Last week, I had just gotten off the train from Philadelphia and headed into the bathroom at Union Station in Washington, DC. It was crowded with women of all ages, shapes, and sizes. I was washing my hands when a woman stepped out of the bathroom stall with the back of her dress unzipped to her waist. She looked out into the crowd, then directly at me – standing there with my wet, dripping hands – and said, “Can anyone help me with this ghost zipper? I can’t seem to get it to work!”
As I was saying, “One second,” two other women immediately stepped in to help. They struggled and couldn’t get it to zip. I then walked over and took a turn. While another woman held the dress together, I finally got the zipper free, and we got the dress zipped up. The woman wearing the dress thanked us and joked that she hadn’t wanted to give “people a show” at Union Station, which made us all laugh.
But I walked away thinking two things:
1. This NEVER would have happened in the men’s room! (confirmed later that night by my
husband), and
2. Women are awesome!
I know it sounds stereotypical, but I love how naturally this whole event unfolded in the ladies’ room. Women – in general – are helpers. They’re collaborators. We’re “in it together.” I’m in three different women’s entrepreneur groups, and they’re all about supporting and lifting one another up, and it’s one of the best parts of having my own business.
It’s in this spirit that I belatedly wish all of the moms, moms-to-be, grandmas-to-be, and women who may not be mothers but are still mothering others, a Happy belated Mother’s Day.
And also in that spirit, I share this vintage video clip. It’s one of my favorite client stories – a mom who let her kids have a pet monkey!
What Mom (or parent) would allow her kids to own a pet monkey? (Something I used to dream about having after reading a favorite childhood book featuring a young girl who had a pet monkey.)
Her tale was such an eye-opening story, and yet another way that women are truly amazing.
One Response
Heart warming. I miss my wife and my Mom!