A couple of months ago, I scheduled a mammogram for March 8. The connection between that date and International Women’s Day hadn’t occurred to me. When it did finally dawn on me, I immediately thought I’d write an uplifting piece about taking care of ourselves, making sure we’re actively participating in preventative care, and the varied forms of self-care. It was going to be glorious. As it turns out, it was more of a “man (or woman in this case) plans, God laughs” situation.
I got to my appointment and found out my last mammogram was June 2021, so I was a couple months shy of the one year time frame. The receptionist kindly told me that I was welcome to do it, but that I would probably be billed for the full cost since insurance was unlikely to cover it until June. Clearly, I rescheduled.
The 2022 theme for International Women’s Days is Break the Bias. It encourages all of us to focus on celebrating women’s achievements, raise awareness about women’s equality, lobby for accelerated gender parity, and fundraise for female-focused charities.
So, today I choose to celebrate the woman who helped me. Thanks to her thoughtfulness, I was spared the stress of an unexpected medical bill. She went out of her way to check my file because she couldn’t find the records from last year’s mammogram. She didn’t have to do it; she chose to because it bothered her that she couldn’t easily find the records. And, that moment more gracefully embodied International Women’s Day than anything I’d planned to write. She doesn’t know me and I don’t know her, but she takes pride in her job and in helping other women. I am using this to say thank you publicly to her.
Moments don’t have to be grand gestures to make a difference. What usually makes the most impact are the small, everyday moments like the one I experienced today. In the grand scheme of things, the woman who helped me probably won’t even remember our interaction tomorrow, but I won’t forget her kindness.
We should be thrilled to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with other women, to advocate for women, and appreciate women.
What small moments have you experienced that made you appreciate women and all they have to offer the world?
katyferrywrites.com 