not sit it out, but "dance."
Take notice of the women who have taken risks, who have chosen to dance in our community. Notice, too, the young women, as the YWCA seeks to honor and support outstanding youth. One great woman from history, Eleanor Roosevelt, said this:
"If everything was in your favor, if you did not have to surmount any great mountains, then you have nothing to be proud of. But if you feel that you have special difficulties, then you must indeed be proud of your achievement."
Be proud. Dance. TPW
While each line has deep meaning, the phrases, "Never settle for the path of least resistance; Livin’ might mean takin’ chances but they’re worth takin’ ... And when you get the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance ..." give you the gist of the song’s content.
With this month being Women’s History Month, I reviewed the firsts in women’s achievement historically—those listed truly made a difference in the lives of their peers, and continued for future generations. I wondered who encouraged them, or if each individually broke through the gender role barrier like the first trains broke through the wild frontier linking a young nation. The time line I reviewed dated back to 1775, when Mary Katherine Goddard was the first woman postmaster; the more familiar Betsy Ross was the first person to be a U.S. flagmaker in 1776; Hannah Adams, the first woman to become a professional writer in 1784; Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to receive a medical degree in 1849; Amelia Jenks Bloomer, was the publisher/editor of the first prominent women’s rights newspaper in 1849; Lucy Hobbs, the first woman to graduate from dental school in 1866; Arabella Mansfield Babb, the first woman admitted to the bar in 1869; Belva Ann Lockwood, the first woman to practice law before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1879 ... the list continues to Sandra Day O’Connor, who in 1981 became the first woman justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; and Madeleine Albright, the first woman Secretary of State and highest ranking woman in the U.S. government in 1997.
Those are just a few women recognized for their courage in leadership. While we recognize leadership sometimes takes a more quiet, backstage role, especially for women, these women provide a role model—for my grandmother, mother, myself, me daughter and someday, my granddaughters—in more public ways.
But one only needs to read this issue of The Peoria Woman to recognize the remarkable courage of one woman in our community, the Honorable Judge Mary McDade. Her story reveals the strength of character and passion for truth and fairness, passed on from previous generations, which certainly influenced her to excel in motherhood, in her career, and through adversity to become Judge Mary McDade.
Her wisdom gained through experience, education and perseverance, earned her a position as first African-American female appellate court justice outside of Chicago.
The YWCA Leader nomination form is included in this month’s Peoria Woman magazine. Judge McDade, one of last year’s winners, is just one example of the amazing role models we find in central Illinois.
I wish I could ask previous winners who or what gave them the courage to succeed in life. I smile to think someone encouraged them to "never take one single breath for granted" and that "when one door closes one more opens;" to "never fear those mountains in the distance," to not sit it out, but "dance."
Take notice of the women who have taken risks, who have chosen to dance in our community. Notice, too, the young women, as the YWCA seeks to honor and support outstanding youth. One great woman from history, Eleanor Roosevelt, said this:
"If everything was in your favor, if you did not have to surmount any great mountains, then you have nothing to be proud of. But if you feel that you have special difficulties, then you must indeed be proud of your achievement."
Be proud. Dance. TPW