#IWD2016

International Women's Day is a day to celebrate funnel cakes.

Just kidding. Obviously IWD is a day to celebrate women in all of our awesomeness. It is also a call for equality for men and women of every walk of life.

But for anyone who thinks shattering glass ceilings should be our goal, I'd like to remind you that there is another woman who is sweeping up the shattered remnants of what was broken--and both roles are to be equally celebrated and admired.

Being awesome in the field of medicine or a CEO of a major company or owning your own business (or whatever!) is amazing, and you should be proud of your accomplishments. But that does not mean that the single mom who is working two part-time jobs at fast food restaurants isn't doing something equally amazing. Same goes for the women who choose to stay home, sometimes to the detriment of their bank accounts, in order to raise sons and daughters who will also hopefully have the incredible gift to also choose their own destiny.

I think so often "women's rights" becomes such a singular focus. And that's not to say that the focus of equal pay or breaking the glass ceiling is bad or wrong--to the contrary, its wonderful!

But what is even more wonderful is the ability to choose whether we want to be a ceiling breaker or a glass sweeper (or anything in between). Whether you're an unmarried professional, a married woman with a Duggar's load of children, if you're happily married without any kids or a single mom--the most fundamentl right we should all have is the right to choose. You dont' "do more"  becasue you're a professional and and you don't necesseraily have the hardest job on the planet if you're a stay-at-home mom.

Neither is more or better, they are different but equal. Which is the core message of IWD.

Each one of us is, in some way, a product of our choices and that should be celebrated And on IWD we should advocate for women across the globe to be able to make those same choices.

I hope and pray that whatever my daughters choose to do, that they do it well and are never judge for the choices they make. I hope no one ever shames them and tells them they could be "more" or that their decisions are wrong, all based simply on the fact that they are women. I hope I raise girls that are confident enough in their decisions that they don't need to belittle someone else's nor try to rise to society's definition of success.

If I can do that, I'll consider myself successful.

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