kayteable

It is March…and March is National Woman’s History Month. I wanted to have a moment and celebrate some of the amazing women in my life. Before we get into that, I do want to take a moment to say thank you to all the women that came before me, that made it possible to be who I am today. I get to vote, speak my thoughts, be with whomever I desire, create what I want, and just get to be me. Thank you for being so strong, so stubborn, and thank you for being you.

Now- without any further ado, let’s celebrate the amazing women that have blessed my life.

The Mothers…

Yes, while not always due to the ideal situations, I was blessed with many “mothers”. I think I have way many more than I will highlight today- but I want to focus on four in particular- because they shaped me the most.

Of course- my actual mother, is first on the list. This woman sometimes gets a bad wrap as she is incredibly human and with being incredibly human- she made mistakes. While I don’t want to take away from anyone’s perspective- I have a right to my own- so this is mine.

My mother is the one of the most intelligent women I have ever had the honor of knowing. Does she know everything? No. but she is a living encyclopedia of any and every niche interest she has ever taken to. She is one of the most adaptable person I have ever known. With every critique, ever bit of advice, every ounce of feed back she has ever recieved has been internalized and she works her absolute best 100% of the time to work on being the best and truest version of herself. While sometimes I wish she would just love herself, including all her flaws, I really admire that she loves the people around her enough to try and always grow. She has faced endless critism, been called crazy, and been rejected alot- and while sometimes it’s understandable- I have never seen someone be able to take so much and still show up with a smile, do her best, and just be the most loving person I know. I realize this might sound like a back handed compliment. But it’s not. It’s easy to be an amazing person when you are getting praise all the time. However, when you are always getting negative feedback even when you are doing you best- it is incredibly hard to show up everyday and be as strong, amazing, and resilient as this woman. I am honored to be your daughter, regardless of flaws. You have shown me how to follow my dreams, love unconditionally, and that I am worth loving no matter the dumb crap I do. I love you Mom, thank you for being you.

Keri. Keri is my step mom and while we had kind of a rough start- I cannot give enough praise to this woman. Do you know how hard it is to change, develop, break generational trauma, and still be a super busy mother? I would assume really hard. I am so proud of the woman she has become. I think in some ways we grew up together. She gave me structure, life skills, and shown me that we truly need to let people change and evolve. The woman I met when I was 5 no longer exists and has evolved into an amazing, patient mother, a healer, and someone who never hesitates to help when asked. Again, perhaps this can feel like a backhanded compliment. It’s not. It’s the opposite, actually. When we disregard the past we can’t appreciate the present. By mentioning that maybe we didn’t have the best relationship- truly highlights that I COULD have not made it to today without her. She stepped up when I needed her when I gave birth to Kai, she is an amazing grandmother- and I cannot tell you how happy it makes my heart when I see Kai light up when she walks in a room. I am so proud of you for not letting the past control your present. You are an amazing person in my life. I hope you know that I appreciate and love you. Thank you for being one of my moms and thank you for being an amazing grandma. (Kai says you are awesome too. Can’t wait to see you at school.) Love you. Thank you for being you.

Shari. Shari is my aunt and I always tell her she’s my adopted mom. While our family was going through some transitions, I basically lived at my aunt’s house. When I was trying to imagine the type of mother I wanted to be, I often thought of her. She is so sweet, so patient, and so, so, amazing. Thank you for making me feel at home when my own was going through a lot. Thank you for all the quesadillas and measuring cups full of salsa, endless Nickelodeon, and dealing with all the tragic messes I helps your kids make. I love you and thank you for being you.

Karla. Karla is essentially my mother-in-law. She raised an amazing son who changed my life forever. She didn’t hesitate to take me in as her own and I cannot express how thankful I am to her. She has taught me a lot about unconditional love, how to raise a sweet, caring, and kind son and I could go on forever- but for the sake of your time…I will just say this: thank you for making a part of a family that makes me feel loved, at home, and you guys make me laugh everyday. Thank you for being one of my moms. I love you and thank you for being you.

Special Mentions…

My little sister. Now, while I love my littlest sister, she is not quite a woman yet…so this one is a shoutout to Kaysha. This young woman is amazing. She is brave, smart, stubborn, and incredible. I am so proud of her for being herself, learning and cultivating skills she is interest in and then using them. I am always impressed with the massive amount of things she does in a day. I hope you know that even if you did nothing- you would be priceless. I am so proud of you and am proud to be your sister. Now that I think of it- I don’t think I have embarrassed you nearly enough- so I will have to work on that. I love you and thank you for being you.

My Grandma Dixon. This woman is sassy, silly, and has an endless amount of love for her family. I really appreciate her presence in my life. She has raise four amazing and honorable men and Shari (who I mentioned earlier). She has been threatening to die every Thanksgiving for the past 10+ years and I have to tell her- you are simply not allowed to woman. You will be a powerhouse in solitaire, boss my siblings around, and make the best damn bread I have ever eaten until Kai is at least 18. So buckle up buttercup- you’re here whether you like it or not. All joking aside, you are the main reason I became an artist, I can only hope to have your stubbornness, and I love you very much. Thank you for being you.

Grandmalene. This woman has faced every challenge, every thing life could possibly thrown at you and she is still the sweetest, kindest woman that I think has ever existed. This woman has the grace and the absolute class of a billion queens. She has also aged like fine wine. She somehow…only gets better. She is eighty-something years old and she was crawling around with my son on the ground. Absolutely mad. I hope I have the patience with Kai as she has had in raising her kids. Thank you for being an amazing woman- I love you, and thank you for being you.

My Best Friend. Emilee, who I knew as Paige for like a year because our boss decided that she would go by her middle name- is my other half. Yeah, sorry Dylan, you are the love of my life- but this woman is my soulmate. This woman has been through almost every one of my ups and downs of my adulthood. She met me in a cow costume when I came in to get my work schedule. She wanted to hate me, but then about two months later she invited me to live with her, where we shared a room, a job, and then another job. We have been stupid together, cried together, hysterically laughed together, had serious conversations about religion and politics. She is an amazing person and has overcame so much. I love you kid- thank you for being you.

Closing thoughts…

Everyday I meet amazing women. I would never stop typing if I highlighted each one. I am so grateful for them and the women I mentioned above. Thank you for making me a better woman and I hope you have a wonderful month, year, and life. Thank you for joing me today- and I encourage you to celebrate women in your life.

Love,

Kayte.