I have always believed in myself. I have always known there was a power inside me that made me strong. I received that power from my mother, who knew that I could do anything. She believed it... but why? Perhaps because I am her daughter; and she gave me her own incredible resilience. Perhaps because my story is just a bit different. Perhaps I am strong because I am that which has emerged from the fire.
I was not born to priviledge. I was born into pain and adversity and struggle. I was born to a teenage mother who already had one child to care for - a girl who had to make all of the decisions on her own... who had neither the love nor the support of my biological father to soothe her in her crisis.
I was born to a woman who loved me so much, she let me go. She gave me up to my parents, who were unable to have a child on their own, and who were able to give me the incredible life I treasure. I was given to a woman, to be raised as her daughter - a woman who never let me believe for a second that I belonged only to her... a woman who made sure I knew my roots, that I knew the woman who had given me to her. I was given to a woman who knew only love. I was given to a woman who fought to ensure that I grew up knowing my biological family in a time when that sort of relationship was unheard of.
I was born to a legacy of incredible, selfless women. I was born into chaos and confusion and uncertainty... but from that chaos came trust and truth and love. Perfect, inexplicable, unblemished love, in its purest form. True love, with no questions and no stipulations.
I have been blessed; and I still struggle to comprehend why. I struggle to express my gratitude - a joy that brings me to tears. I was born to and raised by two women warriors. The strongest women I have ever known. My mothers. I am so proud to the be their daughter. So blessed to be their child. For me, these women forgot their inhibitions, forgot their own egos, forgot themselves, and gave me what my soul most needed to flourish - BOTH of them.
Lisa gave me Sharon. Sharon gave me Lisa. They are the two gifts more precious than anything else in the world to me. And, for me, they were the first, most noble acts of true love to ever touch my life.
