This evening, my mother's older sister is resting and recuperating in a Minnesota hospital. She's had quite a wild ride, from pneumonia to an aneurysm repair to the removal of a golf-ball-sized tumor from her brain.
She's 82. My mother says the doctors expect a complete recovery.
I come from strong women, and maybe that's why I so enjoy the company of strong women. Claiming their own personal authority, they act, rather than waiting for permission. They serve, without being asked. They speak, and help other women raise their voices as well.
These are my role models.
So much of our cultural conversation over the past week has centered around disappointment with world-class golfer Tiger Woods. In a matter of days, infidelity dragged him from the public pedestal Mike Douglas lifted him onto at age 3, and tossed him into the gutter of celebrity gossip Web sites.
We watched Tiger grow from a tiny kid crazy about a sport to the hottest ticket on the PGA tour. He became a role model, and when he betrayed his wife and family, many took it personally.
But celebrity roles models are built on the shifting sands of popularity. As much information as we might have, we cannot really know them.
I know my mother and aunts, my daughter and sister, my women friends - and in each of them, I have found something to admire, to emulate.
Real women, my friends, have real role models. There is no reasonable facsimile.
Who are your role models?
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