Festa Della Donna

March 9, 2025

International Women’s Day was this weekend, and let me tell you, Italy celebrates it well. All the men give the women flowers, specifically mimosas, which are these fun bright yellow wildflowers that grow free and untamed and are a symbol of resilience and solidarity. The market this Saturday was full of them. On my eight minute walk to get my morning cappuccino, I probably would’ve counted a hundred women with bouquets had I been counting. There wasn’t a woman in sight without flowers in her hand.

I went to the café my Italian mom owns and ordered my breakfast, which she gave me for free because I am a woman and needed to be celebrated (she’s so sweet). As I sipped my coffee and ate my torte, I pondered all the incredible women in my life who have shaped me into the woman I am today.

I thought of my grandmas, who instilled the travel bug in me from a very young age (they’d lived abroad in Italy, Morocco, Poland, and China). Who taught how to bake, and tell stories, and sing, and play piano, and dance in the kitchen.  

I thought of my mom, who starts every morning reading the Bible, and who I am apparently beginning to sound and look like, which is about the highest compliment I could hope to receive.

I thought of my aunts, who taught me how to be hospitable.  

I thought of my cousins who taught me what true friendship is. Who share my passions of wine and books and sushi and the outdoors.

I thought of my sister, who makes me laugh harder than anyone else in the world.

I thought of my friends from home who have called me out when I needed to be called out and built me up when I needed to be built up.

I thought of my small group leaders who asked the right questions at the right times.

I thought of the women I had as teachers, who told me to smile more and stress less and to keep writing and keep making art even when I felt my work was subpar.

I thought of the women I’ve had as bosses, who were working 24/7 and still took time to encourage me to take the big next steps I was dreaming of taking.

I thought of the women I’m studying with now, who are smart and curious and brave and fun and open and strong.

I thought, how lucky am I to have so many amazing women in my life!

I finished my coffee, helped Rosanna serve some customers (with my horrible Italian and shaky hands, but it was a fun time), soaked up some sun on my balcony, then ran 10k feeling strong and refreshed. That night I turned on a playlist featuring a healthy amount of Taylor Swift, then baked a chocolate/cherry/mascarpone cake, then ate it for dinner with a girlfriend of mine as we discussed a book series I got her hooked on. March 8th was pretty much a perfect day. I love being a woman!