A Woman's Power

You know that saying "If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy?" Well, I think about that one a lot. There really is so much truth to that statement. Traditionally, Southern women have been brought up to be the backbone of their family. The rock. The moral compass. The glue. They (or should I say we?) do not take this responsibility lightly.

My grandma had it. She was the matriarch. Everything truly revolved around her, and not in a bad way. Everyone just gravitated toward her. She took our big, noisy family and managed to keep us all together for every single holiday, and all getting along with each other. But let her get disappointed or angry, and well, it was worse than a hellfire-and-brimstone sermon at a tent revival! And everybody in the line of fire could do nothing but hang their heads and wait for it to pass. At the other end of the spectrum, if you made her proud or happy you were in high cotton. Because it was hugs, love, and kisses for you, along with plenty of bragging to everyone around her until your pendulum swung the other way! Rarely was there any middle ground with her. She did not view life in shades of gray.

I love that women have this kind of power. Our men want to please us. They do not want to incur our wrath. Our children don't want to hear that "momma" voice or see the disappointment in our faces. Why? Is it because we're so evil they're afraid of us? Sweet, soft, gentle ladies that we are? Why, how in the world could anybody think that? ;-)

Not every woman has it, but a lot of us do. The people we love are drawn to us like gnats to a porch light. We shine brightly as the center of our universe. And if that light goes out, it gets missed. Sorely. I think it's because we love others with everything we've got. We take care of them and nurture them. It means more to them than we even realize. I truly think that's why they're so affected by our happiness or, particularly, our lack of it.

Of course, there are some that might realize this power and use it to their advantage to get what they want. However, a real southern lady would never admit to doing so. That just goes against the code. No matter how cunning you might be, it's treason to let on. Because that would jeopardize the position of the sisterhood. And who wants to incur the wrath of the group as a whole?!