Amidst the chaos of the holiday season, stress levels tend to push so many to a breaking point.

For women who often wear countless hats, the pressure to keep our homes in order, our children in check, our marriages intact, and our careers moving forward, tends to become too much. Most women forget about self-care throughout the year, but especially when the holidays are upon us, which, ironically, is when we need it the most. Then, when we do actually break, we’re upset at ourselves for breaking.

To some, this concept is completely foreign. If you know what I’m talking about, you are NOT alone. We are the strong women.

We take on the world everyday. We seek to better our communities. We look at fear, straight in the eyes, and vow to take down any obstacles that hinder our valuable work. We are the strong women.

We think of others first, almost always. Don’t mess with our children or our families. We hold ourselves, our families, and others to the highest of standards. We work hard, but we also play hard. We protect and cherish family time. We are the strong women.

We are kind.

Loving.

Thoughtful.

Tenacious.

Goofy.

Visionary.

Devout.

We don’t stop until we reach our destinations. We push tirelessly to meet the objective at hand. We disregard negative and snide remarks for the sake of our cause, but cry when the work is finally done. We are the strong women.

Some may perceive us to be too bold. Some may be threatened by our assertiveness. Don’t be. We are approachable, even if we don’t appear to be. We are driven to accomplish. We want to know if you have constructive feedback. If you have a social event invite us. We will probably already have plans because we rarely have a spare moment. Please still ask and don’t be offended when we can’t attend. We do try to be social and we feel bad for not attending. We have a full calendar. We are the strong women.

Life is short. Our clocks are all ticking. For my fellow strong women, we recognize our time is very limited. We want to make the world a better place. Our plans are huge and may seem unrealistic at times. Rest assured, we will achieve our goals. However, it may take longer, or look different in the end. Believe in us. Encourage us. Support us.

Together we CAN be the change-makers. We are a TEAM of strong people.