It was quite a job getting everyone in the family together in one spot even at a family reunion. My brother and sister-in-law bookend this group, but the rest of us include our five children, their spouses and the grandchildren. That is three daughters and three granddaughters.

My oldest son’s daughter Tracy (our oldest granddaughter) who lives in Florida couldn’t make the 2010 family reunion, but she and her two daughters, Lola  on my lap, and Bella on her mother’s lap, made it up for Christmas in 2011.

Lola and Bella got to meet their auntie Diane and her daughter Colleen. Lots of girls! We’ve got girly girls, dramatic girls, quiet girls, energetic girls, bookish girls, fashionable girls –  and sometimes those categories overlap. None of us can be described easily.

While my three daughters have supported each other (mostly) over the vicissitudes of life that appear over nearly 50 years, they are all very different, with different interests, talents, aspirations and strengths. The granddaughters are also very different, walking different paths, and still finding their own passions. The great-granddaughters promise to be as individual and unique as all the other women in the family.

On this International Women’s Day the theme is about Inspiring Futures  for our girls. There are many organizations that make this their mission, and you can read about many of these initiatives here, but all of us want to inspire the girls in our life as they walk into their futures. We don’t need to imagine specific careers for them, but we can try to inspire them to good health, strength and confidence. We want them to find work that they love. We want them to find their own inspiration.