Superheroes can be mothers. They’ve led extraordinary lives, showing amazing strength, leaving a legacy of greatness to pass along to the next generation.
This article is dedicated to my mother, and the millions of other women who have left extraordinary legacies behind, so that younger women can follow them and believe they too have the strength of superheros and can do GREAT things!
When my mother passed away in 2018, I knew I wanted to do something special like write something in her memory. But my website is dedicated to menopause, and I wasn’t sure how that would fit.
Then I realized it didn’t have to.
Instead, I wanted to focus on the strength of a woman.
We all start out as little girls dreaming of princesses, and superheroes. We see our future as this big open fairytale book. We imagine ourselves doing extraordinary things, and living a life full of magical excitement and fantasy.
We also mimic our mothers, carrying dolls around the house just like her. Swearing we’ll be just like mommy when we grow up.
And for many, it’s a magical wish come true.
We get to wear that princess dress, walk up the aisle, and marry Prince Charming. We make babies, raise children, and become just like our mothers.
But what we don’t realize, is that we’ve actually become superheroes in disguise.
Just like Wonder Woman, except without the cape, we find inner strength that we never really tapped into before. Suddenly, we become invincible when it comes to child-rearing and we take on the roll of protector of our children.
We’d fight to the death for them!
Not only that, but we quickly realize we have other powers that go above and beyond the ability to just pummel the enemy. We have the power to shape a life.
SHAPE A LIFE!
That’s Godlike powers, and it’s a great responsibility!
And we don’t take that lightly!
I look back on my mother’s life and realize she was my superhero, and the one I modeled after. Yes, there were times in my life when I said I didn’t want to be like her, but that was my younger more arrogant self.
Now, as I’m older, and more mature, I understand her strength and wisdom.
She had courage!
She had the strength of a warrior.
And she always protected! Always!
My mother raised 4 babies all by herself. She was a single mom. My dad left when I was two. Unfortunately, there are a lot of stories like this and that’s a shame. Most people would say it’s not unusual and shrug it off.
And that’s true.
It isn’t unusual.
But let’s look deeper. Let’s look at that little girl that still lives inside the single mom. Where did she go? She not only lost sight of her dreams, but her fairytale died as well.
IT DIED!
That’s a hard knock!
It can happen to any woman.
And for those who still get to live that fairytale life where the prince never leaves, and you have a perfect ending to your story, you still have a challenge ahead of you.
You had dreams too.
Did you fulfill them?
If not, then what happened?
Sometimes life gets in the way of your dreams and you never find the courage, or the time, or the means to pursue them. Sure you have superpowers, but not when it comes to helping yourself. There’s nothing left.
We women do everything for everyone else, expending energy to the point of no return. As a young mom, it all goes to baby. Youth. Beauty. All of it!
When was the last time you treated yourself to a spa day?
As an older woman, when the nest is empty (and it will empty), you realize you spent a generation putting everyone else ahead of you. Now you don’t even know how to make yourself number one again.
That’s not acceptable!
Where did that little girl go?
Remember skipping through the daisies, pretending and dreaming? That childlike excitement is still inside of you. Being a mother, that was just part of it. The story’s not over yet. Life goes on.
But how?
By following those who have come before you. Our mothers; Our grandmothers; Our sisters; Our friends – All the extraordinary women who have carved the path before us.
Let’s look at them.
How did they do it?
I want to spotlight my mother in particular. She had her challenges too. She had dreams of being a writer, but everything got in the way. Instead, she fell victim to a destroyed fairytale, yet kept on going.
She didn’t let anything stop her dream.
Instead, after her children grew up and she faced the challenge of recreating herself, she realized she still had dreams. She realized all she had to do was believe in herself enough to put one foot in front of the other.
One step at a time.
She became the writer she always wanted to be.
She published her first book at the age of 70 and it was a celebration beyond words. It wasn’t just a book, it was her baby.
Her new baby.
Aopato, it was called. She wrote a fantasy novel about a woman who overcame huge obstacles just like she did. But this woman was a superhero hidden beneath a strange skin.
Sound familiar?
She was living her dream.
Two more books were born shortly after that, Remedy and Turnback. They are sequels to her fantasy world now called, The Aopato Chronicles.
