I can still remember the contents of each of my grandma's organized kitchen drawers. It's easy after the countless hours I spent exploring them. Two items were my favorite: an interesting devise she used to chop up pecans for the crust of her famously delicious Chocolate Delight and this, her veggie steamer. When she passed away 10 years ago, her steamer was passed on to me. It is only a small, everyday kind of item that I doubt she had any special attachment to, but for me, it is a reminder of the many ways she touched our lives by just being there for us.
Cooking, cleaning, carpooling and insurmountable piles of laundry may feel like insignificant contributions to the greater good of humanity in an age where women can be leaders of corporations and nations. Self-doubt can start to creep in. Should I have pushed myself harder? Should I have gone on to law school? Could I have succeeded in the dog-eat-dog world of corporations or big law firms? Is it too late to even try?
On the days that those questions start to weigh me down, I pull out Mamaw’s steamer and make some broccoli or green beans. I think of how my Mamaw, who did not graduate from college or compete in the corporate world, contributed to the world in her own special way. While keeping her home orderly and clean, she managed to raise two accountants, a teacher and a lawyer. She went on to shower her grandchildren with limitless unconditional love. She made the world a better place by being a housewife, mother, grandmother and eventually great-grandmother. I hope that one day the same will be said of me.
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