What women do

Help

The ultrasound technician in green scrubs, with wild, curly hair, has done this a million times.

She listens to the women coming in with female complaints and conditions

and, with a light touch and humor, makes each one feel safe and cared for.

Hold people up

The wife of thirty years with a serviceable hairdo knows her husband inside and out.

She tells him he can succeed when his world is crashing down around him

and lets him think he is powerful and original, able to do the right thing.

Keep going

The mom in pajamas with dirty hair envelops her children in the warmth of love.

When they are most vulnerable, she protects them; she equips them with courage

and gives them the will to live without her.

Cry

The stressed-out woman in a business suit with a $200 haircut goes into the Ladies’ and weeps.

She has pushed and pulled her way through a hostile landscape of prejudice and harassment

            and knows she’ll be punished for every tear.

Sara Tusek, June 23, 2016