It was incredible to see my mother happy in her element. I witnessed another side of her I never saw before. She was doing what she was meant to do. Not that being a mother wasn’t part of that, but that she actually had a life of her own.
A dream of her own.
It inspired me.
She then wrote a new series called, The Noor Chronicles, which included Gentle Beast, and Soul Saver. She nurtured those books to perfect completion and published them as well. They also took on a life of their own, displaying strong women with powers who could fight the enemy like no one else could.
But then everything came to a crashing halt. She was diagnosed with brain cancer. It was devastating. She was told she had the worst kind and probably wouldn’t make it.
We were told to prepare for her death.
But she fought.
Superpowers to the rescue.
She did not quit.
She could have, but she kept going. She didn’t let chemo and radiation get in her way. She kept on writing, even taking notes in the hospital during blood transfusions in the middle of the night. She even marketed her books to all the doctors and nurses on staff.
“Have you read my books?” she would ask proudly.
Every time I visited her at the hospital, we talked about the current book she was working on called Healer Nest. It was her third book of The Noor Chronicles. She HAD to complete it. It’s all she talked about, the characters, the plot, everything. She would finish that book if it was the last thing she ever did!
My mother, who exemplified true courage and strength like a superhero, would not give up the fight. She was built of steel and grit, and would not accept her fate.
But what was her fate?
After battling her disease she was miraculously cancer free. It shocked everyone, and was a true miracle. We celebrated with great joy. My mother had her life back.
Now she could finish that last book of the series.
And she did.
It was much more difficult because the cancer treatments destroyed her eyesight and she could barely see her computer screen to continue writing. But did she let that stop her?
Nope!
She pushed forward, enlarging the font so she could type one word at a time.
It makes my heart leap just writing the words.
THAT is strength!
Even after sight impairment, she still wrote three more books. How extraordinary! The Deception Series was born out of sheer determination and adaptability. It included her three final books called, Monsters Among Us, Fire and Ice, and Ultimate Reckoning.
What an accomplishment!
Most people would just retire.
Finally she did retire from writing, but she missed it every day. To fill the gap, she decided to go after a new dream, her dream of painting. That was even a challenge!
But she did it anyway.
And the masterpieces she painted were incredible!
My mother wouldn’t let anything stop her from achieving her dreams. She just went for it. Nothing stopped her, not being a single mother, not cancer, not sight impairment, nothing!
That is a legacy.
It should encourage every woman who reads this.
And then she got another blow. She was diagnosed with a heart defect possibly caused from her cancer treatments. We really don’t know. Heart problems run in the family so it could have been genetics.
Regardless, she needed surgery. A valve replacement.
This was a big deal.
But did she let it stop her? No! My mother kept on trying to live. She wanted more time to go after her dreams. One more day, one more opportunity to do something great!
It’s how we all should look at life.
She made it through the surgery like the superhero she was. And for a time, she got back on her feet, but she never seemed to regain her energy.
Something was wrong.
But she kept on trying to find her strength again. She wanted to be included. She looked forward to weddings and births, and never stopped for a moment to feel sorry for herself.
Then one day we found her. She had passed away peacefully in her chair.
She had lived life well. She will forever be my superhero, and sadly missed. She will forever be the reason I never stop dreaming.
She taught me to believe in myself, push hard to achieve my goals, and hold my head up high.
My mother gave me a legacy of strength to pass down to my children, my grandchildren, and their children. Because of her, I’m not afraid to try new things. I won’t hold back because of adversity, or hardship, or lack of anything.
I will never feel sorry for myself.
I am not a victim of circumstance, and never will be!
I can achieve great things, and so can you! Believe in yourself and find that little girl buried deep inside of you. Bring her dreams to fruition and let her experience the life she was meant to have. Help her grow. Teach her HOW!
Teach her how to be a SUPERHERO!
My mother’s name was Margaret Afseth. Her books are available on Amazon under, Margaret Afseth Books.
References
- Science Daily
- The North American Menopause Society
- Harvard Health
- Endocrine Web
- NCBI (Pub Med)
- Alternative Medicine for Menopause (LCBI)
- Healthline
- WebMD
- Women’s Health Concerns
- Reader’s Digest
- Mayo Clinic
_____________________________________________________
Author Kathleen Morris
Kathleen Morris is a successful published author, blogger, and Youtuber. She enjoys writing about things she’s passionate about and making a difference in the world.
