Superwoman or Human?

I love the song "Superwoman" by Alicia Keys. I turn it up in my car and sing at the top of my lungs on a regular basis. The chorus goes, "Even when I'm a mess / I still put a vest with an 'S' on my chest / Oh yes / I am a Superwoman / Yes I am". Sing it with me! I'd love to be a Superwoman, but I'm not.

A few months ago my dad was visiting us - after our medical journey ended and before our adoption journey started. We went on a walk and (true to my dad's form) he asked a number of questions about how we were doing in our journey and what I was learning.

One of the things I shared with him was that our infertility journey was teaching me about how human I am. Limits. Brokenness. Imperfection. Needy. And I said it was allowing me to connect with other people's brokenness and humanity in new ways. "Amen", my dad said. So be it.

I'm so grateful for a number of things from this crazy infertility journey, but this lesson is one of the greater reasons. I'm glad that I've been confronted in a most personal way with my humanity. I'm grateful that I've had to say, "help...I need...and I can't" more times than I've been able to take care of it. I'm grateful that my journey has allowed me to connect with so many other woman and their families who've been through similar journeys. I'm grateful to be connected to the humanity through our pain. Of course, I'd prefer to learn and experience these things through happy, dancing through the prairie experiences, but even a superwoman's life isn't perfect.

I still think I'm a superwoman, but just a different kind of one.

3 Comments

April L. Diaz

April has been a visionary activist her entire life. She has made it her mission to lead high performing teams and develop leaders in the margins of society while caring for our bodies, mind, and spirit. Secretly, she’s a mix of a total girly girl and a tomboy, and is still crazy about her high school sweetheart, Brian. Together, they co-parent 3 fabulous kiddos and live in Orange County, CA.